Instruction: Based on the excerpts given, write the answers to the questions below. Answer ALL questions in the spaces provided and answers should be related.

NO. EXCERPT1 Employers want employees to possess employability skills; that employers value generic

employability skills over specific occupational (technical) skills; and that employers (Cotton, 2001)

2 Employers placed emphasis on correct work attitude and generic/non technical skills (Natriello, 1989).

3 The construction industry is creative about seeking ways to connect students to an extensive range of soft skills that include professionalism, enthusiasm for work, integrity, ethics, and initiative. (Lewis, 2007)

4 Partnership for 21st Century Skills notes that managers consider 70 percent of high school graduates lacking professionalism and work ethic skills (Bronson, 2007)

5 Communication skills proficiency in English a must, other languages: Mandarin, Japanese, German, Spanish an advantage interpersonal skills -with all levels (Suan, 2004)

6 Employers prefer workers who have generic competencies like teamwork (Boud & Middleton, 2003).

7 At present, the inclination of the tertiary curriculum in Malaysia is towards preserving traditional and academic values and excluding learning for the workplace (New Sunday Times, 2002)

8 Flexible organisations need flexible, and increasingly empowered employees; that in turn calls for transformative and empowering learning.Harvey, 1999).

9 “Technical professionals in various disciplines such as information technology, engineering,architecture, and research and development are increasingly required to broaden their skill sets to master the so-called soft skills” (Bancino & Zevalkink, 2007, p. 20).

10 Another name for these "nontechnical abilities" is employability skills. "Simply stated," write "employability skills are the attributes of employees, other than technical competence, that make them an asset to the employer" Buck and Barrick (1987),

11 The competencies identified in this study are related to the soft skills that customer service providers offer to customers with whom they work. These skills center around communication skills, empathy and understanding skills, and openness to the diverse personalities and backgrounds of customers. (Smith, 2006)

12. In the Malaysian context, institutions of higher learning have been entrusted to “undertake measures to increase the proficiency of students in English and enhance their ability to access knowledge and undertake research” (Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010, p. 257).

Adapted from English Language Competency for Employment Purposes:Meeting the Needs of the Industry by Isarji Hj Sarudin,

Ainol Madziah Zubairi,Mohamad Sahari Nordin & Tunku Badariah Tunku Ahmad

*Use the excerpts only; to support your writing as if you are the one who is conducting the research

Suggested Answers:-

Theme: Soft skills, employability skills

Topic (general idea): The importance of communication skills for IIUM graduates

SECTION 1: (10 marks)

Question 1 (2 Marks)

If you were asked to write a research paper, create a possible title for your study.

Sample:

“The level of communication skills for employability of IIUM graduates”

Question 2 (4 Marks)

From the above title, write a Statement of Problem (SOP).

This section should start by showing the current assumptions and practices that people accept as given and unproblematic. The writer should then show what is wrong with those assumptions and practices. Needless to say, the problem identified must be the one that the study will address.

Sample:

“Malaysia’s efforts to move to K-economy would not be possible without the requisite K-workers. The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) was established by the government to ensure that there is sufficient supply of quality K-workers in Malaysia and to support Malaysia’s goal towards achieving K-economy.

One of MDeC challenges is to create 60,000 jobs in Malaysia by 2008; Therefore Malaysia will need to have sufficient local skilled labor to support the high knowledge intensive industries in the country. The supply of high quality K-workers has been a major concern among multinationals companies and local Information Technology (IT) firms (MDeC, 1999). The labor force would need to have high level of initial education, good literacy level and equipped with the right skills and training.

A government survey in 2005 revealed that nearly 60,000 Malaysian graduates are unemployed. Many of these graduates were from Malaysia public universities and institutes with degree in business studies and information technology. Some graduates possess qualifications that are not in demand in the job market. The unemployed graduate does not have the appropriate skills and qualification. The graduates lack communication skills, lack of confidence and lack of job experience. (News Straits Times, 2005). This clearly shows that the higher education institutions in Malaysia are unable to produce quality graduates

with relevant workplace skills. The higher education institutions would need to improve the quality of education and equip the graduates with the relevant skills. In addition, higher education institutions should also have more qualified and skills workers to support and improve the quality of tertiary education.

These problems affect the quality of the Malaysian labor force and the ability to support the development of K economy in Malaysia. The Malaysian Human Resources Ministry (2006) statistics in 2006 revealed that there were 20,217 unemployed graduates in Malaysia, and 19.5 percent of them old ICT degrees. The Human Resources Ministry had offered retraining schemes and professional training certificates to assist the jobless graduates upgrade their skills and qualifications.

This clearly indicates that Malaysia is still having problems in creating a sufficient skilled and knowledgeable work force. If the Malaysia labor force is not equipped with the proper skills and training, the economy may not be able to support the growth and development of high knowledge base industries in the country.

