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WORK-READINESS SKILLS IN THE FASSET SECTOR
Authors:
Melandi Raftopoulos1
Sanet Coetzee1
Deléne Visser1
Affi liations:
1Department of Industrial
and Organisational
Psychology, University of
South Africa, South Africa
Correspondence to:
Sanet Coetzee
e-mail:
coetzsc@unisa.ac.za
Postal address:
Department of Industrial
and Organisational
Psychology, PO Box 392,
UNISA, 0003, South Africa
Keywords:
employability skills;
graduates; transferable
skills; generic skills; career
skills
Dates:
Received: 20 Feb. 2009
Accepted: 16 July 2009
Published: 04 Sept. 2009
How to cite this article:
Raftopoulos, M., Coetzee,
S. & Visser, D. (2009).
Work-readiness skills
in the Fasset Sector. SA
Journal of Human Resource
Management/ SA Tydskrif vir
Menslikehulpbronbestuur, 7(1),
Art. #196, 8 pages. DOI:
10.4102/sajhrm.v7i1.196
This article is available
at:
http://www.sajhrm.co.za
© 2009. The Authors.
Licensee: OpenJournals
Publishing. This work
is licensed under the
Creative Commons
Attribution License.
ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to determine the work-readiness skills that are regarded as important
by employers and graduates in the Fasset Sector of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design
was used to achieve this objective. Two convenience samples, namely 24 employers and 333
graduates, completed the Work Readiness Skills Scale. This scale was validated as a one-factor
model with an alpha coeffi cient of 0.88. Oral and written communication, self-discipline, time
management, interpersonal skills and teamwork, problem-solving skills and positive work ethic
were rated as important skills for securing employment in this sector by employers and graduates
alike. In addition, employers valued numeracy skills and motivation, whereas graduates regarded
confi dence and leadership skills as important. The results have implications for the curriculum
design of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme presented to graduates in this industry.
119Vol. 7 No. 1 Page 1 of 8
INTRODUCTION
There is general consensus that the fundamental nature and structure of work, of the economy, of
family life and of society are changing globally and will continue to change at an ever-increasing rate
(Rojewski & Lasonen, 2004). This change is being sparked by increased competition due to factors such
as globalisation, higher demands for fi nancial performance, technology, speed, changing customer
needs and a focus on people as a competitive advantage (Nabi, 2003). Fewer employees are therefore
expected to have more skills in the turbulent economic environment in which organisations are fi nding
themselves (Dlamini, 2001; Lee, 1994; Nabi, 2003). Globalisation is further urging the workforce to make
rapid adjustments in fl exibility, to exhibit multi-tasking and even to manifest risk-taking (Coutinho,
Dam & Blustein, 2008).
Skills development has taken on a new signifi cance across the globe as nations and companies compete
to attract, develop and retain the best and most highly skilled workers. Oosthuizen and Kara (2008)
confi rmed that employees are critical in creating a competitive advantage and found skills development
to be one of the most prominent factors in this regard. This war for talent is also cascading down to
the employment of graduates in organisations. In this regard, Nabi (2003) argued that the optimum
use of graduate skills enhances the competitiveness of organisations. It is also evident, however, that
‘graduates are entering a more fl exible, insecure and technology-dependent workplace than ever
before’ (Smith & Kruger, 2008, p. 123) and therefore need very specifi c skills required by the workplace
in the 21st century. Since moving from an industrial to an information era in the world of work, for
example, workers are now required to be able to use logical-abstract thinking to diagnose problems,
to research and apply knowledge, to propose solutions and to design and implement those solutions,
often as a member of a team (Maclean & Ordonez, 2007).
Smith and Kruger (2008) proposed that, apart from being skilled, from having the required knowledge
in a specifi c discipline and from having the up-to-date technical skills required in a profession,
graduates also need generic skills. Smith and Kruger (2008) adopted the defi nition of the National
Centre for Vocational Education Research for this, which states that generic skills are skills that apply
across a variety of job and life contexts. In this regard, Davies (2000) defi ned transferable skills as the
ability to use skills learned in one situation in other situations. Munby, Versnel, Hutchinson, Chin and
Berg (2003) suggested a different approach to transferable or generalisable skills. According to them,
workplace knowledge and learning are highly contextual and they emphasised that more research
should explore which aspects of work are generalisable. They further argued that routines are central
to all workplaces and acknowledged that routines are different in different contexts, but emphasised
the fact that these remain routines. Raybould and Sheedy (2005) suggested that there are transferable
skills or employability skills that refer to the personal abilities of individuals that can be transferred
from one position to another and used within any profession in any stage of their careers. Maclean and
Ordonez (2007) also argued that the required skills set for jobs is changing so rapidly that employers
are looking more for trainable recruits with generic employability skills sets, such as fl exibility, a
quickness of learning and persuasive communication and teamwork, rather than recruits trained for
specifi c employment.
