BRIDGING THE EMPLOYABILITY GAP: THE IMPACT OF SOFT SKILLS ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ WORK READINESS

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of soft skills on work readiness of undergraduate students studying in the public universities of Karachi. The study concentrated on the major soft skills such as communication, emotional intelligence, team work, time management and leadership that were found to be important in relation to the students' readiness for work and their performance at work. The quantitative descriptive survey design was used and data was collected from 250 undergraduate students using a five-point Likert scale structured questionnaire. Cronbach's Alpha (α = 0.792) confirmed the instrument's reliability, which has good internal consistency. Descriptive statistics and independent-sample t-tests were used for the analysis of the data. The results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between soft skills and work readiness (t = 6.532, p < .05). In addition, communication, emotional intelligence, teamwork, time management and leadership were significant predictors of students' work readiness (t = 5.647, p < .05). The effect of soft skills also was significant on the job performance as perceived by employers (t = 5.738, p < .05). The study findings indicate that integrating the implementation of soft skill development in higher education curricula is very important in improving graduates' employability and successful transition to the working world.