




































             American International Journal of Business and Management Studies  

Vol. 3, No. 1; 2021 

ISSN 2641-4937   E-ISSN 2641-4953 

Published by American Center of Science and Education, USA 

 

49 

DOES INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES MATTERS ON THE 

EMPLOYABILITY READINESS AMONG ENGINEERING 

GRADUATES IN THE HIGH EDUCATION INSTITUTES IN 

OMAN  
 

 

Masoud Rashid Al Hinai 

PhD Research Fellow 

 Faculty of Business and Accountancy  

University of Selangor 

 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 

 E-mail: alhinai6602@gmail.com 
 

Dr. Abul Bashar Bhuiyan 

Associate Professor 

 Faculty of Business and Accountancy 

 University of Selangor 

 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 

 E-mail: bashariuk@gmail.com  
 

Dr. Nor Azilah Husin 

Associate Professor & Deputy Dean 

Faculty of Business and Accountancy 

 University of Selangor 

 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 

E-mail: nor_azilah@unisel.edu.my 

 

 

Received: October 03, 2021  Accepted: October 30, 2021  Online Published: November 25, 2021  

 

DOI: 10.46545/aijbms.v3i1.223                             URL: https://doi.org/10.46545/aijbms.v3i1.223 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

The aim of this study is to examine the effects individual attributes on the Employability Readiness 

among engineering graduates of the High Education Institutes in Oman. The study adopted self-

directed structured questionnaire which was distributed to a sample of engineering students and 

graduates from a number of colleges and universities. The study used the structural equation 

modelling (SEM)  for analysing the collected data.  The findings of the statistical analysis of the 

study showed the most influential individual attributes on graduates’ readiness for employability 

are workshop attendance that affect the attainment of the technical skills of the graduates, family 

motivations, and graduates’ career orientations that help graduates to identify future career 

requirements and future career opportunities, and graduates’ personal learning targets. Also, 

class attendance, academic excellence, financial sources, and parents’ career position showed 

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high important effects as well. The findings of this attribute which consist of the individual 

attributes of personnel’s’ values, attitudes, abilities, and work-life balance enhance the graduates 

attainment of the adaptability and flexibility attributes for their future readiness for employability. 

Therefore, study findings showed Individual attributes factor has high influence on the Readiness 

for Employability of the graduates in Oman. Finally, the study’s implementations and 

recommendations could be transferred to the Gulf and Arab or other countries’ contexts having 

similar settings of HE systems and similar issues of skills gap and employability concern of their 

graduates.    

 

Keywords: Individual Attributes, Employability Readiness, Engineering Graduates, High 

Education Institutes, Oman 

 

INTRODUCTION 
One of the essential objective of the Higher Education (HE) system in Oman is enhancing the 

skills and qualities of the fresh graduates to meet the requirement of the labor market, however, 

most graduates still lack the acquirement of the required Readiness for Employability skills (Al 

Hinai, Bhuiyan, & Husin, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c; Lim, Lee, Yap, & Ling, 2016; Rahman & 

Bhuiyan, 2019; Yang, Cheung, & Fang, 2015). 

Many kinds of studies found that graduates of the HEIs in Oman and regional countries 

face strong challenges to get easily employed because those graduates seriously lack the 

employability skills (AlMunajjed, Sabbagh, & Insight, 2011). As a result of the Skills Gap of the 

HE graduates, the unemployment rate among the Omani graduates is high as  another research 

concluded that many Omani youth graduates spend more than three years to find a job (NCSI, 

2015). A recent study on the desired Readiness for Employability skills required for Omani 

Engineers listed thirteen essential skills including Analytical thinking or critical thinking, Problem 

solving skills (The ability to analyze facts and situations), Creative thinking (The ability to develop 

and apply appropriate solutions), Communication skills including listening and questioning, 

Capacity for lifelong learning including readiness to contribute to new ideas, Capacity for lifelong 

learning including openness to new ideas, Teamwork including respecting others, cooperating, 

negotiating / persuading, and contributing to discussions, Professional ethics and morality, 

