The effect of curriculum design and talent development philosophies on employability skills among Malaysian graduates

Abstract

The availability of a skilled workforce is necessary to support the transition of all economic sectors towards knowledge-intensive activities, drive labour productivity gains and attract investment into the country. However, there is an insufficient talent supply attributed to mismatches in workforce demand and supply associated with the problem of graduate employability. This study hypothesizes that the problem is caused by the unsatisfactory quality of higher education and ineffective management of talent development in the organization as organizations tend to focus only on exclusive philosophy. Based on literature reviewed, the relationship between curriculum design and talent development with employability skills has been widely studied. However, empirical evidence that states the effect of curriculum design and talent development philosophies on the employability skills among employed graduates is still lacking especially in the context of developing countries. Drawing on two main theories which are Human Capital Theory and Resource-Based View, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework to show the effect of curriculum design (curriculum vision, operationalization of curriculum vision, curriculum delivery and curriculum evaluation) and talent development philosophies (exclusive and inclusive) as an individual context on employability skills. The research was conducted within a span of three years among bachelor’s graduates from public and private universities who are currently working. This study employed purposive sampling technique whereby the sample population composed of 299 employed graduates. The hypotheses were evaluated using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis, known as the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The findings of this study revealed that curriculum design and talent development philosophies directly influence employability skills. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the effect of curriculum design and talent development philosophies as the predictor of employability skills in one model, and validated talent development philosophies dimension (exclusive and inclusive) has a significant influence on employability skills. As a practical contribution, this study highlights the importance of universities in updating industry-relevant curriculum content and the industry in implementing broader investment in talent development to ensure a sufficient supply of talent.