Final Report - Higher Education Commission · HRM Human Resource Management ILO International...

Final Report Employers’ Perception Survey

Submitted to Higher Education Commission

Submitted by: Grant Thornton Consulting (Pvt.) Limited 2nd Floor, Low Rise Area (Eastern Side), Saudi Pak Tower, Jinnah Avenue Blue Area, Islamabad Pakistan. T: +92-51-2800168-70 F: +92-51-2800171

May, 2016

Employers’ Perception Survey

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 INTRODUCTION 5 1.1. EMPLOYMENT IN PAKISTAN 5 1.2. TERTIARY EDUCATION 5 1.3. HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION 5 1.4. THE TERTIARY EDUCATION SUPPORT PROGRAM 6 1.5. EMPLOYERS’ PERCEPTION SURVEY 6 METHODOLOGY 7 2.1. PROJECT INITIATION 7 2.2. LITERATURE / DOCUMENTATION REVIEW 7 2.3. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 7 2.4. DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEY TOOL 8 2.5. INCEPTION REPORT 8 2.6. RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING OF ENUMERATORS 8 2.7. PILOT TESTING 9 2.8. DATA COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND REPORTING 9 2.9. LIMITATIONS 9 LITERATURE REVIEW 10 3.1. BACKGROUND 10 3.2. CONCEPT OF GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY 10 3.4. STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS 12 3.5. ASSESSING GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS 13 SURVEY FINDINGS 14 4.1. ORGANIZATIONAL/SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS 14 4.2. EMPLOYMENT OF GRADUATES 16 4.3. TRAINING OF GRADUATES 23 4.4. EMPLOYERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM GRADUATES 25 4.5. EMPLOYERS’ SATISFACTION WITH GRADUATES 30 4.6. GAP ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYER EXPECTATION AND SATISFACTION 33 4.7. COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION WITH HEIS 35 4.8. GAP ANALYSIS OF IMPORTANCE AND FREQUENCY OF HEI-ORGANIZATIONS COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES 37 4.9. EMPLOYERS’ RECOMMENDATIONS 38 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 41 5.1. DISCUSSION 41 5.2. CONCLUSIONS 41 5.3. RECOMMENDATIONS 42 ANNEXURES 43 ANNEXURE 1: BIBLIOGRAPHY 43 ANNEXURE 2: RATIONALE FOR SAMPLE DESIGN 45 ANNEXURE 3: LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS 48 ANNEXURE 4: ANALYSIS FOR GAUGING IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES 54 ANNEXURE 5: SURVEY TOOL 56


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List of Figures

Figure 1 Model of graduate employability development 11 Figure 2 Respondents’ position in organization 14 Figure 3 Estimated number of employees in organization 14 Figure 4 Ownership of organizations 14 Figure 5 Broad activity of organizations 15 Figure 6 Broad activity of organizations by size 15 Figure 7 Organizations by sectors 15 Figure 8 Educational fields from which graduates recruited 16 Figure 9 Most important criteria for recruiting graduates 18 Figure 10 Preference for male or female graduates 18 Figure 11 Number of male and female graduate staff in organizations 19 Figure 12 Preference for graduates of public or private sector HEIs 19 Figure 13 Reasons for preferring graduates from private sector 20 Figure 14 Reasons for preferring graduates from public sector 20 Figure 15 Number of foreign qualified graduate employees in organizations, percentage distribution 20 Figure 16 Reasons for recruiting foreign qualified graduates 21 Figure 17 Greatest challenges in recruitment 21 Figure 18 Proportion of graduate employees participating in training to update their skills in the past 5 years Figure 19 Training activities in which graduates participate 23 Figure 20 Most useful HEI student assessment methods for developing graduate employability skills 24 Figure 21 Employability skills, competencies and attitudes that new graduates should have in the next 5-10 years 27 Figure 22Level of graduate degree required to fulfill future skill requirements 28 Figure 23 Subject specific knowledge and skills that will be required by organizations in the next 5-10 years which HEIs should develop 29 Figure 24 Skills required by organizations in next 5-10 years which should be developed by HEIs 29 Figure 25 Level of satisfaction with overall performance of graduate employees 31 Figure 26 Level of satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees 31 Figure 27 Level of satisfaction with performance of female graduate employees 31 Figure 28 Employers’ expected contribution from HEIs for employee skill development 38 Figure 29 Word tree of respondents' recommendations 39 Figure 30 Analysis of open-ended discussions 40