Workforce readiness, work-readiness skills, employability skills, workplace know-how, transferable
skills and career skills are some of the terms used to describe these generic skills needed by job entrants
to be successful in the world of work (O’Neil, Allred & Baker, 1997; Smith & Kruger, 2008; Zinser,
2003). For the purposes of this research, these skills are referred to as ‘work-readiness skills’.
Work-readiness skills
In the past two decades, several studies have been undertaken to determine the set of work-readiness
skills required of graduates. Some of the studies that may be useful in identifying a set of work-
readiness skills appropriate to graduates in the Fasset Sector in South Africa are given in historical
order in the following paragraphs.
Between 1984 and 1991, at least fi ve major studies were conducted in the United States in order to to
identify and defi ne the basic skills required by job entrants for work readiness across all jobs (O’Neil et
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al., 1997). The key underlying concern was to address economic
difficulties and the challenge of competing in world markets
(O’Neil et al., 1997).
In the late 1980s, Greenwood, Edge and Hodgetts (1987) undertook
research over 13 years to identify the skills that managers expect
from graduates. Across three studies, the following skills were
commonly identified by managers: the ability to communicate;
the ability to analyse data, to propose solutions and to make
decisions; the ability to plan, to organise and to coordinate; and
the ability to work effectively with others.
In Australia, the Mayer Committee of 1992 defined a set key of
competencies that were essential in the new workplace (Smith &
Comyn, 2004). The National Center for Research on Evaluation,
Standards, and Student Testing identified and categorised
workforce skills in five major studies (O’Neil et al., 1997). In these
studies, experts (who consisted mainly of educators, business
people, scholars and policy-makers) were asked to identify
the skills necessary in the world of work. O’Neil listed the four
categories of skills that were identified by these five studies,
which can be summarised as follows:
Basic academic skills: Basic listening and speaking skills.•
High-order thinking skills: Reasoning, problem-solving, •
creativity and decision-making skills and the ability to
learn.
Interpersonal and teamwork skills: Negotiation and conflict-•
resolution skills, leadership skills and the ability to work
with others from diverse backgrounds.
Personal characteristics and attitudes: Self-esteem, •
motivation and the taking of responsibility for personal
actions and growth.
Hughey and Mussnug (1997) pointed out that knowledge-matter
experts argue that it is important to teach people how to think,
rather than teaching them specific skills. Doncaster (2000, p.
350) agreed with this view because ‘learning how to learn rather
than simply applying known solutions to problems is becoming
an ever-more important ability’. Better decision-making and
problem-solving skills help employees to remain employable
(Hughey & Mussnug, 1997).
In South Africa, Van Schoor (2000) surveyed 322 organisations
and found that they regarded willingness and ability to learn,
business skills, interpersonal relations, leadership skills,
initiative, integrity and enthusiasm to be the most sought-after
skills, values and attitudes of graduates.
More recently, the Business Council of Australia and the
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2002) issued
a report aimed at clearly defining the concept of employability
and at providing a more widely acceptable list of employability
skills (Smith & Comyn, 2004).
Nabi (2003) maintained that graduate employability skills are
not universally defined when he considered research conducted
in the British context. He regarded graduate employability skills
as including traditional academic skills (such as the critical
evaluation of evidence, analysis, logical argumentation and
problem-solving) as well as the core or key skills that are required
by higher institutions (such as communication, numeracy and
teamwork).
Basic skills required are associated with personal development
and with occupational and information-technology skills and are
an element of competitiveness (Addis, 2003). Basic skills, such as
reading skills for the understanding of safety instructions, are
required in the workplace to function effectively. Basic writing
skills have become more important as a result of globalisation
(Addis, 2003).
Falconer and Pettigrew (2003) listed self-reliance, self-discipline,
the ability to work harmoniously with others and the ability to
apply knowledge to solve practical problems as transferable
skills. They argued that these transferable skills should be
incorporated into the curricula of university programmes.
They furthermore conducted a survey in the financial-services
profession in the UK on the range of skills considered important
by both graduates and professionals. The list of skills generated
from the study (teamwork, oral and written communication,
problem-solving, information-handling, negotiation, listening,
planning, resourcefulness and innovation) can also be grouped
according to the four groups of skills suggested by Greenwood
et al. (1987).
Zinser (2003) maintained that employability skills include
the effective management of resources, communication and
interpersonal skills, teamwork and problem-solving skills, and
the acquisition and retention of a job.
Birt, Wallis and Winternitz (2004), commenting on the variables
considered important to South African talent, emphasised
the importance of knowledge workers who are able to solve
complex problems with a good understanding of cause-and-
effect relationships and who are adaptable to changes within an
organisation and environment.
Horn (2006) viewed proficiency in mathematics, computation,
reading, writing, the effective use of resources and information,
interpersonal skills, the understanding of systems and mastering
of technology and flexibility in coping with change in the
workplace as the new competencies required in the current
knowledge era.
