employability skills: do islamic banking … skills: do islamic banking graduates well-developed? 1...

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS: DO ISLAMIC BANKING GRADUATES

WELL-DEVELOPED?

1 Lecturer, Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia

2 Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia

3 Postgraduate, Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah,

Malaysia

4 Postgraduate, Malaysian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia

Kelantan, Malaysia

5 Lecturer, Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia

6 Associate Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan,

Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Islamic banking industry in Malaysia has been emerged since 1983 with the establishment Bank Islam

Malaysia Berhad and the enactment legal framework, Islamic Banking Act 1983. However, Islamic

banking sector still being overwhelmed with the issue of shortage of qualified and skilled staffs even

though there are various higher education institutions that offer Islamic banking course. Therefore, this

study aims to investigate the level of employability skills among Islamic banking graduates. This

study indicates that the level of employability skills is moderately high. However, there is no

significant difference mean of employability skills between gender, age, CGPA and highest education

background. This study recommends that higher education institutions and employers should

cooperate together to enhance graduates employability skills such as design the course structure,

industry placement, problem solving of case study and the establishment of “mock bank”.

Introduction

Islamic banking denotes the banking operation that follows the Islamic law (Shari‟ah) principles. All

the transactions of Islamic banks must be Shari‟ah compliance and excludes the major prohibition

elements such asriba‟ (collection and payment of interest),usury trading in financial risk and unlawful

(haram) business venture. Islamic bank is in Malaysia was established in 1983 with the enactment of

legal framework, Islamic Banking Act 1983 and the inception of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad as the

first full-fledged Islamic bank within the same year.The development of the contract and innovation in

Islamic banking have been supported by the dynamism and flexibility of Shari‟ah(Laldin & Mohd

Parid, 2010). Islamic banks ys provide similar facilities to its counterpart, conventional banking such

as financing and deposit (Mohamad, Borhan, & Sulaiman, 2012; Rosland, Hasbulah, & Borhan,

INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE RESEARCH REVIEWISSN: 2320-9704 - ONLINE ISSN:2347-1662 - PRINT IMPACT FACTOR:0.875VOLUME 3, ISSUE 12, DECEMBER 2015

www.icmrr.org 19 [email protected]

WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

MOHD KHAIRY KAMARUDIN AZWAN ABDULLAH

SITI FARIHA MOHAMAD MOHAMMAD ISMAIL

NOR AZILAWATI AHMAD SITI SYAKIRAH YUSOH 3 4

5 6

1 2

2013). Today, there are sixteen Islamic banks in Malaysia, of which six are wholly foreign-owned and

ten local Islamic banking institutions (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2015).

Malaysian government is undeniably has played major roles in providing and catering the

infrastructure and facilities for the development of the Islamic banking industry including the well and

sound legal system and jurisdictions, standard-setting bodies and regulatory and supervisory

frameworks (Ariff & Rosly, 2011; Laldin & Mohd Parid, 2010; Sulaiman Abdullah & Joriah, 2013).

The latest endorsement of Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) 2013 by the Malaysian parliamentis

a reflection of the government‟s effort to harmonise the various previous laws including Islamic

Banking Act 1983 and Takaful Act 1984 that govern Islamic financial services sector in Malaysia.

However, Islamic banking sector still being overwhelmed with the issue of shortage of qualified and

skilled staffs. Some of the existing players in the industry are not graduates from Islamic banking and

finance programmeand do not possess any knowledge regarding to Islamic banking (Khnifer, 2010;

Sulaiman Abdullah & Joriah, 2013; Utusan Malaysia, 2014).Shari‟ah auditors, for instance, are

currently under the limelight of the issues of competency and qualification especially on the Shari‟ah

part (Kasim, Mohamad Ibrahim, & Sulaiman, 2009).In addition, many Islamic bank employers prefer

to employ experience workers from conventional banking background (Khnifer, 2010). Therefore, one

of the challenge in Islamic banking sector is to provide appropriate training and teaching for staff in

order to increase their knowledge, credibility and performance of the employees (Khnifer, 2010; Mohd

Ghazali & Ismail, 2013; Sulaiman Abdullah & Joriah, 2013).Furthermore, the integrity of Islamic

financial institution can be uplifted (Laldin & Mohd Parid, 2010).

