Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
Undergraduate employability training and employment: a UAE study
Osama El-Temtamy, K. Kathleen O'Neill, Sadiq Midraj,
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HESWBL
6,1
Undergraduate employability
training and employment:
a UAE study
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100
Received 12 February 2015
Revised 10 June 2015
10 September 2015
Accepted 15 October 2015
Osama El-Temtamy and K. Kathleen O’Neill
College of Business, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and
Sadiq Midraj
College of Education, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between female undergraduate student
participation in a university-sponsored employment skills development program and employment
post-graduation.
Design/methodology/approach – From historical institutional data a random sample was analyzed
using the logistic regression model. The main variable investigated was participation in the World of
Work (WOW) program during undergraduate study. It was hypothesized that participation would
contribute positively to the probability of employment after graduation.
Findings – Grade point average at the time of graduation was also expected to have a positive
relationship with employability. The study found that those who participated in the WOW program
while undergraduates were more 6.7 times more likely to find post-graduate employment than
non-participants.
Research limitations/implications – Data were collected at a single institution as such findings
may not be generalizable.
Practical implications – This study provides support for the inclusion of employability training at
the tertiary level and provides evidence to support resourcing such initiatives.
Social implications – The study supports the development of work-ready, nationals and to
supplying the UAE economy with needed human capital, in particular the goal of Emiratization.
Originality/value – This study is of one of very few in the Arabian Gulf region to examine
employability factors of university graduates.
Keywords Employment, Undergraduates, United Arab Emirates, Employability, Experiential learning
Paper type Research paper
Higher Education, Skills and
Work-Based Learning
Vol. 6 No. 1, 2016
pp. 100-115
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2042-3896
DOI 10.1108/HESWBL-02-2015-0006
Undergraduate employability training and employment: a UAE study
Fresh graduates are often not fully prepared for the workplace including the
non-technical aspects of employment (e.g. Butler and Gheorghiu, 2010; Cotton, 2001;
Ramlee, 2002). In response to this, some tertiary institutions have implemented
employment training and employability development programs. Through its World of
Work (WOW) program, Zayed University (ZU) provides students opportunities to
develop employability skills.
This paper presents findings of an exploration of factors found to contribute to the
employment of ZU graduates. In addition to participation in the WOW program, factors
that were found to contribute to the employment of graduates included grade point
average (GPA), age, emirate of residence, campus location, and major[1]. These predictor
variables were selected based on their conceptual relationship to employability after
graduation. In particular, the study sought to understand the relationship, if any, of
student participation in the University WOW program on employment post-graduation.
In sum, the hypothesis tested in this study was whether participation in the WOW
program as a student was positively correlated to post-graduation employment.
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Zayed University
Zayed University was founded in 1998. It is a government-funded institution located in
the United Arab Emirates. It has campuses in the nation’s two largest cities: Abu Dhabi
and Dubai. ZU, a US style, US accredited, tertiary institution, was created to support
the development of work-ready, nationals.
In preparation for employment, as well as to be eligible for graduation, the
university requires all undergraduate students to participate in a work-experience
internship. Students complete an eight-week, (minimum) 240-hour internship that is
accompanied by a university-prescribed, academically oriented reflective component.
The university also provides early-intervention, employability programs. One such
program is the WOW.
World of Work
The primary objective of the World of Work program is “to help students gain an
understanding of the workplace of the twenty-first century” (Zayed University, 2012, p.
45). While all ZU students are expected to be work-ready upon graduation, the
university acknowledges students may be at different stages of development, maturity,
and preparedness. Simply, not all students may be ready for the WOW program prior
to the internship period, and some may be better suited for alternate offerings.
Experience shows that those students who are able to be most successful in, and to
benefit most from, the WOW program meet the following criteria:
•
maintenance of a GPA of 2.0/4.0 or above; and
•
ability to work during the summer months, mainly July/August.
Consequently, participation in the WOW program is limited to students who meet the
aforementioned criteria.