Smith and Kruger (2008) extensively reviewed lists of generic
skills and identified seven categories. These categories are basic
skills (such as literacy and numeracy), communication skills
(such as negotiation and conflict management), management
skills (such as planning, organising and decision-making),
environmental-awareness skills (such as business awareness),
intellectual skills (such as analysis, critical and creative thinking,
and problem-solving), self and career-management skills
(such as personal drive, resilience and self-awareness) and
interpersonal skills (such as teamwork and networking). Clarke
(2008) also reviewed the skills set making up the employability
of individuals and commented that it is unrealistic to expect
everyone to possess all these generic skills. This does, however,
highlight the importance of a broad range of personal and
transferable skills that facilitates the employment of individuals
in the 21st century (Clarke, 2008).
It is clear from the above that there are different views regarding
the skills required by graduates. Graduates, however, are
challenged to prepare themselves for the world of work and for
taking ownership of their careers without having a clear picture
of which skills are required in the work environment. This seems
like an unfair challenge.
Of particular interest is the argument by Munby et al. (2003) that
it is easy enough to compile lists of employability and essential
skills but that it is quite a different matter to conduct the
research needed to determine whether these skills are the actual
competencies sought by employers and used in the workplace.
It is therefore important that not only is a list of work-readiness
skills identified but also that research is conducted to determine
the applicability of these skills to the workplace.
Although the South African government is committed to taking
concrete steps to raise the skills profile in the labour market
(Department of Labour, 2003), there appears to be a lack of
academic research in the domain of employability skills to
support the much-needed skills-development agenda required
for the youth of this country and a lack of research relating to
issues of globalisation, knowledge, skills and development
(McGrath, 2006). Du Toit (2005) pointed to the lack of research and
the application of research evidence to inform policy decisions
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in developing countries. She called for more research aimed at
identifying the needs of clients in the different sectors that can
unearth problems experienced in the transition to employment.
She furthermore emphasised the need to determine the major
factors that either support or hinder the implementation of
successful transition or access to employment (Du Toit, 2005).
Addressing work-readiness skills development in
the Fasset Sector
In South Africa, Sector Education and Training Authorities
(SETAs) were established in terms of the Skills Development Act
97 of 1998 (Republic of South Africa, 1998). They are responsible
for the development of skills in the various sectors. Fasset is
the SETA for finance, accounting, management-consulting and
other related financial services. This includes organisations that
perform financial-service activities, such as the management
of investment entities and trusts, the rendering of company-
secretary services, the administration of financial markets,
security-dealing, stock-broking, the management of asset
portfolios, the management of development organisations,
tax, accounting, bookkeeping and auditing services, cost and
management accounting, and business and management-
consulting services (Fasset, n.d.).
By means of its sector-skills plan, Fasset analyses the demand for
and supply of skills to the sector and determines the skills needs
and skills-development priorities for the sector. It identified
the training of unemployed youth and their absorption into
the formal sector as a priority. The aim is to ensure that these
people are equipped with the necessary academic and practical
skills required in the workplace (Fasset, 2004).As a result,
the Fasset Work Readiness Programme was introduced to
improve the preparation of graduates, especially of previously
disadvantaged graduates, for the world of work. A consortium
was awarded the contract to design and execute this Work
Readiness Programme.
The 12-week Work Readiness Programme consists of both
classroom-based (structured) training and skills-based, on-the-
job training. Various modules were designed to equip graduates
with the skills required in the workplace. Apart from aspects
such as career development, networking and job-seeking
strategies, the generic employability skills covered during this
course include the following:
Essential individual skills (such as time management, •
conflict management and effective oral communication)
A positive work ethic (such as dress and grooming)•
Business knowledge and skills (such as office practice, •
effective meeting skills, written business communication,
project-management skills and presentation skills)
Team effectiveness (such as one’s role and impact in a team •
and getting along with others to achieve a common goal)
Information technology (IT) (such as basic IT skills).•
Although work-readiness programmes may benefit graduates
in many ways, they are valuable only if they address needs in
the workplace. Maclean and Ordonez (2007) substantiated this
and argued that, as the world of work changes, education and
skills development should change accordingly. In their view,
a first step in this process is for a thorough needs analysis to
be conducted. It is often more difficult, however, to measure
or articulate the mental and social skills that are needed in
employment, even though skills such as soundness of analysis,
teamwork and the ability to learn are more of a determinant
to productivity. Maclean and Ordonez therefore suggested
that education or training systems for employability should be
demand-driven rather than supply-driven.
The question addressed in this study was therefore whether
the Fasset Work Readiness Programme addresses the basic
skills that employers require from graduates when they recruit
staff for entry-level positions. Because graduates often assume
that they have the skills required for the world of work but are
subsequently disillusioned when not appointed, it was also
deemed important to investigate the perceptions of graduates
regarding the skills that they believe as important for the world
of work compared to what employers believe as important.