The government has put progressive efforts in developing human capital to produce a sufficient pool

of skilled talent to meet the demand of the industry. As a result, various institutions of higher learning,

centres, industry-owned training and consultancy provider as well as programmes are geared towards

producing Islamic banking professionals as well as graduates. Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) is

the pioneer university in Malaysia offering Islamic banking courses, launched in July, 1999. Other

higher institutions such as Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), International Islamic University

Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and

International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) later follow the suit by offering

Islamic banking courses. These institutions play important roles in order to develop knowledgeable

and skilled human capital (Kosmo, n.d.; Laldin & Mohd Parid, 2010; Tahir, 2009). However, the level

of Islamic banking graduates‟ job-readiness or employability is questionable due to shortage of human

capital in Islamic banking industry even though there are many efforts have been implemented to

address this issue. Thus, this study aims to examine the Islamic banking graduates‟ level ofjob-

readiness or employability. This study is important in order to ensure that the graduates is well-

prepared to work particularly in Islamic banking industry.

This paper consists five sections. The first section contains a brief discussion of the paper. Second

section is the literature review on employability skills and third section discusses research

methodology. Result in this study is in the fourth section. The last section is the conclusion of this

paper.

Literature Review

Employability is an important point to build up graduates‟ job mobility, lifelong learning self-

developments and personalities, thus it will assists graduates‟ competence and sociality (Madar &

Buntat, 2011; Sung, Chi Man Ng, Loke, & Ramos, 2013). Nowadays, the changing trend in the



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

economics, need an effort by the them to demonstrate their employability skills at the entire stage of

career (Buntat, Jabor, Saud, Mansor, & Mustaffa, 2013; Miller, Biggart, & Newton, 2013). Hence,

employability skills will help the graduates to get a good job, survive in the competitive corporate,

develop their career as well as profesional life (Mishra, 2014; Shafie & Nayan, 2010).

From the employers‟ perspective, Finch, Hamilton, Baldwin, & Zehner, (2013), Mishra, (2014) and

Rao, (2014) indicated that they prefer to employ employees with soft skills which they demonstrate

during the interview. They are looking graduates who are able to transmit their knowledge and

understanding into speech and demonstrate a good personel qualities (Parvu, Ipate, & Mitran, 2014;

Shafie & Nayan, 2010). However Gurcharan Singh & Garib Singh, (2008) argued that graduates only

present their factual credentials and fail to convince their potential employers to recruit them. At the

same time, employers look to graduates who have well-employability skills in order to face challenges

in work place environment and business (Gurcharan Singh & Garib Singh, 2008). However, the value

to employers of the widely recognized employability skills depend on size and sector and there is no

specific measurement (Hinchliffe & Jolly, 2011).

The ability to develop employability skills depends on how the implementation of employability

strategies. There is increasing pressure to higher education institution to include employability

development in their all academic courses (Tymon, 2011).Education institutions should ensure the

graduates are well-equipped with employability skills, thus they will success in the career

development (Shafie & Nayan, 2010). At the same time, graduates will gain employability skills

through effective education and training (Ab Rahim Bakar & Ivan Hanafi, 2007).

Thus, it needs cooperative efforts from various players to enhance the employability skills (Haasler,

2013). To be competitive in current employment market, industry players, educational system and

academic expertise should to re-orientate (Madar & Buntat, 2011; Yussof, Ismail, & Sidin, 2008).

Educational institutions and industry should interact regularly to produce graduates who are industry

compatible and employable (Maxwell, Scott, Macfarlane, & Williamson, 2010; Rao, 2014). Learning

institutions should actively cooperate with the industries as the course structure matched with the

working requirements (Madar & Buntat, 2011). Universities and employers should design course

structure and curricula together based on the development of key skills that employers needed, while

the graduates will become more competent particularly to place them in job market (Andrews &

Russell, 2012; Finch et al., 2013; Parvu et al., 2014; Wickramasinghe & Perera, 2010).Avramenko,

(2012) suggested that “business simulation” program will increase the confidence level among

graduates as to determine the gap between theory and practice. Greater efforts to develop

employability skills will narrow the gap between industry and graduates outcomes (Jackson,

