Graduate employees’ generic skills and training needs

As a response to technological changes, globalization, sector reforms and changes in output demand, there is an increased demand for generic skills in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to investigate through perceptions of graduate employees and their employers on the extent to which university education in Nigeria is responding to the increased skills requirements of employers.

Data were collected by the use of two sets of questionnaires and purposive sampling technique was adopted for sample selection. Past surveys of employers on skills requirements in Nigeria were used as a reference in the selection of the 11 generic skills used in the instrument. Data were analysed using simple percentages, descriptive statistics and χ².

All the listed generic skills are regarded as important by graduate employers. The employed university graduates believed that in terms of generic skills, they were not adequately prepared to meet the requirements of their jobs. Moreover, employers believed that their graduate employees would require further training to a large extent to perform satisfactorily in their jobs.

Taking a divergent view, the study has established the perceptions of employed university graduates themselves on the extent to which university education has prepared them in meeting the skills requirements of their jobs. Furthermore, apart from confirming the extent of further training required, the study empirically affirms the relative training needs of graduates from different fields of study.