ENHANCING GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY THROUGH WORK-BASED LEARNING (WBL) APPROACH IN CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME

Abstract

With the increasing number of graduate year after year coupled with the challenging economic climate, the possibility of getting a job upon graduation appears challenging and has become a main concern for parents and students alike. Thus graduate employability has become a priority for the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia, and together with the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the industries, they are working to ensure that graduates meet the requirements of the job market. Among the initiatives that have been planned and are continuously carried out include industry involved curriculum, value infused talent, intervention programmes, internship programmes and work-based learning programmes to increase graduate employability. This paper presents the experiences in developing and implementing a 40-week structured on-the-job training or Work-based Learning (WBL) approach for the Bachelor in Civil Engineering Technology (BCT) programme offered by Politeknik Ungku Omar with partnership from the nation’s key-industry players in civil engineering and construction sector. The aims of WBL approach is to provide a real-life work environment and facilitate structured and experiential learning for BCT Year 4 students before they graduate and join the work force. This paper is explaining about WBL approach that contributed to the efficacy of graduate’s employability. This paper presents the outcomes of WBL approach of BCT students, through feedback received from the industry partners, on students’ performance. Graduate employment has significantly improved and BCT graduates are well accepted by the industries. The graduate has been recognized to be more industryready and confident in facing the challenges in the construction industry. However, the interaction with recent graduates and industry partners indicates that there are still gaps in BCT graduates’ skill sets and actions to address these gaps are discussed.