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List of Tables

Table 1 Distribution of organizations by category, sample design and actual sample 8 Table 2: Educational fields from which graduates were recruited by broad activity of organization 17 Table 3: Educational fields from which graduates were recruited by number of employees in organization 17 Table 4 Educational fields from which graduates were recruited by ownership structure of organization 17 Table 5: Preference of male or female graduates by broad activity of organization. 18 Table 6: Preference of male or female graduates by number of employees in organization 19 Table 7: Preference of male or female graduates by ownership structure of organization 19 Table 8: Number of foreign qualified employees in organization by broad activity of organization 20 Table 9: Number of foreign qualified employees in organization by ownership structure of organization 20 Table 10: Number of foreign qualified employees in organization by number of employees in organization 21 Table 11: Reasons for recruiting foreign qualified graduates by broad activity of organization 21 Table 12: Greatest challenges in filling vacancies by ownership structure of organization 22 Table 13: Greatest challenges in filling vacancies by number of employees in an organization 22 Table 14: Greatest challenges in filling vacancies by broad activity of organization 22 Table 15: Percentage of graduate employees that participated in training to update their skills in past five years by number of employees in organization 23 Table 16: Percentage of graduate employees that participated in training to update their skills in past five years by ownership structure of organization 23 Table 17: List of student assessment methods used in HEIs by ownership structure of organization 24 Table 18: Importance of employee skills and attitudes required by organizations at the time of recruitment of graduates over the past 5 years 25 Table 19: Importance of employee skills and attitudes required by organizations at the time of recruitment of graduates over the past 5 years (weighted mean scores) 26 Table 20: Skills, competencies and attitudes considered most important for new graduates in the next 5-10 years, by ownership structure of organization 27 Table 21: Skills, competencies and attitudes considered most important for new graduates in the next 5-10 years by broad activity of organization 27 Table 22: Level of graduate qualification required to fulfill future skills requirements by number of employees in organization 28 Table 23: Level of graduate qualification required to fulfill future skills requirements by ownership structure of organization 28 Table 24: Level of graduate qualification required to fulfill future skills requirements by financial (Banking/Insurance including) institutions 28 Table 25: Employers’ satisfaction against skills and attitudes of graduates recruited in the past 5 years 30 Table 26 Employers’ satisfaction against skills and attitudes of graduates recruited in the past 5 years (weighted mean scores) 31 Table 27 Analysis of overall satisfaction, satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees, and satisfaction with performance of female graduate employees 32 Table 28 Gap analysis of employer expectation and satisfaction (weighted mean scores) 34 Table 29 Importance of interaction between employers and HEI 35 Table 30: Importance of interaction between employers and HEI (weighted mean scores) 35 Table 31 Frequency of interaction between employers and HEI 35 Table 32 Frequency of interaction between employers and HEI (weighted mean scores) 36 Table 33 Gap analysis of importance and frequency of interaction between employers and HEI (weighted mean scores) 37


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Abbreviations

AAF Authentic Assessment Framework

CBI Confederation of British Industry

CEO Chief Executive Officer

DIUS Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

ESECT Enhancing Student Employability Co-ordination Team

FBR Federal Bureau of Revenue

FEG Framework for Economic Growth

GEI Graduate Employability Indicators

GCU Government College University, Lahore

GM General Manager

GT Grant Thornton

HDI Human Development Index

HE Higher Education

HEC Higher Education Commission

HECSU Higher Education Careers Services Unit

HEI Higher Education Institution

HR Human Resource

HRM Human Resource Management

ILO International Labour Organization

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IT Information Technology

KSE Karachi Stock Exchange

LTSN Learning and Teaching Support Network

LUMS Lahore University of Management Sciences

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MTDF-HE Medium Term Development Framework for Higher Education

