CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION - 1.1 Background of the Study

CHAPTER 1:            INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Malaysia is now said to be at the mid-point in its journey towards Vision 2020 and is transforming to become a developed nation during the second phase of a fifteen year period. Everything in this world today has changed tremendously in terms of technological development, and most work needs to operate globally in order to survive the competition which exists in the world these days. This change has created an impact on the nature of work where a high level use of technology is a necessity to compete in the global arena (Jailani et al, 2006). Hence, a more flexible workforce with advanced technical skills coupled with well developed generic skills such as creative thinking, problem solving and analytical skills, is greatly needed by the employer in industry in order to meet the challenges faced by business.

 

 Academic excellence or achievement plays an important role in an individual placement, be it in the academic institutions like scholars or colleges, or job placement. Due to this, many people are concerned with the ways they can enhance their academic achievement. The emphasis on academic excellence which is also prevalent worldwide has encouraged many studies about the conditions that promote it. Contradictory views have been presented by educators, students, administrators, stakeholders and psychologist about what is academic achievement and why it is important. However, these are not the only caused for conflict since the measurements related to it also shifter as one progresses to a higher level of education.

Nevertheless, the role of academic achievement as one of the predictors of one’s life success, in the aspects of academic placement in schools to higher educational institutions as well as the level employability in one’s career is inevitable (Higgins et al. 2007). In other words, high academic achievement predicts student’s high level of marketability, enabling them to choose their own placement (Chapman, 2010).

Faced with stiff global competition, an arising concern is that current graduates do not match the needs of business. Graduates now are lacking in both technical know-how and generic skills. Competence is the fusion of both domains of specific knowledge and generic skills, so efforts to increase graduates’ competence must cover both areas. This has been highlighted in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (Jailani et al, 2006). Educational institutions have come under intense pressure to equip students with more than just the academic achievement. A number of reports issued by employers have urged universities to make more explicit efforts to develop the ‘key’, ‘core’, ‘transferable’, ‘soft’ , ‘employable’ and/or ‘generic skills’ needed in many types of employment.

Baxter and Young (1982) have indicated that employers need entry level workers who are dependable and trustworthy, have basic communication, thinking and problem solving skills, and have the desire to learn and advance the ability to work as part of a team, and possess a proper attitude. These skills have been defined as those needed by today’s students in a report published by the US Department of Labour. The report states that graduates must master employability skills, also called foundation skills, and competencies in order to find meaningful work. Foundation skills are basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities, while competencies include resource, interpersonal, information, systems, and technology competencies.

It was reported that, generally, Malaysia has a sufficient supply of graduates with technical skills mainly in information, communication and technology (ICT), business, engineering and many other fields. Unfortunately, the demand for these graduates is still low despite the economic growth in the country. The obvious question that arises is what could be the factors leading to the decrease in demand for these graduates? Does this imply that many of the local institutions of higher learning, both public and private, have failed to offer a sufficiently rigorous education to produce the necessary quality in the workforce which the industry requires, regardless of the fact that academic result among those graduates are impressive?

One Malaysian report (Chang, 2004) claimed that among the reasons is that graduates with a degree no longer automatically qualify for getting their first job. Instead, graduates who possess the greatest knowledge and skills in their study domain get hired first. In addition, the business world is becoming very competitive and computerization makes job performance measurement very transparent. Managers will only want to hire people who can contribute to team success. Proficiency in English, the ability to present ideas, explain issues and problems, to speak up in a constructive manner, to resolve problems, to understand issues and problems faced by companies and to come up with workable solutions to problems are all good communication and interpersonal skills sought after by employers. Therefore employees are expected to contribute from day one of being hired (Chang, 2004).

Even though the cognitive factors have been established by researchers as contributors to academic excellence, there is no denying the developing interest in other factors, like generic skills factors, in determining an individual’s academic success especially in higher level of education. Therefore, this study will focus on the impact of generic skills factors to students’ academic achievement.