Through their participation, students develop employability skills via a variety of
experiential learning activities. These activities are designed to cultivate the employability
skills and traits necessary to successfully obtain post-graduation employment.
The program has two phases. In phase 1, students participate in a series of workshops
that focus on employability skills development. Students who successfully complete
phase 1 become eligible for phase 2 which allows students to apply for a summer job
through the university. Potential employers include a cross-section of private, semigovernment, and government organizations across the UAE. Successful completion of
phase 1 neither guarantees nor obligates student participation in summer employment.
Theory and hypotheses
The transition from school to work is complex and challenging for graduates (e.g. Arnold,
1985; Arnold and Mackenzie Davey, 1992; Holden and Hamblett, 2007). Reflecting on the
situation of social science graduates in Pakistan, Dahri (2008) contended:
The learning process of higher education is generally considered not only to gain knowledge
and wisdom but also to get some dynamic skills which are necessary to translate the abilities
with respect to future job market requirements (p. 52).
Zainuddin and Rejab (2010) presented similar thoughts with regard to Malaysian
graduates. The mission statements of universities around the world acknowledge their
role and responsibility in the development of a work-ready graduate (e.g. Rhodes
University, South Africa; University of Miami, USA; University of South Wales, Wales).
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102
Employability
Lees (2002) noted:
Employment and employability are not the same thing. Being employed means having a job,
being employable means having the qualities needed to maintain employment and progress in
the workplace. Employability from the perspective of HEIs is therefore about producing
graduates who are capable and able, [...] (p. 3).
Taking the perspective of employers with regard to recent higher education institution
(HEI) graduates, Harvey (1999) defined employability as “the propensity of the
graduate to exhibit attributes that employers anticipate will be necessary for the future
effective functioning of their organization” (p. 4).
Miller et al. (2013) posited “generic skills” such as numeracy, communication, and IT
to be fundamental employability skills. Earlier Rees et al. (2006) had asserted
employability to be comprised of “cognitive skills/brainpower,” “generic competencies,”
“personal capabilities,” “technical ability,” “business and/or organisation awareness,”
and “[c]ritical evaluation of the outcomes of professional practice; reflect and review
own practice; participate in and review quality control processes and risk
management” (p. 140). While Lowden et al. (2011) noted:
Employers expect graduates to have technical and discipline competences from their degrees
but require graduates also to demonstrate a range of broader skills and attributes that include
team-working, communication, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and managerial
abilities (p. vi).
Similar studies conducted in Ghana (Boateng et al., 2015), Pakistan (Dahri, 2008), and
Malaysia (Zainuddin and Rejab, 2010) offered findings congruent with those from
Europe and North America.
According to Glass et al. (2008) it was only “a minority of case study employers
who recruited graduates specifically for the technical skills they acquired from their
university course” (p. 9). Cotton (2001) noted employers are generally satisfied with
the technical skills demonstrated by recent graduates, but perceive new graduates’
other professional skills to be lacking. These findings were corroborated in
the Malaysian context by Mohamed Rashid and Mohamed Rashahidi (2005),
Ramlee (2002), and Syed Hussain (2005). More specifically, Butler and Gheorghiu
(2010) listed “team working, problem solving, communication and attitude to work”
(Connor and Shaw, 2008) as areas of deficiency (p. 451). Nilsson (2010), like Lees
(2002), attributed the lack of transfer of learning between the academic and
professional contexts as a principle cause of this dilemma. While Cranmer (2006)
asserted there is a disjunction between skills acquired in university and those needed
by employers. It has been suggested that the multifaceted DOTS model (Law and
Watts, 1977; Watts, 2006, pp. 9-10 cited in Pool and Sewell, 2007, p. 279) may help
HEIs overcome this deficiency. More recently, in addition to this, Kramer-Simpson
et al. (2015) have advocated “frequent, structured interactions with clients to better
prepare students for the workplace” (np). This aligns with the call of Messum et al.