NCIHE National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education,

NGO Non-Government Organization

NUST National University of Science & Technology

ORIC Office of Research, Innovation & Commercialization

Ph. D Doctor of Philosophy

R&D Research and Development

SECP Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

SHE Safety, Health and Environment

SMEDA Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences

TESP Tertiary Education Support Program

TORs Terms of Reference

WIL Work Integrated Learning


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Acknowledgements

This report has truly been the result of a sustained team effort. Grant Thornton would like

to acknowledge the valuable contributions of a number of individuals and organizations:

The HEC TESP team, which was involved at every step of the process, and ensured that

the survey sample, instruments, data collection methods and report met the highest quality

standards

The organizations which agreed to be a part of the survey, and shared relevant data as well

as responded to the various parts of the questionnaire;

The members of the survey team who managed to complete data collection and data entry

in a timely fashion despite many hurdles and challenges.

We would also like to acknowledge the use of relevant sections of two questionnaires which

proved particularly useful for the present study, namely the questionnaires used in the

Eurobarometer Study on Employers’ Perception of Graduate Employability, conducted in

multiple European countries lead by Hungary (The Gallup Organization, 2010) and the

Irish Higher Education Outcomes Study (Insight Statistical Consulting, 2015).


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Executive Summary

The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities as well as institutions that teach specific capacities of higher learning such as colleges, technical training institutes, community colleges, nursing schools, research laboratories, centers of excellence, and distance learning centers. (World Bank, n.d.). Goal of tertiary education is to enhance students’ overall capacity and serve as a repository of global knowledge. All over the world higher education institutions are working to improve the standard of education delivered based on modern technology and continually changing market dynamics. Amongst these institutions is the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, which has the role of facilitating institutions of higher learning to serve as enabler of growth in the fields of education, intellect and socio-economic development of Pakistan. Project Introduction In response to the efforts regarding implementation of Government’s higher education development program (part of the second Medium Term Development Framework for Higher education 2011-2015), HEC and the World Bank jointly initiated Tertiary Education Support Program (TESP) with the development objective to improve the conditions of teaching, learning and research for enhanced access, overall quality and relevance of tertiary education. As part of the initiatives of TESP, Grant Thornton has conducted a national survey of organizations in Pakistan to determine their perceptions of the quality and capability of graduate employees that have been added in the work force from various HEIs in Pakistan as well as international universities. Methodology The methodology for undertaking this project was two pronged, including secondary research to help us in understanding the various aspects of graduate employability and best practices from other studies undertaken with this objective. The secondary research was supplemented by a primary survey of carefully selected employers in Pakistan, to gauge the various attributes and qualities, being sought by the employers, in fresh graduates at the time of hiring and their perceptions post hiring against the various qualities that are expected from graduates. The survey was designed by carefully taking into account the desired objectives of this project, as mentioned in the terms of reference of this study and findings, from the literature review undertaken, of other similar studies undertaken internationally and in Pakistan. Based on the above, a comprehensive sampling strategy was developed to obtain a true representation of organizations in accordance to their respective proportion in the population. In this regard a total of 375 organizations in the sample were selected from across Pakistan, including representation from leading economic sectors, ownership profile, and size of the organizations determined by their number of employees. Assessment areas of the primary research include; characteristics of employment, recruitment of graduates, training, employee attitude, technical and soft skills, and communication and cooperation of employers with HEIs. Key findings from both the above mentioned approaches have been summarized below for reference. Secondary research An extensive literature review was undertaken for existing studies and prior experiences of similar initiatives in other parts of the world supplemented with a few studies conducted for Pakistan. Key findings from this review included concepts of graduate employability, its various attributes including enablers and processes that contribute in developing graduate employability. The literature review highlights factors underpinning employability such as; the need to increase communication and collaboration between the demand side determined by employers, and the supply side determined by students and the HEIs. It also highlights the importance of ability rather than employability, by developing the capacity of the learner and supplemented by other attributes like value and social engagement etc. The literature review also enabled to identify key actors, factors and processes that contribute to development of personality, eventually leading to employment or self-employment. The need for having the right attitude and aptitude, soft skills, work related skills and personal competencies were found to be important for employers. The popular tools and approaches for assessing graduate employability skills include: GEI created by an Australian learning and Teaching Council Project, and the Curtin Teaching and Learning Authentic Assessment Framework (AAF) (linked to the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) approach), developed at Curtin University, Australia.