2013).ToT(Training of Trainer) programmes also will enhance the employability skills among

graduates (Sail & Alavi, 2010).Baker & Henson, (2010), Maxwell et al., (2010), Omar, Bakar, & Mat

Rashid, (2012, Panagiotakopoulos, (2012), Pillai, Khan, Ibrahim, & Raphael, (2012), Rajan, (2010)

and Rao, (2014) argued that employability skills should be developed through discussion and work in

a group, brainstorming session, presentation, mock interviews, career counselling and role playing and

out-door activities such as filed trips and industry placement or apprenticeship program. Industry

placement will help the students to gain confidence and face challenges in the work place and good for

their early career success(Pillai et al., 2012; Shoenfelt, Stone, & Kottke, 2013).Higher education

institutions may also should create stand-alone generic skills development modules into the curricula

to which can be delivered by lecturers with a relevant background (Panagiotakopoulos, 2012).

Mishra, (2014) highlighted that employersalso need to strengthen the employability skills among their

employees. Training by the employers is one of the method to improve the employability, and give the



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

chances to learn and enhance primary industry standard for graduates to choose the organization

(Ling, Qing, & Shen, 2014; Rao, 2014). Training also have a significant impact to the performance

and productivity (Rao, 2014). Graduates also should actively involve in extra-curricular activities such

as sports, clubs and association as these activities will improve their soft skills(Andrews & Russell,

2012; Crayford, Fearon, McLaughlin, & Vuuren, 2012; Dania, Bakar, & Mohamed, 2014).

Based on previous literatures, this study indicates several important employability skills; (1)

Communication skills, (2) Interpersonal skills, (3) Technical skills and (4) Social skills.

Communication skills can be defined as the ability to listen and to express verbally, non-verbally and

in writing (Sail & Alavi, 2010). The ability to influence and negotiate with the clients, and effective

presentation also can be classified as communication skills (Jackson, 2013; Maxwell et al., 2010).

Employers desire to employ graduates with a good communication skills as it may create positive

impression on the clients (Hinchliffe & Jolly, 2011; Mishra, 2014; Trbanc, 1995).Particularly, in

Islamic banking industry, most of the documents and communications is English. Therefore, Islamic

banking graduates should master to communicate and write in English (Abdullah et al., 2015).

Nonetheless, poor grammar or wrong spelling may express a negative value on the graduates (Smith,

2005). However Tymon, (2011) indicated that employers‟ satisfaction towards graduates

communication skills is low. Therefore, communication skills can be developed through teamwork

assignment, industry placement and oral presentation (Avramenko, 2012; Maxwell et al., 2010; Oria,

2012; Suhaimi, Hasan, Husin, & Shah, 2012).

While, interpersonal skills is the ability to work effectively in a team, learn from criticism, cope with

uncertainty and remain calm in uncomfortable and stressful condition (Finch et al., 2013; Nilsson &

Ellström, 2012; Sail & Alavi, 2010). The employers particularly from large company perceived

interpersonal skills as the significant skills to be possessed by the graduates as to be valued more in

the world of employment (Hogan, Chamorro-Premuzic, & Kaiser, 2013; M S Rasul & Puvanasvaran,

2009; Mohamad Sattar Rasul, Ismail, Ismail, Rajuddin, & Abd Raud, 2009).To enhance the

interpersonal skills, the graduates are required to involve in extra-curricular activity (Baker & Henson,

2010).Finch et al., (2013) suggested that graduates who able to demonstrate their interpersonal skills

will be more competitive in the marketplace than those who do not. Training is also one of the

effective method to develop and enhance the interpersonal skills as indicated by Ling et al., (2014).

Industries similarly look for technical skill to meet the globalization and diversification (Madar &

Buntat, 2011). Technical skills are the capabilityto perform tasks and known as hard skills(Mishra,

2014; Omar et al., 2012; Panagiotakopoulos, 2012). However, employers who have specific technical

requirement understand that they may have software or technical processes which graduates may not

have been exposed to during their study(Finch et al., 2013).Technical skills can be a foundation of

leadership, self-discipline and integrity (Sail & Alavi, 2010). Omar et al., (2012) indicated that

technical skills will be improved through internship program.

Employers also perceive that social skills is essential elements in employability (Hogan et al., 2013).