(2015) that “[c]loser partnership with HEIs through employment placements can
facilitate student ES development and employment outcomes” (p. 34) as well as that
of Raman and Gupta (2015) for “[c]ourses and curricula developed in conjunction with
industry” (p. 28) and Xiaobing and Xin (2013) that “universities should cooperate
closely with firms to provide a practice platform for students to improve their
practice ability” (p. 32).
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Experiential learning
Thorndike and Woodworth (1901) proposed the transfer of learning, and much of
learning itself, is most effective when the context most closely mirrors that in which it is
to be applied. Concurring with this, Knight and Yorke (2000) posited transfer is most
effective when it occurs multiple times in a variety of contexts. Knight and Yorke (2000)
also asserted it is the onus of HEIs to provide students (i.e. potential graduates) with
opportunities to develop employability skills. Lowden et al. (2011) suggested these
opportunities may include “support in career decision-making and job search,
development of employability attributes as part of study programmes, placements/
work experience and personal development planning” (p. 10). Lowden et al. (2011)
similarly asserted, “Work experience, internships and extra-curricular activities while
at university were seen by employers and graduates as particularly helpful in
developing these transferable skills” (p. 12) and “employers, students, graduates and
HEI representatives value work-based learning (such as placements and internships) as
particularly effective approaches to promote the employability of graduates” (p. vi).
Nilsson (2010) supported this assertion, “[Employability] is also developed through
participation in different communities of practice” (p. 548). Callanan and Benzing (2004)
stated, “internships and other forms of anticipatory socialization have become
increasingly popular as a way to bridge the transition from the classroom to the work
world” (p. 2). More generally, Senior and Cubbidge (2010) in agreement with Butler and
Gheorghiu wrote, “[E]xperiential learning is a valid and efficacious method by which to
train transferable skills” (p. 447). Recently, these assertions have been supported in the
UK by Fletcher-Brown et al. (2015) and by Kinash (2015) in Australia.
Employment
Through experiential learning activities such as internships, work placements, personal/
professional development programs, and similar extra-curricular experiences, students
have opportunities to develop employability skills which can be documented, certified,
and subsequently parlayed into employment. Lowden et al. (2011) explicated this:
These programmes are seen as valuable because they not only facilitate students’ access to
work-based learning and similar opportunities but also allow these experiences to be
documented. This is then a source of evidence of skills and attributes that can be presented to
employers (p. vi).
The report concluded, “graduates who have done a placement or work-based learning
have more success finding graduate level jobs” (Lowden et al., 2011, p. vi). Callanan
and Benzing (2004) found the completion of internships was “linked with finding
career-oriented employment” (p. 82). These findings have been corroborated in Malaysia
(Hashim, 2012; Rasul et al., 2012), Italy (Arcidiacono, 2015), Nigeria (Oladokun and
Ayodele, 2015), and the UK (Baker and Henson, 2010; Cranmer, 2006). This bolsters
findings from the USA which “found that interns reported receiving job offers about ten
weeks sooner and starting salaries that were 10 percent higher” (Gault et al., 2010, p. 78).
Summary
Through experiential learning opportunities students can develop employability skills.
The documented development of employability skills and the legitimate demonstration
of employability traits via such programs has been linked to increased success of
post-graduate employment.
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Methods
Data collection
The ZU Alumni Affairs Office maintains an up-to-date database that tracks graduates.
From that database, a sample of 1,356 graduate records was selected of which 561 were
from the Abu Dhabi (AUH) campus and 795 from the Dubai (DXB) campus. After
eliminating observations with missing data, the total number was reduced to 1,190
observations. Table I summarizes the distribution of the graduates records used by the
researchers. The records are presented in Table I by college, campus location,
employment status at the time of the study, WOW participation, and average GPA
while matriculated as an undergraduate student at ZU. Table I shows 806 of the 1,190
graduates were employed: this is more than double the number of those reported to be
unemployed (n ¼ 384 graduates). As of the time of the study, ZU had only recently
allowed matriculation to both international and male students, and as of this study date
there were no graduates from these groups as such the entire sample used in this study
is comprised of UAE female nationals. Race was not considered an appropriate variable
for consideration due to the nature and composition of Emirati society[2].