Entrepreneurial skills, Leadership skills, Proficiency in written and oral English, Specialization 

and industrial required technical skills, Capacity for applying knowledge in practice (Al Hinai et 

al., 2020a). Also, in an important study of graduates attributes factors affecting the Engineers 

graduates’ attainment of the required Readiness for Employability skills, five attributes factors 

were believed to have the most influential matters on the acquirement of required employability 

skills including Human capital attributes, Social capital attributes, Individual attributes, 

Institution-Related attributes, and Active learning attributes (Al Hinai et al., 2020b).  

Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of Individual attributes factors on the 

graduates’ readiness for employability to improve the quality of engineering education which 

consequently, will enable the engineering colleges to produce graduates suitable for employment. 

More specifically, this study aims to answer the following question.  

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 

The aspect of individual attributes has recognised as an essential part of a career success (Fugate 

& Ashforth, 2003). For any graduates having adaptability and flexibility attributes help the 

graduate to deal with any required change and also make the graduate ready to deal with  future 

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career changes and therefore he can enhance his job desired outcomes (Fugate, Kinicki, & 

Ashforth, 2004; Heijde & Van Der Heijden, 2006). Bridgstock (2009) in his paper “The graduate 

attributes we've overlooked: Enhancing graduate employability through career management 

skills”, splits career skills into as “self-management skills and career building skills”. The self-

management skills consist of the individual attributes of personnel’s’ “values, attitudes, abilities, 

aptitudes, interests and work-life balance”. While career building skills help graduates to sail and 

progress in their careers (Bridgstock, 2009). Therefore, graduates are desired to attain the 

adaptability and flexibility attributes for their future readiness for employability. 

In a study of the effect of the individual and personnel attributes of the graduates and their 

effect on employability, productive self-management skills (organisation, planning, and self-

discipline) ,creative and innovative skills (work independently, entrepreneurship, self-motivated, 

and innovative thinking), new technology adaptation skills (information computer technology 

skills and use of modern tools, equipment and technologies), personal attributes and individual 

differences (ethical conduct, positive attitude, and responsibility), lifelong learning skills, 

leadership skills, and finally global citizenship skills (Knowledge of another Language and 

awareness of global issues) were found essential for graduates Readiness for Employability  

(Sarfraz, Rajendran, Hewege, & Mohan, 2018). 

Also, in an analysis study of the influencing factors of job attainment. The study findings 

indicated that work place decision preferences widely in line with the common believe of the 

contents of graduates’ attributes factors, consisting of work technical experience, attainment of 

required industrial generic skills and abilities, and finally the outstanding integrity of the graduate 

which is an important individual attributes affecting skills and career attainmen (Jackson, 2014). 

Besides, “integrity, reliability and teamwork” which are graduates individual attributes were found 

as the most essential generic skills connected to employability of graduates (Gupta, Singh, & 

Kaushik, 2018). In addition, another study found that students lack the understanding of the sets 

of the employability skills of the fourth industrial revolution as a strong indication of gap of 

employability skills provided by the HEIs and the labour market demands which affect individual 

graduates getting employability (Pauceanu, Rabie, & Moustafa, 2020).  

Additionally, the importance of individuals classroom attendance, training induction 

learning, and evaluation activities in the WIL episode were recognised essential for the 

development of the required employability skills and recognition of elements which hinder ability 

accumulation and achievement. Besides, work induced training programmes as well as course size, 

format and layout found to be important as well (Jackson, 2015). Also, a new approach to 

employability was considered by developing a framework that incorporates six key dimensions 

which included human capital, social capital, individual attributes, individual behaviours, 

perceived employability, and labour market factors. The study was based on UK and Australian 

data. The study model contributed to the understanding of the individual, institutional and 

contextual variables that impact employability and career results among graduates. Moreover, the 

model also identified zones of individual obligation (for students and graduates) (Clarke, 2018). 