The social skills are the added value to the graduates as to ensure good performance for organizations

and high work ethics (Hogan et al., 2013; Sail & Alavi, 2010; Shafie &Nayan, 2010).In order to

enhance social skills for long-term employability,Shoenfelt et al., (2013) perceived industry placement

is one of the best method. It will give an opportunities to the graduates to adapt a new environment

and work in a group.



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Methodology

This study employs quantitative method which the data is gained through questionnaires. The

questionnaires are distributed to the last year Islamic banking graduates from five different public

universities in Malaysia from September 2015 until October 2015. The respondents in this study

are283 (n=283).

The questionnaires are divided into two sections. The first section is respondents profile and the

second section is level of employability skills. The level of employability skills is measured through

five-point Likert scale (1= strongly disagaree to 5= strongly agree). This study indicates Cronbach‟s

Alpha for communication skills is 0.798, interpersonal skills is 0.802, technical skills is 0.818 and

social skills is 0.831 which are reasonable for this study. This study indicates that sig. value of

Shapiro-Wilk Test is lower than 0.05, therefore the data in this study is not normally distributed.

This study conducts non-parametric test to determine mean difference as function of gender, age,

higher education background and CGPA. This study employs Mann-Whitney U Test to determine

mean difference between male and female graduates and Kruskal-Wallis H test to determine mean

difference for age, CGPAandhighest education background before degree level.

Result

The respondents details in this study as shown in Table 1 which out of 283 respondents, 51 (18%) is

male and 232 (82%) is female. Most of the respondents are 22 and 23 years old which both age have

similar percentage (33.6%). For Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), this study divides it into

three groups; 2.00 – 2.99, 3.00 – 3.49 and 3.50 – 4.00. Majority of the respondents obtain 3.00 – 3.49

which is 56.5%, followed by 2.00 – 2.99 (25.4%) and 3.50 – 4.00 (18%). While, the most respondents‟

highest education level is Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM)11

which is 33.9% from total

respondents and the smallest percentage are Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM)12

and Others which

are accounted to 4.6% respectively. The greatest percentage of institutions is Universiti Malaysia

Kelantan with 27.9%, followed by Universiti Malaysia Sabah with 27.6% and Universiti Utara

Malaysia with 21.2%.

Table 1: Respondents’ Demographic

n Percentage (%)

Gender

Male 51 18

Female 232 82

Age

21 95 33.6

22 95 33.6

23 61 21.6

24 22 7.8

25 7 2.5

26 3 1.1

11

Malaysian Higher School Certificate 12

Malaysian Higher Religious School Certificate



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

CGPA

2.00 – 2.99 72 25.4

3.00 – 3.49 160 56.5

3.50 – 4.00 51 18.0

Highest education level

Matriculation 91 32.2

STPM 96 33.9

STAM 13 4.6

Diploma 70 24.7

Others 13 4.6

Institutions

Universiti Utara Malaysia 60 21.2

Universiti Malaysia Sabah 78 27.6

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan 79 27.9

International Islamic University Malaysia 25 8.8

Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin 41 14.5

Based on Table 2, the overall mean of employability skills among Islamic banking graduates is 3.85

(S.D. = 0.40386) which this study considers that employability skills of these graduates are moderately

high.For addition, based on four elements of employability skills, this study indicates that the social

skills is the highest skills possessed by the graduates (3.9364), interpersonal skills (3.9033) and

technical skills (3.8451). While, the lowest employability skills is communication skills (3.7067).