In total, 384 observations were randomly selected from the employed group
representing a 47.6 percent sampling rate and all of the 384 unemployed graduates
were selected for a total of 768 observations equally divided between employed and
unemployed graduates. This process was in line with recommendations for working
with different groups with different sampling rates (Maddala, 1992). Alternately, it was
suggested that very large samples be employed to overcome population size differences
but the researchers determined this was not a viable option for this study at the time
(Maddala, 1992).
Methodology
The main variable investigated was participation in the WOW program during
undergraduate study. The hypothesis tested in this study was whether participation in the
WOW program as a student was positively correlated to post-graduation employment.
The dependent variable is presented as dichotomous, taking the value of 1 if the
graduate was employed as of the study cut-off date and 0 otherwise. Table II presents
the independent variables: WOW participation, GPA, campus, age, and emirate.
The researchers employed the logistic regression model to test the relevant hypotheses.
Unlike linear regression models, logistic regression is well suited to nominal or
ordinal scaled data that deviate from multivariate normal distributions. Another salient
feature of logistic regression is its coefficients can be used to estimate odds ratios “Ψ”
for each of the independent variables in the model; this is obtained by exponentiating
the estimated coefficient (Hosmer and Lemeshow, 1989).
To ascertain the effect of a unit change in an independent variable (x) on the
probability of employment the marginal effect for that variable must be calculated:
@E ½y
¼ L b0 x 1L b0 x b
@x
where Λ(.) is the logistic cumulative density function. In interpreting the estimated
model, it is recommended the marginal effects at the means of the regressors, or where
necessary at other pertinent values, be calculated (Greene, 1993).
Some researchers have recommended running univariate logistic regression models
to screen for variable selection (Bendel and Afifi, 1977; Mickey and Greenland, 1989).
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College
Arts and Sciences
Employed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Unemployed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Total
Business Sciences
Employed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Unemployed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Total
Communications
Employed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Unemployed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Total
Education
Employed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Unemployed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Total
Family Sciences
Employed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Unemployed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Total
Information Systems
Employed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Unemployed
Abu Dhabi – campus
Dubai – campus
Total
Total employed
Total unemployed
Grand total
Status
WOW
Avg. GPA
22
32
2
1
3.36
3.28
16
23
93
1
–
3.27
3.20
52
61
7
2
3.42
3.18
29
17
159
3
1
3.01
3.04
61
117
13
8
3.09
3.09
51
53
282
8
–
2.86
2.87
42
60
7
–
3.30
3.21
13
18
133
1
–
3.15
3.17
41
89
6
1
3.05
3.09
21
45
196
1
1
3.20
3.18
96
133
21
11
3.17
3.31
35
63
327
806
384
1,190
2
–
3.13
3.26
96
Employability
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Table I.
Graduate’s
breakdown by
employment status,
WOW participation,
major, and
average GPA
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106
Table II.
Independent
variables defined
Variable
WOW
Coding
1
0
Scaled
Description
Student participated in the WOW program
Student did not participated in the WOW program
GPA
Based on a 4.0 scale using a six-point interval scale, A,
A−, B+, B, etc.
Max: 4.0, min: 2.19, avg.: 3.14 for the whole sample
Campus
1
Abu Dhabi (capital city)
0
Dubai (country’s business center and Media City
location)
Days
Numeric Calculated based on this study’s cut-off
Max: 1,461, min: 837, avg.: 1,176
Age
Numeric Age at graduation
Max: 32, min: 21, avg.: 24
Emirate1a
1
Resident of Abu Dhabi
0
Not a resident of Abu Dhabi
Emirate2a
1
Resident of Dubai
0
Not a resident of Dubai
Design variables coding
Majors
IS
CBS
COM
FS
ED
Information Systems (IS)
1
0
0
0
0
College of Business Sciences (CBS)
0
1
0
0
0
Communication (Com)
0
0
1
0
0
Family Science (FS)
0
0
0
1
0
Education (EDU)
0
0
0
0
1
Arts and Sciences
0
0
0
0
0
Notes: aIf both Emirate 1 and Emirate 2 are zero it indicates that the graduate is a resident of any of
the five remaining emirates: Sharjah, Ajman, Umm AlQuwain, RasAlKhaimah, or Fujairah
They suggest using a 0.25 level of significance as a screening criterion. However,
Greene (1993) recommended first estimating a general model with all suspected
variables and then simplifying the general model by dropping insignificant variables.