The objectives of this study were therefore threefold, namely
1) to conceptualise the skills and competencies required from
graduates for entry-level positions in the Fasset Sector, 2) to
develop a valid and reliable measure to evaluate the perceptions
of the importance of work-readiness skills (the Work Readiness
Skills Scale) and 3) to determine whether the skills and
competencies advanced by means of the Fasset Work Readiness
Programme and those regarded as important by graduates
are in accordance with the skills and competencies sought by
employers in the Fasset Sector.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research approach
A cross-sectional survey design was used. This design is relevant
where groups of subjects at various stages of development are
studied simultaneously (Shaughnessy & Zechmeister, 1997). In
this study, data were collected from the target population by
means of questionnaires.
Research method
Research participants
This study required two samples: a sample of companies
registered with the Fasset SETA interested in employing
graduates, and a sample of unemployed graduates. In terms
of the populations from which the samples were drawn and in
accordance with the Fasset Sector Profile (Fasset, n.d.), it was
estimated that the Fasset Sector consisted of 7 200 organisations,
which employed an estimated 92 000 employees (approximately
1% of employment in the formal sector of the South African
economy). Almost two thirds of the member organisations in
the Fasset Sector employed five or fewer employees and another
30% of the member organisations employed between six and 20
employees (Fasset, n.d.).
It was important to first establish whether employers in the
Fasset Sector employed graduates because the study could not
take place if this were not the case. Purposeful sampling was
therefore used because only employers interested in recruiting
graduates from the Fasset Work Readiness Programme would
be contacted to participate in the study.
Questionnaires were distributed to employers in the Fasset
Sector at the beginning of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme.
A total of 68 organisations registered with Fasset indicated
interest in recruiting graduates from the Fasset Work Readiness
Programme.
These 68 employers were therefore targeted for the purpose of
determining their skills requirements for graduates. Among the
26 organisations that responded, 24 of the responses were valid
because two of the organisations indicated registration with a
SETA other than Fasset. The majority of the 24 organisations (56%
or 14 out of the 24) represented the accounting, bookkeeping,
auditing and tax services subsector of Fasset. 16% of the
organisations were registered as investment entities and trusts
and as company-secretary services. None of the organisations
were registered with Fasset under the subsector of development
organisations or SARS and government organisations. Altogether
45.8% of the 24 organisations had more than 150 employees. 10
of the organisations recruited one to five graduates annually. Six
of the organisations recruited more than 51 graduates annually.
A further 3 out of the 24 organisations recruited between 21 and
50 graduates annually. The 24 organisations formed the first
sample in this study.
The second population studied was that of unemployed graduates
who had tertiary qualifications relevant to the Fasset Sector. This
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population consisted of the pool of unemployed graduates that
was recruited for the purpose of the 2006 Fasset Work Readiness
Programme. From this population, a purposeful sample of 333
graduates was drawn. These 333 candidates, who had been
successful in the first screening phase and had been invited to
attend interviews, were all asked to complete questionnaires.
The mean age of the graduates was 24.13, with the youngest
respondent being 20 and the oldest respondent being 34. A
substantial percentage of the graduates (48.9% or 163 of the 333)
indicated work experience due to part-time work, whereas 43%
of the graduates indicated no work experience at all. Only 5.4%
of the graduates (18 of the 333) had been employed in a full-time
position in the past. The majority of the graduates (66.6% or 222
of the 333) had obtained their qualifications the previous year.
Informed consent was obtained from all the participants by
means of their signature on a letter that explained the purpose of
the study. Participation was voluntary and the respondents had
the right to withdraw at any stage.
Measuring instrument
Two questionnaires were designed to obtain the information
necessary for the research:
One questionnaire targeted organisations that had registered •
with Fasset and that had indicated that they employ
graduates. The goal of the questionnaire was to determine
the work-readiness skills that these organisations regarded
as important.
A parallel questionnaire targeted the unemployed graduates •
who had participated in the 2006 Fasset Work Readiness
Programme and aimed to determine the work-readiness
skills that these graduates regarded as important.
The questionnaires were developed with the assistance
of subject-matter experts. Opinions were obtained from a
statistician, from experts in the field of academic development
and from the developers of the Work Readiness Programme.
The steps followed in the construction of the questionnaires
were a combination of the steps proposed by De Vos, Strydom,
Fouché and Delport (2002), Terre Blanche and Durrheim (2004)
and Fink (2006).
A list of work-readiness skills was drafted from the literature.
Three groups of work-readiness skills were identified based on
a qualitative analysis of available literature, namely academic/
technical skills, basic/generic/transferable skills and work
experience. The questions in the questionnaires were structured
around these three categories of skills.
The first section of this Work Readiness Skills Scale requested
the respondents to provide biographical information. The
questionnaire was accompanied by a covering letter that
included the following information: the purpose of the research
(motivating the respondent to participate); a guarantee of
confidentiality; the contact details of the researcher; instructions
for completing the questionnaire; and an offer to send the
respondent a summary of the research findings as suggested by
Fink (2006).
The second section of the Work Readiness Skills Scale consisted
of 35 questions and statements related to work readiness. The
contents of the items addressed to the organisations and to
the graduates were identical, except that, in the case of the
organisations, the items referred to the organisation involved.