Table 2: Employability skills among Islamic banking graduates

Employability skills Mean Standard Deviation

Communication skills

1. Communicate effectively 3.7491 0.68206

2. Express ideas verbally 3.7314 0.64574

3. Speak in public 3.4064 0.75388

4. Social abilities 3.7350 0.68707

5. Communicate in English 3.6254 0.72027

6. Friendly attitude 3.9929 0.78998

Total 3.7067 0.50448

Interpersonal skill

1. Work individually 4.0777 0.73487

2. Work as a member 4.2756 0.59698

3. Respect other opinions 4.3852 0.61025

4. Accept criticism 4.0177 0.72667

5. Guide team members 3.9187 0.71243

6. Attract audience‟s attention 3.4770 0.74994

7. Logical argument to persuade others 3.5159 0.74538

8. High confident level 3.5583 0.76211

Total

3.9033 0.45798



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Technical skills

1. Obtain information effectively 4.0247 0.61548

2. Acquire information from various sources 4.0495 0.66660

3. ICT knowledge – internet 3.7651 0.69983

4. Computer software 3.8233 0.67152

5. Cope multimedia components 3.4064 0.79953

6. Calculator 3.9717 0.76208

Total 3.8451 0.51058

Social skills

1. Committed 4.1166 0.58695

2. Adapt to changing environment 3.9859 0.66829

3. Work in cultural diversity 3.9894 0.66569

4. Deal with pressure 3.8728 0.72303

5. Initiate conversation 3.6890 0.83928

6. Help people around 4.0954 0.64803

7. Handle problem in group 3.8057 0.78169

Total 3.9364 0.49807

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS 3.8553 0.40386

Table 3 shows which group can be considered as having higher employability skills. Based on this

table, this study indicates that male graduates have higher communication, interpersonal, social and

overall skills than female graduates. Female graduates only have higher technical skills than male

graduates. However, this study concludes that there is no significant difference employability skills

between male and female graduates (U =5739. p = .738).

Table 3: Mann-Whitney U Test – Gender

Employability skills Gender N Mean Rank Mann-Whitney U p

Communication

skills

Male 51 153.53 5328.000 .263

Female 232 139.47

Interpersonal skills Male 51 149.95 5510.500 .441

Female 232 140.25

Technical skills Male 51 130.77 5343.500 .275

Female 232 144.47

Social skills Male 51 144.99 5763.500 .771

Female 232 141.34

Overall Male 51 145.47 5739.00 .738

Female 232 141.24



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

While, Table 4 illustrates which age has the highest and the lowest employability skills as this study

indicates graduates who are 25 years old have the highest employability skills and the lowest is 21

years old. However, Kruskal-Wallis H Test shows that there is no significant difference employability

skills between age,χ2(5)= 6.487,p = 0.014, with mean rank 128.09 for 21 years old, 145.55 for 22 years

old, 145.14 for 23 years old, 161.70 for 24 years old, 186.71 for 25 years old and 157.17 for 26 years

old.

Table 4: Kruskal-Wallis H Test – Age

Employability skills Age N Mean

Rank

Chi-

Square

p

Communication

skills

21 95 134.13 4.598 .467

22 95 144.49

23 61 137.57

24 22 159.45

25 7 179.36

26 3 187.50

Interpersonal skills 21 95 132.25 2.746 .739

22 95 146.29

23 61 143.89

24 22 149.93

25 7 169.93

26 3 153.00

Technical skills 21 95 125.11 7.509 .185

22 95 148.36

23 61 149.75

24 22 159.05

25 7 173.50

26 3 119.33

Social skills 21 95 130.71 5.660 .341

22 95 143.70

23 61 147.08

24 22 150.36

25 7 197.43

26 3 151.83

Overall 21 95 128.09 6.487 .262

22 95 145.55

23 61 145.14

24 22 161.70

25 7 186.71

26 3 157.17



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Based on table 5, this study indicates that graduates with 3.50 and above are the highest employability

skills (mean rank = 157.29), followed by 3.00-3.49 (mean rank = 140.56) and the lowest is 2.00-2.99

(mean rank = 134.37). Kruskal-Wallis H test indicates that there is no significant difference

employability skills between CGPA, χ2(2) = 2.46, p = 0.292.

Table 5: Kruskal-Wallis H Test – CGPA

Employability skills CGPA N Mean

Rank

Chi-

Square

P

Communication

skills

3.50 and

above

51 145.85 2.798 .247

3.00-3.49 160 146.99

2.00-2.99 72 128.19

Interpersonal skills 3.50 and

above

51 161.79 3.720 .156

3.00-3.49 160 136.91

2.00-2.99 72 139.30

Technical skills 3.50 and

above

51 161.77 3.881 .144

3.00-3.49 160 136.10

2.00-2.99 72 141.11

Social skills 3.50 and

above

51 150.55 1.195 .550

3.00-3.49 160 142.66

2.00-2.99 72 134.47

Overall 3.50 and

above

51 157.29 2.46 .292

3.00-3.49 160 140.56

2.00-2.99 72 134.37

As shows in Table 6, this study indicates graduates from „Others‟ education background are the

highest mean rank as 166.12 and „STAM‟ are the lowest mean rank as 87.54. This study indicates that

there is no significant difference employability skills between education background χ2(5) = 8.905, p =

0.064 based on Kruskal-Wallis H test.