The estimated general model included all the independent variables listed in Table II in
order to explore their relationship to employability.
The main variable investigated in this study was participation in the WOW
program while enrolled in undergraduate study. It was hypothesized that participation
would contribute positively to the probability of employment after graduation. GPA at
the time of graduation was also expected to have a positive relationship with
employability. Research by Benz et al. (1997) is among that which has asserted that
employers screen job applicants based on GPA and found that higher GPA contributed
positively to the likelihood of post-graduate employment. This research project also
examined field of study (i.e. major) to determine if employability was dependent on a
particular major. Additionally, the relationship between major, campus location, and
emirate of residency was also tested. It was hypothesized that graduate residents of the
two main cities – Abu Dhabi and Dubai – would have increased likelihood of
employment (compared to those residing in other areas) due to their proximity to job
opportunities. Given the adjacency of Media City (Dubai) and the positioning of Dubai
as the ‘Business Capital’ of the UAE with regard to the plethora of private sector
opportunity, it was anticipated that Communication majors as well as Business
graduates from Dubai would experience a higher probability of employment than their
Abu Dhabi counterparts. Although age at graduation was investigated it was expected
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that it would not be a significant factor in employability. All graduates in the sample
entered ZU immediately after high school, and the average age in the sample tested was
24 years. Lastly, it was expected that the days variable would be positively correlated
with employability reflecting a natural relationship.
The results of fitting the logistic regression models to all suspected independent
variables and all possible theoretical interactions are listed in Table III. The calculated
odd ratios and marginal effects explain the effect of these variables on the probability
of employability. The table presents, for each variable listed in the first column, the
following information: the estimated coefficient, standard error of the estimated
coefficient, the estimated odds ratio, marginal effect, and the standard error of marginal
effect (Table IV).
To measure the goodness of fit for the logistic models, the researchers employed
count R2 (Maddala, 1992) defined as:
Count R2 ¼
Employability
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107
Number of correct predictions
Total number of observations
For multivariate models, the variance inflation factor VIF and the condition number CN
were calculated to test for multicollinearity, a measurement suggested by Belsley et al.
(1980). The rule of thumb is that condition numbers that are excessively larger than 20
should be considered an indicator of possible multicollinearity problems (Greene, 1993).
A variance inflation factor value greater than 10 will also confirm a potential
multicollinearity problem.
The estimated multivariate logistic regression models correctly classified employed
graduates 78.7 percent of the time, and represented a significant improvement over the
null model with only the constant (−2 log likelihood ¼ 1,112.2; χ2 (df ¼ 4) ¼ 283.1,
p ¼ 0.00). The calculated CN and VIF were 25.5 and 1.183, respectively, indicating that
multicollinearity was not a problem.
The results of the multivariate model showed that students who participated in the
WOW program were more than twice as likely to be employed after graduation than
non-participants. This was indicated by an odds ratio of 2.32 (1.79, 5.02). The campus
location variable lost its statistical significance in the multivariate model. However,
Variable
Β
SE
Ψ
Log likelihood
p
Constant
WOW
Campus
Cohort
GPA
0.956
0.546
−0.363
0.792
0.992
0.065
0.257
0.131
0.056
0.172
1.73
0.69
2.20
2.70
1,390.5
1,387.8
1,138.5
1,360.8
0.026
0.006
0.000
0.000
Variable
Β
SE
Wald
p
Ψ
Constant
WOW
Campus
Cohort
GPA
−4.554
0.845
−0.234
0.776
0.768
0.642
0.289
0.152
0.057
0.192
8.53
2.37
187.64
16.01
0.003
0.123
0.000
0.000
2.32
0.79
2.17
2.15
Table III.