Others emphasis essentially at self-perception for graduates employment success. They 

have different definition for employability to be based in the individual’s perception of the 

possibility of getting and sustaining employment. Thus individual perception of employability is 

connected to what the graduate himself do to attain competencies including his abilities, capacities 

and skills along with his behavioural attitude towards employment and future career (Vanhercke, 

De Cuyper, Peeters, & De Witte, 2014). Also, students’ manner of speaking, their mental alertness, 

and their ability for presenting ideas found to be dominated in a study of identifying the Most 

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Predictive Attributes among Employability Signals of undergraduate Students . While, the other 

attributes such as the physical conditions of the graduates, their self-confidence, their 

communication skills abilities, the students’ performance rating, and the graduates’ general 

appearance scored as stated respectively (Casuat & Festijo, 2020). 

Therefore, the individual attributes elements intended to be analysed in this study are 

Personal planning, Career Orientations, Class attendance, Family motivation, Parents  career 

position, Academic excellence, and Financial sources of study (Al Hinai et al., 2020b).   

Finally, the initial theoretical framework representing the relationship among the study 

variables is presented in figure 1. This portion of the framework is obtained from a wider study of 

factors affecting the Readiness for employability among Engineering graduates of the HEIs in 

Oman (Al Hinai et al., 2020b).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. The influence of Individual Attributes on Graduates’ Readiness for Employability 

among Engineering graduates of the HEIs in Oman  

 

H1: There is a significant relationship between Individual attributes and graduate’s readiness 

for employability among engineering graduates of the HEIs in Oman. 

 

METHODOLOGY 

The simple random characteristic strategy of the sampling technique was utilised by collecting 

data from an intended sample consisting from 340 random sample of engineering students obtained 

from different HEIs in Oman. To ensure the validity and clarity of the questionnaires, a panel of 

experts were consulted consisting of two academic engineering experts and two language experts. 

The findings of this study are accomplished utilizing the quantitative statistical methodology 

approach. This approach implements a numerical analysis using survey questionnaires as the base 

to collect data from students, and graduates (Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Dörnyei, 2007).. 

Human Capital Theory were utilised as the underpinning theory of the study since it 

examines the financial benefits resulting from the investments in people’ skills and resources. Such 

investment will result to have highly-skilled labors placed in highly-skilled careers, which could 

improve the nation’s economy and prosperity (Becker, 1962; Leslie & Brinkman, 1988; 

McMahon, 2009; Schultz, 1963; Slaughter, Taylor, & Rosinger, 2015). Also, two statistical 

programs are used for data analysis. The first one is the use of the Statistical Package for the Social 

Studies (SPSS) version 26.0 to administer the preliminary data analysis. The second statistical 

program utilised for this study was the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-

SEM) software. This program is used for the evaluation of the reflective measurement model, 

DV 

Graduates’ 

Readiness for 

Employability 

IV 

Individual 

Attribute 

H1 

 Personal planning 

 Career Orientations 

 Class attendance 

 Family motivation 

 Parents  career 

position 

 Academic excellence 

 Financial sources of 

study 

 Workshop attendance 

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structural model, path analysis, and hypotheses testing (Hair Jr, Sarstedt, Ringle, & Gudergan, 

2017). 

 

DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND FINDINGS 

Testing for Normality 

The descriptive statistics present the statistical distribution of the study data that includes the 

observed variables, the means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis. The SPSS 26 version 

software was used to provide the descriptive statistics which highlights the statistical distribution 

of the collected data of the sampled pilot test. This statistical data represents the study assigned 

variables, the means and the standard deviations. In addition, skewness, and kurtosis are employed 

for testing the normality of the data. Table 1 show the results of the descriptive statistics calculation 

and testing the normality of the data. As shown in the tables, all selected variables have skewness 

values as well as kurtosis values within the range -3 and +3 which signify that the study variables 

are normally distributed. Specifically, the recommended values for skewness are between 3 and + 

3, and the values for kurtosis are between - 10 to + 10 when using SEM (Urbano, 2013).  