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Table 6: Kruskal-Wallis Test – Highest Education Background

Employability skills CGPA N Mean

Rank

Chi-

Square

P

Communication

skills

STPM 96 131.60 10.696 .030

STAM 13 89.58

Diploma 70 157.53


Others 13 164.65

Interpersonal skills STPM 96 136.23 5.119 .275

STAM 13 100.35

Diploma 70 151.31


Others 13 142.42

Technical skills STPM 96 138.07 11.826 .019

STAM 13 87.42

Diploma 70 150.16


Others 13 192.27

Social skills STPM 96 137.87 2.207 .698

STAM 13 120.92

Diploma 70 151.94


Others 13 145.50

Overall STPM 96 135.86 8.905 .064

STAM 13 87.54

Diploma 70 153.67


Others 13 166.12

In sum, the level of employability skills among Islamic banking graduates is higher than Dania et al.,

(2014), Omar et al., (2012), Rajan, (2010) and Saari & Mat Rashid, 2013) but lower than Gurcharan

Singh & Garib Singh, (2008). This study also indicates, there is no differences employability skills

between gender, age, CGPA and highest education background.

Discussion and Conclusion

Employability skills is valuable to graduates to get their first jobs, career development and life. Even

though this study indicates the level of employability skills is moderately high, there are several



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

recommendation that should be taken to enhance the employability skills among graduates particularly

Islamic banking graduates.

The graduates must change their attitude (Gurcharan Singh & Garib Singh, 2008). They should plan

their future during their study in universities and capable to learn and adapt new environment. At the

same time, they should involve actively in co-curriculum activities to improve their confidence,

leadership and decision making. They also should participate in discussion, brainstorming session and

presentation to increase their teamwork abilities and communication skills.

The lecturers also need to improvise their teaching method to ensure the graduates are well-developed

in order to encounter the real working conditions. There are various up-to-date teaching methods such

as e-learning, problem-based learning, case inquiry-based learning and others will assist the graduates

development particularly for their soft-skills. The lecturers also take the opportunities to participate in

the industry program such as sabbatical leave and industry placement for better exposure.

Higher education institution also should design appropriate modules into the curriculathe meet the

industry requirement and will be delivered by lecturers with related background (Panagiotakopoulos,

2012). Therefore, it could be that higher education institution and industry players cooperate together

to develop course structure and curricula based on job market requirements.

This study also recommends that banking players should run “mock bank” to provide better industry

placement to the graduates due to the constraints of legislations and operations in real banking sector.

This “mock bank” will demonstrate real activities of banking such as operation department, recovery

department and marketing department. This training also may give the opportunities to the lecturers to

gain the banking sector experiences.

Acknowledge

Thanks for the helpful comments from the anonymous referees and editor. The research was funded

by Ministry of Education (MOE), Malaysia, Research Acculturation Grant Scheme

(RAGS) (RAGS/1/2014/SS05/UMK//5) which is managed by Research and Innovation Management

Centre, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan.

References

Ab Rahim Bakar, & Ivan Hanafi. (2007). Assessing employability Skills of technical-

vocational students in Malaysia. Journal of Social Sciences, 3(4), 202–207.

Abdullah, A., Kamarudin, M. K., Ahmad, N. A., Yusih, S. S., Mohamad, S. F., & Ismail, M.

(2015). The exploration study on employability of Islamic banking and finance graduates from

practitioners perspective. Intercontinental Journal of Finance Research Review, 3(11), 10–21.

Andrews, G., & Russell, M. (2012). Employability skills development: Strategy, evaluation

and impact. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 2(1), 33–44.

Ariff, M., & Rosly, S. A. (2011). Islamic banking in Malaysia: Unchartered waters. Asian

Economic Policy Review, 6(2), 301–319.

Avramenko, A. (2012). Enhancing students‟ employability through business simulation.

Education + Training, 54(5), 335–367.



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Baker, G., & Henson, D. (2010). Promoting employability skills development in a research-

intensive university. Education + Training, 52(1), 62–75.