Results of fitting
univariate logistic
regression models
Table IV.
Model 1, results
of fitting
multivariate logistic
regression model
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108
its coefficient had a negative sign confirming the higher percentage of employment in
Dubai compared to Abu Dhabi. Total employment percent in both cities was 75.2
and 67.9 percent, respectively. The remaining variables, cohort and GPA, continued
to be statistically significant in the multivariate model. A GPA odds ratio of
2.15 indicated that students who graduated with higher GPAs were twice as likely to
be employed as students who had lower GPAs. The cohort variable was correlated
with employment status and it was included in the model since employment status
was affected by time since graduation. The results indicated that graduates
were twice as likely to be employed with more time passed since graduation
compared to those recently graduated. The cohort odds ratio should be interpreted
keeping in mind that a unit increment in the cohort variable represents an increment
of six months.
A second multivariate logistic regression model was fitted, model “2,” to test the
relationship between major and employability and any interaction between
theoretically linked variables. The relationship between campus location and major
was the principle interaction tested. This was undertaken to determine if the
macroeconomic environment of both cities had an effect on certain major’s prospects
for employment. In addition, interaction between WOW participation and major was
tested to ascertain if participation in the WOW program contributed to employability
by field of study. Lastly, the interaction between WOW participation and GPA was
tested to see if high-academic achievement along with participation in the WOW
program had a positive effect on employability (Table V).
The estimated multivariate logistic regression model correctly classified employed
graduates 78.4 percent of the time, and represented a significant improvement over
the null model with only the constant (−2 log likelihood ¼ 1,095.8; χ2 (df ¼ 8) ¼ 299.6,
p ¼ 0.00). The calculated CN and VIF were 23 and 2.23, respectively, indicating that
multicollinearity was not a problem. Model 2 was determined to be a comprehensive
model because it included all relevant variables including any possible interactions.
The Wald test was used to eliminate insignificant variables in the general model with
Variable
Table V.
Model 2, results
of fitting
multivariate logistic
regression, Model 1,
plus interactions
Β
SE
Wald
p
Ψ
Constant
−4.637
0.665
48.60
WOW
1.899
0.674
7.93
0.005
6.677
Cohort
0.788
0.057
188.46
0.000
2.199
IS
0.321
0.148
4.68
0.030
1.379
GPA
0.778
0.199
15.27
0.000
2.176
WOW × Campus
−1.326
0.751
3.11
0.077
1.53a
Campus × Edu.
−0.480
0.214
5.04
0.025
0.47b
Campus
−0.145
0.159
0.82
0.364
0.865
Edu.
−0.127
0.159
0.64
0.422
0.880
Notes: aThis is the total odds ratio for the interaction term WOW by Campus after being adjusted for
the main effects (Hosmer and Lemeshow, 1989). The total odds of being employed if you are from
Abu Dhabi campus and participated in the WOW program is expressed as: 1.53 ¼ 6.677 (odds of being
employed if you participated in the WOW program) × 0.865 (odds of being employed if you are from
Abu Dhabi campus) × 0.265 (odds (original) of being employed if you were from Abu Dhabi campus
and participated in the WOW program); b0.47 ¼ 0.865 (odds of being employed in you are from Abu
Dhabi campus) × 0.880 (odds of being employed if you majored in Education) × 0.619 (odds (original) of
being employed if you were from Abu Dhabi campus and majored in Education)
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the exception of campus and eduvariables, as their inclusion was required to
allow the calculation of their interaction with other variables. By comparing the
coefficients of the four common variables (WOW, campus, cohort, GPA) between
Models 1 and 2, it is very clear that the inclusion of the IS and Edu majors and
interaction variables the WOW coefficient almost doubled from 0.845 to 1.899
indicating evidence of both confounding and interaction effect. This effect was
primarily as consequence of the inclusion of the WOW × campus interaction variable
whereas the other three variables coefficients did not change significantly. This
finding was consistent with the data used as more students participated in the WOW
program on the Abu Dhabi campus than on the Dubai campus. Furthermore, as
previously indicated, due to staff turnover on the Dubai campus, WOW data were not
maintained for the years 2000 and 2001.