The respondents were asked to indicate their answers by marking
crosses in the appropriate boxes. For the first 10 questions, the
respondents had to choose between the following six options:
‘totally disagree’; ‘disagree to a large extent’; ‘slightly disagree’;
‘slightly agree’; ‘agree to a large extent’; and ‘totally agree’.
For questions 11 to 35, the respondents had to choose between
the following five options: ‘not at all’; ‘to a slight extent’; ‘to a
moderate extent’; ‘to a large extent’; and ‘completely’.
The third section of the Work Readiness Skills Scale requested the
respondents to rank the three categories of skills or competencies
– ‘academic/technical skills’, ‘basic/generic/transferable skills’
and ‘work experience’ – on a three-point scale by indicating
‘1’ next to the most important category of skill or competency,
‘2’ next to the second-most important and ‘3’ next to the third-
most important. For the final set of items, the respondents were
instructed to select the 10 most important skills or competencies
from a list of 22. The list containing these work-readiness skills
had originally been drafted from the literature. The respondents
then had to rank their own selection of 10 skills on a scale from
1 to 10, where 10 indicated the most important and 1 the least
important.
The internal validity of the scale was ensured through face
validity and content validity. To enhance internal validity, the
questionnaires were also pilot-tested. This was done to ensure
that the questions reflected the theoretical content of the domain,
that the questions were clear and concise and that errors were
rectified (De Vos et al., 2002). The questionnaires were finalised
after feedback had been received from the respondents of the
pilot study. Construct validity and the reliability of the scale
were determined through exploratory factor analysis and
Cronbach alpha coefficients.
Research procedure
The questionnaire for the unemployed graduates was administered
in groups, which saved cost and time. All the respondents
were exposed to the same conditions while completing the
questionnaire. The questionnaire for the organisations was self-
administered because it was emailed. Each organisation’s HR
consultant responsible for graduate recruitment and selection
was telephoned before the questionnaire was emailed to explain
the importance of the research and to encourage participation.
Email reminders were sent to the respondents to encourage
them to complete the questionnaire.
RESULTS
Work Readiness Skills Scale
The first step of the analyses entailed examining the psychometric
properties of the Work Readiness Skills Scale. This step involved
determining the dimensionality of the questionnaire by means
of exploratory factor analysis and by estimating its internal
consistency reliability. The item results of the 35-item scale
administered to the 333 graduates were used for this purpose.
To determine the suitability of the data for exploratory factor
analysis, several initial diagnostic procedures were carried
out. Firstly, the skewness and kurtosis of the individual items
were examined with the purpose of eliminating items with high
skewness and kurtosis. Items 4, 8 and 18 were eliminated from the
subsequent factor analysis because their skewness and kurtosis
values exceeded the absolute values of 2 and 5, respectively.
Secondly, diagnostic tests were performed to ascertain whether
the intercorrelation matrix contained an adequate number of
substantial pairwise correlations and low partial correlations to
justify the factor analysis. Three of the items, namely Items 1, 2
and 3, yielded measures of sampling adequacy (MSAs) smaller
than 0.60. These items were therefore dropped from subsequent
analyses.
Thirdly, a principal-axis factor analysis was conducted on the
intercorrelations of the remaining items and the communalities
obtained were examined. Only Item 6 yielded a communality
smaller than 0.20. After dropping Item 6, the Kaiser Meyer-Olkin
MSA was equal to 0.88.
The above results provided sufficient justification to proceed
with a factor analysis on the remaining 28 items. Eight factors
accounting for 57.09% of the variance were extracted by means
of the principal-axis factoring technique. The resulting factor
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matrix was rotated to a simple structure using the direct
oblimin rotation procedure. The rotated factor-pattern matrix,
which includes the communalities associated with the scales, is
presented in Table 1. The variables were ordered and grouped
by size of loading to facilitate interpretation.
A second factor analysis to further reduce the number of latent
variables was prompted by the multitude of factors, the small
number of items per factor, the fact that some factors were not
adequately determined and the intercorrelations of the factors.
The input for this factor analysis was the individuals’ scores on
scales formed by combining the items into scales according to the
magnitude of the factor loadings. The process entailed allocating
every item to a single subscale, namely the subscale for which it
had its largest factor loading. Eight scores per individual were
thus intercorrelated and served as the input for the second factor
analysis. A single factor explaining 45.05% of the variance was
extracted. The factor loadings and communalities are reported
in Table 2. The authors decided to proceed with the single-factor
solution for the Work Readiness Skills Scale. The Cronbach alpha
computed for the 28-item scale was equal to 0.88 (see Table 3).
In order to compare the perceptions regarding the importance of
work-readiness skills between the graduate and organisational
groups, the difference between the means of the two groups was
tested for statistical significance by means of an independent
samples t-test. Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics for the
groups. The graduate group regarded the skills described in the
Work Readiness Skills Scale as significantly more important than
the group of HR consultants representing the 24 organisations
(t(357) = 4.80, p < 0.001). The difference was associated with a
large effect size (d = 0.806).