Bank Negara Malaysia. (2015). Islamic banks. Retrieved October 10, 2015, from

http://www.bnm.gov.my/

Buntat, Y., Jabor, M. K., Saud, M. S., Mansor, S. M. S. S., & Mustaffa, N. H. (2013).

Employability Skills Element‟s: Difference Perspective Between Teaching Staff and

Employers Industrial in Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93(1990),

1531–1535.

Crayford, J., Fearon, C., McLaughlin, H., & Vuuren, W. Van. (2012). Affirming

entrepreneurial education: learning, employability and personal development. Industrial and

Commercial Training, 44(4), 187–193.

Dania, J., Bakar, A. R., & Mohamed, S. (2014). Factors influencing the acquisition of

employability skills by students of selected Technical Secondary School in Malaysia.

International Education Studies, 7(2), 117–124.

Finch, D. J., Hamilton, L. K., Baldwin, R., & Zehner, M. (2013). An exploratory study of

factors affecting undergraduate employability. Education + Training, 55(7), 681–704.

Retrieved from An

Gurcharan Singh, G. K., & Garib Singh, S. K. (2008). Malaysian graduates‟ employability

skills. UNITAR E-Journal, 4(1), 15–45.

Haasler, S. R. (2013). Employability skills and the notion of “self.” International Journal of

Training and Development, 17(3), 233–244.

Hinchliffe, G. W., & Jolly, A. (2011). Graduate identity and employability. British

Educational Research Journal, 37(4), 563–584.

Hogan, R., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Kaiser, R. B. (2013). Employability and career success:

Bridging the gap between theory and reality. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(1),

3–16.

Jackson, D. (2013). Student perceptions of the imporatnce of employability skill provision in

Business Undergraduate Programs. Journal of Education for Business, 88(5), 271–279.

Kasim, N., Mohamad Ibrahim, S. H., & Sulaiman, M. (2009). Shariah Auditing in Islamic

financial institutions: Exploring the gap between the “desired” and the “actual.” Global

Economy and Finance Journal, 2(2), 127–137.

Khnifer, M. (2010). The human remains of Islamic finance. Islamic Business & Finance,

(December), 36–39. Retrieved from www.cpifinancial.net

Kosmo. (n.d.). Potensi kerja yang cerah. Retrieved from

http://kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2014&dt=0807&pub=Kosmo&sec=Varia&pg=va

_01.htm#ixzz3OZWBW7j1



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Laldin, M. A., & Mohd Parid, N. (2010). Senario kewangan dan perbankan Islam masa kini:

Prospek, isu-isu dan cabaran. Konvensyen Kewangan dan Perbankan Islam 2010. Shah Alam.

Ling, L., Qing, T., & Shen, P. (2014). Can training promote employee organizational

commitment? The effect of employability and expectation value. Nankai Business Review

International, 5(2), 162–186.

Madar, A. R., & Buntat, Y. (2011). Elements of employability skills among students from

Community Colleges Malaysia. Journal of Technical, Vocational & Engineering Education,

4(December), 1–11.

Maxwell, G., Scott, B., Macfarlane, D., & Williamson, E. (2010). Employers as stakeholders

in postgraduate employability skills development. The International Journal of Management

Education, 8(2), 1–22.

Miller, L., Biggart, A., & Newton, B. (2013). Basic and employability skills. International

Journal of Training and Development, 17(3), 173–175.

Mishra, K. (2014). Employability skills that recruiters demand. The IUO Journal of Soft

Skills, VIII(3), 50–56.

Mohamad, M. T., Borhan, J. T., & Sulaiman, A. A. (2012). Kelakuan perbankan Islam dalam

menguruskan pembiayaan di Malaysia. Asian Jurnal of Accounting and Governance, 3, 29–

38.

Mohd Ghazali, S. Z., & Ismail, A. (2013). Kaitan antara latihan pengurusan bakat dengan

prestasi kerja dalam sektor perbankan Islam. In Prosiding PERKEM VIII (Vol. 1, pp. 101–

111).

Nilsson, S., & Ellström, P.-E. (2012). Employability and talent management: challenges for

HRD practices. European Journal of Training and Development, 36(1), 26–45.

Omar, M. K., Bakar, A. R., & Mat Rashid, A. (2012). Employability skills acquisition among

Malaysia Community College Students. Journal of Social Sciences, 8(3), 472–478.