Results
This study investigated factors that contributed positively to graduate employability.
The main factor of interest was participation in the ZU employability skills development
program, WOW, while a ZU undergraduate student. Furthermore, the study examined
additional (theory-generated) factors that may have positively contributed to
employment post-graduation. These included GPA, major, and campus location.
The findings show that graduates who participated in the WOW program were
6.7 times more likely to be employed after graduation than those who did not.
This finding is congruent with previous similar studies conducted in other parts of the
world (Hashim, 2012; Baker and Henson, 2010; Callanan and Benzing, 2004; Gault et al.,
2010; Lowden et al., 2011; Rasul et al., 2012). Results from other studies in Europe
downplayed the effects of employability skills development courses on graduates’
employability. Rather, they endorsed investing in employment-based training and
experience, and involving employers in training courses (Cranmer, 2006).
The results also show that high-academic performance indicated by GPA also
contributed positively to graduates’ employability. Graduates with high GPAs were
more likely to be employed than graduates with lower GPAs. This finding is consistent
with results from other studies (Benz et al., 1997; Gokuladas, 2011). In other related
research results, the main determining factor of graduates’ starting salaries is their
GPA (Chia and Miller, 2008).
Of interest to the researchers is the finding that Information Systems graduates
were 1.4 times likely to gain employment than other graduates. These results are
consistent with the overall data used in this study as Information System graduates
comprised the highest percent of the graduate sample (n ¼ 27 percent) and their
employment rate was the second highest (n ¼ 75 percent).
The model results indicate that there is statistical evidence to support the existence
of interaction between study at the Abu Dhabi campus and participation in the WOW
program and study at the Abu Dhabi campus and majoring in Education. The first
interaction can be attributed to greater participation by students from the Abu Dhabi
campus: of the 106 graduates who participated in the WOW program, 77 were from the
Abu Dhabi campus (n ¼ 72 percent). These graduates were 1.53 times likely to be
employed than their Dubai counterparts.
The second interaction, study at the Abu Dhabi campus and majoring in Education,
demonstrated an odds ratio of 0.47. This indicates that graduates from the College of
Education (Abu Dhabi campus) were half as likely to be employed as their counterparts
in Dubai. In a post-study interview with the Assistant Dean of the College of Education
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110
in Abu Dhabi, it was indicated that the hiring process in the emirate of Abu Dhabi was
hampered by bureaucracy and red tape, and this was not the case in Dubai. The results
of the model captured evidence of inefficiency and provided evidence to support the
need to review the emirate of Abu Dhabi educational zone hiring process.
This assertion has recently been corroborated by leading Emirati and expatriate
education professionals (AmCham Abu Dhabi, 2013).
Although the data come from a single university, the organizations involved
represent a cross-section of private, semi-government, and government employers
across the UAE. These employers also recruit from other universities in the country;
therefore, the decisions these employers make with regard to ZU graduates are
generalizable to the decisions that they make with regard to other universities in the
country. The findings of this study provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of ZU’s
WOW program in fostering graduate employment and in meeting UAE government
goals vis-à-vis the full participation of Emirati females in the labor force and provide
support for the continued resourcing and expansion of this program. Additionally, the
researchers believe awareness of these findings may encourage students to re-double
their efforts toward academic achievement and professional preparation.
Recommendations
This study is one of the very few in the Arabian Gulf region that has examined the link
between undergraduate student participation in university-sponsored employment
skills development programs and actual employment post-graduation. In light of the
results of this study and the results of other similar studies, the following
recommendations may enrich employment development programs.