Ranking of the categories of skills
In the second section of the questionnaire, the graduates and
organisations were asked to rank the three categories of skills or
competencies from 1 to 3, according to what they perceived to be
the first, second and third-most important skill or competency
for graduates. The means and standard deviations of the ratings
by the graduates and organisations are presented in Table 4. A
lower mean indicates higher importance.
TABLE 1
Factor-pattern matrix for the 28-item work readiness skills scale
ITEM FACTOR h2
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 -
31 0.73 - - - - - - - 0.62
30 0.72 - -0.16 - - -0.10 - 0.13 0.65
35 0.65 - 0.10 - - - - -0.11 0.53
21 0.22 - 0.17 - - - 0.16 0.17 0.25
23 - 0.94 -0.13 - - - - -0.11 0.76
22 - 0.57 - - - - - - 0.37
24 - 0.47 - - - - - - 0.31
19 0.16 0.36 0.22 - -0.13 - - - 0.36
16 - - 0.58 - - - - - 0.39
34 0.24 - 0.35 - - - - 0.12 0.24
10 - - - 0.56 - - - - 0.33
9 0.20 - 0.24 0.50 0.12 -0.15 - -0.30 0.53
7 - 0.19 -0.12 0.33 - - - 0.12 0.21
27 0.18 - -0.14 - -0.58 - 0.21 - 0.58
26 0.10 - - 0.11 -0.52 - 0.23 - 0.50
17 0.12 - - - -0.46 -0.20 - - 0.43
14 - - 0.10 - -0.38 -0.33 -0.13 - 0.42
20 0.23 0.18 0.26 - -0.26 - - - 0.40
15 -0.13 0.13 0.22 - -0.26 - - 0.14 0.25
11 - - - - - -0.76 - - 0.53
12 - - 0.10 - - -0.52 - - 0.36
13 0.16 - - - -0.14 -0.45 0.24 -0.14 0.49
5 - - - 0.18 -0.13 -0.24 - -0.16 0.22
33 - - - - - - 0.46 - 0.24
28 0.29 - - - -0.13 - 0.38 - 0.44
32 0.20 - - - -0.11 - 0.37 0.26
25 - - - 0.12 -0.14 -0.12 0.16 0.31 0.28
29 0.18 0.12 - 0.15 - -0.11 0.19 0.22 0.32
Factor loadings smaller than 0.10 were omitted and factor loadings larger than 0.30 are in bold typeset
TABLE 3
Scale descriptives for the 28-item Work Readiness Skills Scale and comparison between means of graduates and organisations
N M SD SE (mean) SkEwNESS kuRTOSIS CRONBACh ALphA
Graduates 333 120.52 11.26 0.62 -0.48 0.38 0.88
Organisations 24 108.88 14.43 2.95
LEvENE’S TEST FOR EquALITy OF vARIANCES T-TEST FOR EquALITy OF MEANS
F p t Df p (2-tailed) 95% confidence interval of the difference
Lower upper
0.35 0.55 4.80 357 0.000 6.87 16.42
TABLE 2
Factor matrix of the second factor analysis
SCALES DEFINED By FACTORS OF INITIAL
FACTOR ANALySIS
FACTOR
LOADINGS
h2
Scale 5 (Items 26, 27, 17, 14, 20, 15) 0.78 0.62
Scale 1 (Items 30, 31, 35, 21) 0.70 0.48
Scale 3 (Items 16, 34) 0.63 0.40
Scale 6 (Items 11, 12, 13, 5) 0.62 0.38
Scale 8 (Items 32, 25, 29) 0.62 0.38
Scale 7 (Items 33, 28) 0.52 0.27
Scale 2 (Items 22, 23, 24, 19) 0.50 0.25
Scale 4 (Items 7, 9, 10) 0.48 0.23
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The results indicate that both groups rated the categories of skills
or competencies in the following order of importance:
Academic/technical skills•
Basic/generic/transferable skills•
Work experience•
The employers of graduates in the Fasset Sector and the
graduates themselves therefore regarded their academic and
technical skills as the most important category of skills required
of graduates in the world of work. Both groups viewed generic
skills to be more important than work experience.
Ranking of 22 skills or competencies
In the final section of the questionnaire, the respondents were
requested to rank the 10 most important skills in order of
importance from a list of 22 specific skills. They were requested
to select the 10 most important skills from the list and thereafter
to rank these so that a score of 10 indicated the most important
skill and a score of 1 the least important skill among the 10 skills.