Oria, B. (2012). Enhancing higher education students employability: A Spanish case study.

International Journal of Technology Management & …, 11(3), 217–230.

Panagiotakopoulos, A. (2012). Employability skills development in Greek higher education

institutions (HEIs): Implications for policy makers. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based

Learning, 2(2), 141–150.

Parvu, I., Ipate, D. M., & Mitran, P. C. (2014). Identification of employability skills - Starting

point for the curriculum design process. Economics, Management and Financial Markets,

9(1), 237–246.

Pillai, S., Khan, M. H., Ibrahim, I. S., & Raphael, S. (2012). Enhancing employability through

industrial training in the Malaysian context. Higher Education, 63(2), 187–204.



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Rajan, R. K. M. (2010). Soft skill requirement for employability in menchanical engineeting

industry. Journal of Human Capital Development, 3(2), 41–54.

Rao, M. S. (2014). Enhancing employability in engineering and management students through

soft skills. Industrial and Commercial Training, 46(1), 42–48.

Rasul, M. S., Ismail, M. Y., Ismail, N., Rajuddin, M. R., & Abd Raud, R. A. (2009).

Importance of employability skills as perceived by employers of Malaysian manufacturing

industry. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 5(12), 2059–2066.

Rasul, M. S., & Puvanasvaran, A. P. (2009). Importance of employability skills as perceived

by employers of Malaysian manufacturing industry. Journal of Human Capital Development,

2(2), 23–36.

Rosland, A., Hasbulah, M. H., & Borhan, J. T. (2013). Produk simpanan berasaskan ganjaran:

Kajian kes di Banks Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) dan Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN).

Labuan E-Journal of Muamalat and Society, 7, 71–82.

Saari, H. A., & Mat Rashid, A. (2013). Competency level of employability skills among the

apprentices of the National Dual Training System: A comparative analysis of industry

perception by company status. International Journal of Education and Research, 1(11), 1–12.

Sail, R. M., & Alavi, K. (2010). Social skills and social values training for future k-workers.

Journal of European Industrial Training (Vol. 34).

Shafie, L. A., & Nayan, S. (2010). Employability awareness among Malaysian

undergraduates. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(8), 119–123.

Shoenfelt, E. L., Stone, N. J., & Kottke, J. L. (2013). Internships: An established mechanism

for increasing employability. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(1), 24–27.

Smith, G. (2005). Communication skills are critical for internal auditors. Managerial Auditing

Journal, 20(5), 513–519.

Suhaimi, M. A., Hasan, M. R., Husin, H., & Shah, A. (2012). Information and communication

technology workforce employability in Malaysia. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 29(2),

80–89.

Sulaiman Abdullah, S. A. N., & Joriah, M. (2013). Introduction to history of Islamic banking

in Malaysia. Humanomics, 29(2), 80–87.

Sung, J., Chi Man Ng, M., Loke, F., & Ramos, C. (2013). The nature of employability skills:

Empirical evidence from Singapore. International Journal of Training and Development,

17(3), 176–193.

Tahir, S. (2009). Islamic finance - Undergraduate education. Islamic Economic Studies, 16(1

& 2).

Trbanc, M. (1995). Employment opportunities for University Graduates in Slovenia. European

Journal of Education, 30(1), 49–63.



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

Tymon, A. (2011). The student perspective on employability. Studies in Higher Education,

38(6), 841–856.

Utusan Malaysia. (2014, October 16). Gaji sektor perbankan dan kewangan tumbuh paling

tinggi di Malaysia. Retrieved from

http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/Ekonomi/20141016/ek_01/Gaji-sektor-perbankan-dan-

kewangan-tumbuh-paling-tinggi-di-Malaysia

Wickramasinghe, V., & Perera, L. (2010). Graduates‟, university lecturers' and employers'

perceptions towards employability skills. Education + Training, 52(3), 226–244.

Yussof, I., Ismail, R., & Sidin, R. (2008). Graduan dan alam pekerjaan: Kes siswazah UKM.

Akademika, 72(Januari), 3–24.



WW

W.IC

MRR.ORG

employability skills: do islamic banking … skills: do islamic banking graduates well-developed? 1...

Documents