THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
The perceptions of English majors as lacking employability and
having limited career prospects persists despite evidence suggesting
otherwise. This research aims to understand the perceptions of
employability and career prospect among English major, exploring the
factors that influence these perceptions and the potential disconnect
between reality and perceived limitation. The following studies is founded
on major theories related to the study.
This study investigates the employability challenges faced by English
degree graduates in Libya, highlighting the gap between the theoretical
focus of academic programs and the practical skills demanded by the
labor market. Using a cross-sectional quantitative research design, data
were collected from 150 English graduates and 50 employers across
various sectors, including media, education, and marketing. The findings
reveal significant deficiencies in the graduates' preparedness for digital
literacy, project management, and technical writing-skills increasingly
prioritized by employers. While 82% of graduates expressed confidence in
their communication and critical thinking abilities, only 40% felt prepared
for the technical demands of the workforce, a concern echoed by 78% of
employers (Shaheebah, 2024). It first describes the current situations of
skills need in different labor markets. It points out that English skills are
in high demands and raises the concern about how we can better
approach English language teaching/ learning so that graduates can
become more competitive when entering the labor market. Following
that, it reviews different perspectives and models of employability to
identify a theoretical framework appropriate for the development of
this book(Nghia et. al., 2024).
Moreover, Hoang, Y. P., et. al., (2024) study underscore a significant
gap in essential employability skills among English-major students,
including communication, information retrieval and handling, planning and
problem-solving, teamwork, self-confidence, critical thinking, devotion,
and specialized skills/identities.
It was found that the employability of business English graduates was
multi-dimensional, with three dimensions—professional knowledge,
generic competencies, and career management and 10 sub-dimensions—
English language skills, foreign trade competencies, computer and
internet application skills, social skills, learning and development, personal
traits, thinking ability, work ethics, career identity and planning, and
service awareness. This study verified that the employability of business
English graduates reached the standard of talent training and met the
requirements of employers. There were employability differences in
gender, places of origin and educational institutions (Nghia, T.L.H., et. al.,
2024). Study also showed that there were various career fields that
students could do after graduating, and also the requirements they
needed to meet in the job market. However, many students still do not
meet some requirements of recruiters.
Employers mainly want the following factors from graduates:
education (degrees), experience, job skills suitable for employers, and
personal qualities. It can be seen that job postings often ask for work
experience. However, fresh graduates won't be able to get a lot of job
experience. Therefore, the main opportunity for students to gain
experience during their studies is in the form of internships, part-time, and
club participation. According to Gagalang (2020), employers valued
personal qualities such as determination and perseverance, self-discipline,
and specialized skills such as communicating in English fluently,
accurately, and creatively, as well as producing well-written texts for
various academic and professional purposes. The results also showed
many employers paid attention to personality, which challenged the
notion that in the workplace, skills were more crucial than personal
qualities.
Lastly, widespread dissatisfaction with graduates' skills remains
alarmingly high. The previous research revealed the lowest levels of
satisfaction with specialized skills, such as the graduates' ability to
facilitate English language learning in a variety of social, cultural,
academic, and professional settings; and general skills, such as planning
and organizing, as well as management or leadership qualities (Gagalang,
2020). Aside from the requirement for some soft skills, many students
recognized the value of learning information technology not only in school
but also in the workplace (Phuong & Hua, 2020).
CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK
Figure 1 shows the conceptual frame work of the study. It highlights
the independent variable which is perception of employability and the
dependent variable which is the career prospects.
The independent variable is the perception of employability that
represent the beliefs and attitudes that English majors hold regarding
their ability to ensure employment and the relevance od their skills in the
market. These perceptions can be influence by various factors.
The dependent variable is the career prospects reflects the
outcomes or opportunities available to English majors regarding their
future careers.
Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study
Perception of
Career Prospects kamoy butang dri
Employability
Shaheeba, Malak S., (2024): Addressing the Employability Skills Gap: A Curriculum
Reform in English Degree Programs MAY 10, 2024 AJELAT COLLEGE OF
EDUCATION -ZAWIA UNIVERSITY Ajelat -Libya.
T. L. H. Nghia et al. (eds.), English Language Education for Graduate
Employability in Vietnam, Global Vietnam: Across Time, Space and Community,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4338-8_4 71
Nghia, T.L.H., Anh, N.P., Kien, L.T. (2024). English Language Skills and Employability:
A Theoretical Framework. In: Nghia, T.L.H., Tran, L.T., Ngo, M.T. (eds) English
Language Education for Graduate Employability in Vietnam. Global Vietnam: Across
Time, Space and Community. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-
4338-8_4
Hoang, Y. P., Le, T., Thuy, H. P., Nhan, D. T., & Pham, T. T. (2023). Employers’
perspectives of English-major students’ weaknesses during their industrial practicum.
Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 14(5), 1270-1278.
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1405.15
Gagalang, J. L. (2020). Employers’ Perspectives on English-Major Graduates’
Attributes, Skills, and Personal Qualities. PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of
Egypt/Egyptology, 460-472.
Bui, T. B. N. (2022). A study of job opportunities for English language students at Ho Chi
Minh City University of Food Industry. Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ho Chi Minh City
University of Food Industry, Vietnam.
Phuong, H. Y., & Hua, H. H. (2020). Employers' Requirements for English-Majored
Students: A Case Study from Vietnam. Rangsit Journal of Social Sciences and
Humanities, 23-32