 

Table 1.  The skewness and kurtosis for normality 

 

Descriptive Statistics  

 

N Skewness Kurtosis  

Statistic Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error 

Normality 

assumption 

IA1 340 -.999 .132 .977 .264 Normal 

IA2 340 -1.145 .132 1.486 .264 Normal 

IA3 340 -1.028 .132 .905 .264 Normal 

IA4 340 -1.174 .132 1.568 .264 Normal 

IA5 340 -.755 .132 .220 .264 Normal 

IA6 340 -1.273 .132 1.511 .264 Normal 

IA7 340 -1.122 .132 1.015 .264 Normal 

IA8 340 -.706 .132 -.367 .264 Normal 

IA9 340 -.971 .132 .568 .264 Normal 

IA10 340 -.549 .132 -.087 .264 Normal 

 

Table 2.  Mean and standard deviation-Individual Attributes  

Descriptive Statistics-Individual Attributes 

Item N Mean 

Std. 

Deviation 

workshop attendance of graduates enhances their attainment of 

readiness of employability skills 

340 5.8382 1.33271 

family motivations elevate graduates' attainment of readiness of 

employability skills 

340 5.7588 1.32619 

graduates with clear career orientations can easily identify future 

career requirements 

340 5.6206 1.22421 

graduates who plan to achieve their learning goal(s) are more ready 

for employment 

340 5.5441 1.27413 

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Note: using Seven-Dimensional Likert scale (1represents “Strongly disagree”, and 7 represents 

“Strongly agree”) 

 

Using SPSS version 26, table 2 indicates that the most influential individual attributes on 

graduates’ readiness for employability are workshop attendance that affect the attainment of the 

technical skills of the graduates (Jackson, 2015), family motivations , graduates’ career 

orientations that help graduates to identify future career requirements and future career 

opportunities (Clarke, 2018), and graduates’ personal learning targets (Craps et al., 2017).  While, 

class attendance, academic excellence, financial sources, and parents’ career position have lesser 

effects. The findings of this attribute which consist of the individual attributes of personnel’s’ 

“values, attitudes, abilities, aptitudes, interests and work-life balance” enhance the graduates to 

attain the adaptability and flexibility attributes for their future readiness for employability 

(Bridgstock, 2009; Clarke, 2018; Oliver, 2016).  

 

Table 3.    Summary of measurement model findings   

 

 Constructs (Latent 

Variable) 

Measureme

nt items 

(Indicators) 

Converge

nt 

Validity 

(Loading) 

Internal 

Consistenc

y 

Reliability 

Composit

e 

Reliabilit

y 

 

AVE 

Discrimina

nt 

Analysis 

   CA CR   

       

Individual 

Attributes 

IA1 
0.785 0.901 

0.921 0.59

6 

Yes 

 IA2 0.805     

 IA3 0.821     

 IA4 0.849     

 IA5 0.787     

 IA6 0.766     

 IA7 0.733     

       

       

graduates with clear career orientations can easily identify future 

career opportunities 

340 5.5353 1.33102 

graduates who set their personal learning targets are more ready for 

employment 

340 5.4912 1.34469 

academic excellence of graduates can enlarge the chances of their 

future readiness for employability 

340 5.4529 1.47171 

class attendance of graduates reinforces the attainment of readiness 

of employability skills 

340 5.2794 1.43949 

financial sources of study affect graduates' attainment of readiness of 

employability skills 

340 4.9147 1.56899 

parents' career positions magnify students' future readiness for 

employability 

340 4.9147 1.72311 

Individual Attributes Average score 340 5.4765 .98785 

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By utilising SEM-PLS 3.0 (Hair Jr et al., 2017), table 3 highlights a brief summary of the 

results obtained for the measurement model assessment which illustrates that the reliability and 

validity tests for this study. The findings shows that all the requirements of reliability and validity 

of the measurement model assessment are met. 