As the world economy is changing rapidly and becoming more competitive, the economy will have to create more high qualified, skilled, innovative and competitive labor force to support the country towards achieving K economy.”

Question 3 (4 Marks)

From the above SOP, generate two possible Objectives:

Here the writer should specify what the study aims to achieve in order to avoid being vague and to choose the appropriate research instrument. The writer should have in this section either research questions or objectives of the study. This, however, will not affect the wording so much. Each research question or objective must be answered/ achieved towards the end of the study. Hence, the writer should not come up with or add any research questions or objectives. Objectives are not recommendation.

Sample: “The objective of this research is to evaluate the quality of the workers in major higher education institutions with the requirements to perform as K-workers;

1. To measure the percentage of potential k-workers in higher education institutions. This research aims to identify whether the graduates in higher education institutions are equipped with the qualification, skills and competencies of a k-worker. The measurement for k-workers will focus on academic qualification, working experience, Inter-personal skills, intra-personal skills and ICT skills (OEDC, 2001).

2. To identify the major factors that contributes towards the development of K-worker skills. The factors will focus on higher education, working experience and training programs.”

SECTION 2: (10 marks)

Based on the excerpts above, write an introduction to this study with correct APA in-text citation style (at least 2 citation is needed). The word limit should be about 150-200.

In this section an overview of the topic should be presented. The writer should refer to some sources that have covered the topic broadly e.g. books. This means that a review of specific (case) studies related to the writer’s study should be avoided here as such studies will be reviewed in the literature review. Hence, this section should familiarize readers with the topic by offering a general literature review. This means the writer should explain the key concepts under investigation and probably give some information about their history.

i. Quotationii. Paraphraseiii. Synthesise (saying the same thing in different words)

SAMPLE:

“Sarudin, lsarji and Zubairi, Ainol Madziah and Nordin, Mohamad Sahari and Tunku Ahmad, Tunku Badariah (2011) English language competency for employment purposes: meeting the needs of the industry. In: Language Studies in the Muslim World. IIUM Press, IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, pp. 179-208. ISBN 978-967-0225-23-4 “

“…….. (Cotton, 2001) “

“Cotton ( 2001) stated that …”

“Graduates may be able to look forward to higher salaries and more job opportunities this year, but employers have warned that students still lack the "soft skills" needed in most workplaces.”

“students had failed to match academic achievement with leadership, teamwork and communication skills.”

“Employers said "recruitment challenges" included a lack of applicants with the right combination of skills or with the right qualifications for specific job roles, particularly in engineering and construction work.”

“ The Business Council of Australia recently stated that universities and college in Australia are turning out graduates who are lacking job skills. Australian employers are concerned about the graduate’s lack of skills in creativity, initiative, oral business communication and problem solving. There has been and increasing recognition of the importance of delivering ‘employability skills’ associated with communication, teamwork and problem solving for innovative business. (Maiden and Kerr, 2006)”

“The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) reported that employers see the graduate students are lacking communication skill, technical (computer) skills, and execution (problem solving) skills. In the rapidly changing world it is important that these graduate students be adaptable and is able to develop the appropriate skills (MBAE, 2006). Massachusetts faced serious problem of finding skilled workers to fill industry positions. In 2004, Massachusetts business had 59,891 unfilled job opening, simultaneously there 164,200 unemployed and 746,000 with a high school diplomas (MBAE,2006) .”

“The Malaysia government conducted a survey on Malaysian graduates and the results showed about 60,000 Malaysian graduates were unemployed due to lack of experience, poor communication skills and degrees were irrelevant to the market place (Malaysia Today, 2005). Employers today are looking for graduates not only with specific skills and knowledge but with the ability to be proactive enough to see and respond to problems. In Malaysia, more employers are searching for graduates who are balanced, with good academic achievement and possessing ‘soft skills’ such as communication skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills and the ability to be flexible (Nurita, Shahrudin & Ainon, 2004). The Ministry of Human Resources states that more than 65% of the female graduates in the country are unemployed because they lack social and communication skills (The Star, 2005). According to the findings of a Graduate Tracer Study in 2006, 30.7% of graduates remained unemployed six months after convocation, while 5.7% were awaiting job placement (News Straits Times, 2007). “

“According to Khir (2006), graduates now are lacking in both technical know-how and generic skills. Competence on the fusion of both domains of specific knowledge and generic skills, so efforts to increase graduates’ competence must cover both areas. They have been highlighted in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (Jailani et al, 2006). Educational institutions have come under intense pressure to equip students with more than just academic skills. A number of reports issued by employers have urged universities to make more explicit efforts to develop the ‘key’, ‘core’, ‘transferable’, ‘soft’, ‘employable’ and ‘generic skills’ needed in many types of employment. Therefore it is important for education institutions to have a working relationship with industry to meet the requirements and need of the employers (Gurvinder and Sharan, 2008).”