PERCEPTIONS ON EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS NECESSARY TO ENHANCE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT GRADUATES PROSPECTS OF SECURING A RELEVANT PLACE IN THE LABOUR MARKET

Abstract

Orientation and purpose – Different types of skills are explored to determine which type of skills are most attractive to the employer and which ones are essential to enhance employability of HRM graduates Motivation of the study- HR is a broad field and the practitioners have a lot to deliver seeing that they are the custodians of human capital in the workplace. The type of skills they should have and how they are to achieve them must be explored. Research design, approach and method - The study used a qualitative method and data was collected using semi structured interviews with open ended questions. A list of questions was drawn up for different respondents and the sample was made up of academics, employers and HRM graduates. Main findings - generic skills are the most sought after in the workplace; there are different levels to HRM employability and different knowledge, competencies and skills for each level. Contribution/value-add – Having the knowledge of what skills, competencies and abilities are key for HRM graduates can help shape their skills base before they even graduate and assist higher education in producing employable graduates.