In order to obtain a measure of how important each of the 22
skills was regarded by the respondents, the mean ranking per
skill was multiplied by the number of individuals who rated
that particular skill (NxM). The highest NxM score was therefore
TABLE 4
Rating of categories of skills/competencies
CATEGORy OF SkILLS/COMpETENCy GRADuATES ORGANISATIONS
N M SD N M SD
Academic and technical skills (i.e. skills obtained during studies) 294 1.72 0.76 20 1.30 0.57
Basic/generic/transferable skills (communication skills, personality characteristics, interpersonal skills and
teamwork, occupational skills, IT skills, effective management of resources, time-management skills, world
and local awareness)
294 1.83 0.77 20 1.80 0.52
Work experience 293 2.45 0.73 20 2.90 0.31
TABLE 5
descriptive statistics and ranking of skills/competencies by graduates
SkILL/COMpETENCy N M SD NxM Rank
*Oral communication 228 5.80 3.03 1322.40 1
*Self-discipline 222 5.80 2.72 1287.60 2
Confidence 200 5.48 2.63 1096.00 3
*Time management 221 4.32 2.70 954.72 4
*Interpersonal skills and teamwork 199 4.38 2.78 871.62 5
*Written communication 162 5.19 2.68 840.78 6
*Problem-solving skills 190 3.76 2.69 714.40 7
*Positive work ethic 153 4.37 2.81 668.61 8
Leadership 138 4.68 2.76 645.84 9
decision-making skills 160 3.94 2.67 630.40 10
Motivation 131 4.54 2.65 594.74 11
Adaptability 121 4.37 2.65 528.77 12
Innovation 74 3.78 2.96 479.72 13
IT skills 122 3.83 2.93 467.26 14
Negotiation skills 102 4.31 2.81 439.62 15
Mature attitude 92 4.67 2.88 429.64 16
Numeracy skills 109 3.31 2.79 360.79 17
Self-development 92 3.89 2.44 357.88 18
Self-reliance 66 4.76 2.54 314.16 19
Awareness of how changes in the world impact on the organisation 86 2.67 2.92 229.62 20
Occupation skills (job-search strategies) 50 4.54 3.25 227.00 21
Effective management of resources 59 2.63 2.41 155.17 22
* Skill/competency overlaps with those among top 10 listed in Table 6
TABLE 6
descriptive statistics and ranking of skills/competencies by organisations
SkILL/COMpETENCy N M SD NxM Rank
*Oral communication 13 6.62 2.76 86.06 1
Numeracy skills 12 7.00 2.80 84.00 2
*Positive work ethic 13 5.54 2.44 72.02 3
*Interpersonal skills and teamwork 15 4.73 2.28 70.95 4
*Self-discipline 11 5.18 2.68 56.98 5
*Problem-solving skills 9 5.33 2.96 47.97 6
Motivation 9 5.22 2.49 46.98 7
*Time management 13 3.54 2.70 46.02 8
*Written communication 12 3.17 2.33 38.04 9
Mature attitude 5 7.60 0.89 38.00 10
IT skills 11 2.82 2.27 31.02 11
Confidence 7 4.00 3.51 28.00 12
Adaptability 8 2.87 2.42 22.96 13
Self-development 5 4.40 1.82 22.00 14
Leadership 5 3.40 3.51 17.00 15
Effective management of resources 7 1.86 2.11 13.02 16
Occupation skills (job-search strategies) 2 6.50 3.54 13.00 17
decision-making skills 4 3.25 1.71 13.00 18
Self-reliance 4 2.75 2.75 11.00 19
Innovation 1 7.00 - 7.00 20
Negotiation skills 1 4.00 - 4.00 21
Awareness of how changes in the world impact on the organisation 2 0.50 0.71 1.00 22
* Skill/competency overlaps with those among top 10 listed in Table 5
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the highest ranking skill (indicated by a rank of 1), the second-
highest NxM score indicated the second-highest ranking skill
and so forth. The results of the rankings by the graduates are
presented in Table 5 and the results for the organisations are
presented in Table 6. The NxM scores of skills not among the
final top 10 skills are also included in the tables.
Both the graduates and organisations regarded oral
communication as the most important work-readiness skill for
new employees. Altogether seven of the 10 top ranking skills was
shared by the graduates and organisations alike, indicating a fair
degree of consensus between the two groups. Apart from oral
communication, these skills were self-discipline, interpersonal
skills and teamwork, positive work ethic, time management,
problem-solving skills and written communication. Numeracy
skills were rated second-most important by the organisations,
whereas these skills were placed in the seventeenth position by
the graduates.
Seven of the 22 work-readiness skills that were originally drafted
from literature were directly addressed by the Fasset Work
Readiness Programme and five of these were included among the
top 10 rankings by the graduates and organisations. These were
oral communication, interpersonal skills and teamwork, positive
work ethic, time management and written communication.
DISCUSSION
The objectives of this study were threefold: To conceptualise
the skills and competencies required from graduates for entry-
level positions in the Fasset Sector; to develop a valid and
reliable measure to evaluate the perceptions of the importance
of work-readiness skills; and to determine whether the skills and
competencies advanced by means of the Fasset Work Readiness
Programme and those regarded as important by the graduates
are in accordance with the skills and competencies sought by
employers in the Fasset Sector.