Multidimensionality
A focus on “generic skills” such as numeracy, communication, and IT (Miller et al., 2013) in
combination with specialized technical skills and frameworks such as the DOTS model
support the notion of interdisciplinary collaboration. The DOTS model includes “Decision
learning – decision making skills,” “Opportunity awareness – knowing what work
opportunities exist and what their requirements are,” “Transition learning – including job
searching and self-presenting skills,” and “Self-awareness – in terms of interests, abilities,
values, etc.” (Law and Watts, 1977; Watts, 2006, pp. 9-10 cited in Pool and Sewell, 2007, p.
279). An interdisciplinary design incorporating employability skills and career awareness
in partnership with university academic programs, career service and development
centers (Baker and Henson, 2010), and stakeholders from the private and public sectors
may enhance outcomes.
Input
Baker and Henson (2010) maintained that targeted input from those working in the
field can aid program improvement. Rasul et al. (2012) suggested seven employability
skill measures: “interpersonal skills, thinking skills, personal qualities/values, resource
skills, system & technology skills, basic skills and informational skills” (p. 43). It is
important to spread awareness of these employability skill measures to graduates,
students and their parents, faculty members, career service advisors, and practitioners
involved in employability services (Pool and Sewell, 2007) so that they may contribute
to program improvements and effectiveness.
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Service-learning
Research shows that participation in service-learning client projects as part of credit
bearing courses benefits students during internships and post-graduate employment
(Baker and Henson, 2010; Cranmer, 2006; Kramer-Simpson et al., 2015).
Incentives
Incentivize participation in ways that allow student and post-graduate employment
seekers to standout to employers such as consideration for “extra-curricular” awards
and the inclusion of (non-credit bearing) hours on students’ official academic records.
This is similar to a scheme launched at the University of Nottingham, “Inside
Employment” (Baker and Henson, 2010).
Replication
Although the findings shed light on a topic of great importance in the United Arab
Emirates (Emiratization of the labor force), they are limited in that the data
were collected from only one institution, and as such, may not be generalizable.
In light of changes in the undergraduate programs at ZU since the period of the
study (i.e. introduction of international students, growing male student
population, administrative and resource re-alignment, changes in academic
offerings), future research may wish to replicate this study encompassing these
new elements. Additionally, replication at ZU’s sister institutions (UAEU, HCT),
which are located in other geographic areas of the country, have slight variances in
student profiles, and differ in academic organization and offerings may elucidate the
generalizability of the findings. Moreover, with the acceleration of private tertiary
education in the UAE, it may be of use to see if the findings are congruent in this
milieu as well.
Conclusion
Employability skills development programs offer undergraduate students
opportunities (e.g. internships, work placements, role-play) to develop skills
(e.g. communication, relationship management), and traits (e.g. reliability,
professionalism) that have been found to enhance post-graduate employment.
The WOW program has been successful in helping ZU graduates join the labor
force and in doing so contribute to supplying the UAE economy with the needed
human capital.
The findings of this study have shown that for ZU female, undergraduate students,
post-graduation employment was enhanced through participation in the universitysponsored employability skills development program, WOW. These findings are
consistent with past research from other areas of the world.
Notes
1. Gender was not considered as a variable as the data pool was exclusively female.
2. Due to historical factors, racial divisions are neither as socio-culturally salient nor as clearly
delineated in the United Arab Emirates as they are in other areas of the world and as such it
was in the authors’ accumulated 40 + years of experience in the United Arab Emirates not
a factor of relevance in this study as the entire population examined was Emirati.
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About the authors
Dr Osama El-Temtamy is the Associate Dean of the College of Business at Zayed University,
United Arab Emirates.
Dr K. Kathleen O’Neill is the Director of the eMBA and MMIB programs for the College of
Business at Zayed University, United Arab Emirates. Dr K. Kathleen O’Neill is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: f7740@zu.ac.ae
Dr Sadiq Midraj is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Zayed University,
United Arab Emirates.
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