 

Hypothesis Testing 

To conduct the hypotheses testing connected to the structural model of the study, there are several 

elements are required to be considered. The first element, for a hypothesis to be valid, the value of 

the path coefficient of 0.1 or higher is required to account for a certain impact within the model 

(Hair, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2011). Secondly, the acceptable t-value and p-value must be greater than 

1.96 and less than 0.05 respectively (Ramayah, Cheah, Chuah, Ting, & Memon, 2018). The 

hypothesis testing result of the impact of Individual Attributes on the Readiness for Employability 

is illustrated in table 4.  

 

Table 4.    Hypothesis testing results 

  
Path 

Coefficient 

β  

T 

Statistics  

P 

Values 

5% 

BCI 

LL 

95% 

BCI 

UL 

Decision 

 (p < 

0.05) 

       

Individual Attributes -> 

Readiness for 

Employability 

0.254 3.245 0.001 0.122 0.384 Accepted 

 

The study findings highlight a significant contribution of the Individual Attributes factor 

in the Readiness for Employability of the Engineering graduates of the HEIs in Oman.  According 

to the findings, the most influential individual attributes on graduates’ readiness for employability 

are workshop attendance that affect the attainment of the technical skills of the graduates (Jackson, 

2015), family motivations , graduates’ career orientations that help graduates to identify future 

career requirements and future career opportunities (Clarke, 2018), and graduates’ personal 

learning targets (Craps et al., 2017).  While, class attendance, academic excellence, financial 

sources, and parents’ career position have lesser effects. The findings of this attribute which consist 

of the individual attributes of personnel’s’ “values, attitudes, abilities, aptitudes, interests and 

work-life balance” supported previous studies finding and came to proof its strong influence in 

enhancing the graduates attaining the adaptability and flexibility attributes for their future 

readiness for employability (Bridgstock, 2009; Clarke, 2018; Oliver, 2016). Therefore, the 

Individual attributes play relatively a significant role to encourage the graduates to have adaptable 

and flexible attitudes to job search and career self-orientation by acquiring the important career-

related Readiness for employability skills (Okay–Somerville & Scholarios, 2015). 

 

CONCLUSION AND POLICY RECOMMENDATION 

The findings of the statistical analysis of the study showed the most influential individual attributes 

on graduates’ readiness for employability are workshop attendance that affect the attainment of 

the technical skills of the graduates, family motivations, and graduates’ career orientations that 

help graduates to identify future career requirements and future career opportunities, and 

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graduates’ personal learning targets. Also, class attendance, academic excellence, financial 

sources, and parents’ career position showed high important effects as well. Therefore, HEIs are 

required to pay close attention to workshop equipment and practical activities. This element of 

individual attributes had scored the highest importance among the individual attributes items 

which directly affect the attainment of one of the most required engineering skills and competence. 

Another recommendation for HEIs is to consider involving graduates families as an important 

aspects for developing their graduates attainment of the required Readiness for Employability 

skills since family motivations along with graduates’ career orientations help graduates to identify 

future career requirements, future career opportunities, and graduates’ personal learning targets 

(Craps et al., 2017).  Also, a third recommendation for HEIs is to promote among its students the 

importance of class attendance and academic excellence for future career opportunities and 

sustainment of employability.  

Therfore, the findings of this attribute having the personnel’s graduates values, attitudes, 

and abilities had illustrated strong influence in enhancing the graduates attaining the graduates’ 

Readiness for Employability, adaptability, and flexibility for future employability (Bridgstock, 

2009; Clarke, 2018; Oliver, 2016). Therefore, the Individual attributes play relatively a significant 

role to encourage the graduates to have adaptable and flexible attitudes to job search and career 

self-orientation by acquiring the important career-related Readiness for employability skills 

(Okay–Somerville & Scholarios, 2015). Finally, the study’s implementations and 

recommendations could be transferred to the Gulf and Arab or other countries’ contexts having 

similar settings of HE systems and similar issues of skills gap and employability concern of their 

graduates.    

 

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