The Work Readiness Skills Scale developed for the purposes
of this research was validated as a one-factor model with an
acceptable internal reliability of 0.88. According to the guidelines
of Nunnally and Bernstein (1994), this can be seen as acceptable
internal reliability. It was therefore a valid and reliable indicator
of the work-readiness skills regarded as important by both
employers and graduates in the Fasset Sector in South Africa.
Taylor (2005) surveyed 128 youths and 33 employers in the
building and construction industry in Australia employing these
youths regarding the most important skills for employability.
She found that it was generally attitudinal attributes rather
than skills proficiency that employers looked for. Maclean and
Ordonez (2007) also stated that trainable recruits with generic
employability skills are more sought after than trained recruits
with specific employment skills. Contrary to these findings,
however, both the employers and the graduates in the current
study regarded academic and technical skills as more important
than generic or transferable skills in graduate applications. This
result is in contrast with the recent practice of leading firms, such
as Goldman and Sachs, where flexibility, trainability, persuasive
communication and teamwork are regarded as more important
than accounting or mathematics skills (Maclean & Ordonez,
2007).
A significant difference was also found in terms of the statement
‘Only graduates with a degree will be employed in entry level
positions’. The organisations valued this statement more than
the graduates. It thus appears that the organisations are more
inclined to recruit people who have completed a degree. This
suggests that the type of academic qualifications and degree
of field-specific technical skills may still be a key determining
factor for employment in the Fasset Sector in South Africa,
despite the international trend of emphasising generic skills
in selection and providing in-house training programmes to
address technical skills once a person is employed. This result
is in line with research conducted in South Africa by Moleke
(2005) and Morrow, Panday and Richter (2005), which indicated
that having a degree secures work more successfully than not
having a degree and that more education results in securing
employment sooner. Both the employers and the graduates
nevertheless still regarded transferable skills as more important
than work experience.
A practically significant difference of large effect was found
between the overall ratings of the employers and the graduates
regarding the work-readiness skills presented to them in the
scale. The graduates rated the various skills as more important
than the employers did. It appears that the graduates were less
able to discriminate among the 22 skills presented to them and
rated more of them as important skills than the employers did.
This confirms the expectation that graduates are not always
aware of what is expected from them by potential employers.
It also confirms the research by Smith and Kruger (2008), which
indicated a clear discrepancy between the expectations of
graduates and those of employers regarding the skills needed
for employment.
When comparing the work-readiness skills identified in earlier
studies and the prominent skills identified by this research,
it is clear that some of the common work-readiness skills as
identified by Addis (2003), such as personal development (which
includes mature attitude and motivation), were confirmed by
this research. Some of the work-readiness skills (such as effective
communication and working effectively with others) identified
by Greenwood et al. (1987), were also highlighted by this research.
Not only was self-discipline rated by the organisations and
graduates as one of the 10 most important work-readiness skills
but Falconer and Pettigrew (2003) also identified this skill as an
important basic or transferable skill. Some of the top 10 work-
readiness skills rated by the organisations and graduates that
are in line with the research by Zinser (2003) on employability
skills include effective communication skills, interpersonal
skills and effective teamwork. Teamwork and effective oral and
written communication are also two of the work-readiness skills
identified by Falconer and Pettigrew with specific reference to
the financial-services profession.
It appears from the results of the research that workplace
knowledge and learning are not highly contextual, as argued by
Munby et al. (2003), and that there are common work-readiness
skills that are relevant across different jobs. The research also
shows that adaptability, which is an important skill for South
African talent according to Birt et al. (2004), was not identified by
the organisations or graduates as one of the 10 most important
work-readiness skills.
Since a sample of convenience was used in this research, findings
cannot be generalised to all organisations within the Fasset
Sector. Based on the results of this study, however, it appears
that both employers and graduates may value the following
skills as part of a work-readiness programme: self-discipline;
confidence; leadership; numeracy skills; and problem-solving
skills. It may therefore increase credibility and success in terms
of the placement of learners for the Fasset Work Readiness
Programme if more emphasis is placed on the above-mentioned
skills and competencies. It is also recommended, in line with
the recommendation by Maclean and Ordonez (2007), that the
developers of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme determine
need and demand from a broader sample of employers in the
industry to inform their curriculum. If graduates are better
informed regarding the skills that employers in the Fasset
Sector value, they will be better able to develop their own work-
readiness skills and be more prepared for employment in this
particular industry.
Work-readiness programmes can be successful only if they
meet the needs of the industry and it is therefore essential that
continued research be conducted to determine the needs of
the industry. Follow-up research could also be conducted to
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determine the effectiveness of the Work Readiness Programme.
In this regard, the employment rate of graduates from this
programme could be compared to that of other graduates who
are also employed in the Fasset Sector but who did not attend the
programme. Once employed, the job performance of graduates
from the Work Readiness Programme could also be monitored
and compared to other recently employed graduates.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Riëtte
Eiselen from the University of Johannesburg with the SPSS
analyses.
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