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The literature review highlights the complex nature of employability, the need to increase communication and collaboration between employers, students, and HEIs. It also highlighted the importance of soft skills, on-the-job learning, life-long learning; and the potential of using tools like GEI and AAF for assessing and developing graduate employability skills. Primary Research The primary survey included perceptions from 375 employers from various economic sectors including; agriculture, textiles, food and related entities, ICT, education, oil and gas, NGOs, banking and finance, sports, chemicals, paints and plastics, insurance, automotive, hospitality and engineering, for providing a broad spectrum of employers’ perception emanating from multiple disciplines, economic sectors and geographic regions. Findings from the primary survey highlighted a number of important attributes for graduate employability, including the preference of graduate disciplines in Pakistan, which shows that the top three faculties in demand are; business and management, engineering, and information and communications technology. In terms of preferences for attributes for hiring; interview performance, professional attitude, communication skills and core qualifications of the graduates were considered as most important. In terms of gender preference for hiring of graduates it was surprising to learn that there was a substantial percentage of employers who actually preferred male candidates to females, and this was a more likely instance in manufacturing organisations as compared with services based, mainly on account of the more perceived laborious nature of work expected in the manufacturing organisations. When asked for preference of employers for graduates from private universities as compared with public, there was no substantial difference between the two categories, and responses were very similar for reasons of preferring a private university by one set of respondents with the other who preferred to hire from public universities. Hence there is no particular preference of the market for hiring graduates from public versus private universities. However, when analysing the preference of employers for hiring foreign graduates, it was highlighted that a majority (52%) of organisations have a preference for foreign graduates, mainly owing to the better overall quality, their grip over the subject matter of their specialisation, and their ability to better communicate and present themselves. Moreover, shortage of local qualified graduates with the right skills and competencies and the inability of employers to meet the increasing demand of starting salary were the biggest challenges for preferring foreign over locally qualified graduates. This issue has been further confirmed from the gap analysis of employers’ expectation and satisfaction on various graduate skills and attitudes which shows the highest level of importance and lowest level of satisfaction for; overall quality, attention to detail, critical thinking and analytical skills. Employers when asked about providing training to their staff responded positively with 87% organisations that have a formal training programmes of varying proportions, which shows a conscious effort by employers to continually improve the skills set and quality of their graduate employees. Employers when asked about their preference for assessment methods of graduates, in addition to more traditional methods such as exams and laboratory test, responded that, practical knowledge and prior work experience, along with the ability to think analytically were three most important attributes for HEIs to develop, as part of graduate employability skills. When employers were asked about the importance of knowledge, soft skills, work place ethics, and attitudes of graduate employees hired in the past five years, the most important attributes being sought were; their ability to take responsibility and initiative, self-motivation, and their capability of oral communication and inter personal skills. These attributes however slightly differed by sector which is that, manufacturing sector weighed subject knowledge, self-motivation, and ability to apply professional knowledge more as compared to services sector, which highlighted effective oral communication, working effectively on their own and self-motivation as the three most important attributes. Employability skills, competencies and attitudes expected by employers that new graduates should have in the next 5–10 years included sector specific skills, analytical skills, creativity, and working effectively with others, followed by numerical, writing and computer skills, along with the capacity to remain flexible for learning and adapting to change. It was however interesting to learn that employers rated leadership and entrepreneurial skills less than the ones mentioned above, which represent the employers’ mind set for employees to not portray skills that may eventually create competition for the employers. Employers when asked about the subject/sector specific knowledge that needs to be developed by HEIs in the next 5-10 years, most respondents mentioned IT and business management skills, followed by engineering and technology, marketing and sales, and general management skills. Other responses included proposal writing, quality control, report writing, risk management, insurance, social sciences, and psychology.


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Moreover, employers when asked about their level of satisfaction with graduate skills, knowledge and attitudes, a large majority of respondents were satisfied with almost all employability skills, however satisfaction with soft skills, including; effective written communication, leadership skills, and critical thinking were rated lower than other employability skills. The level of satisfaction when further analysed showed a similar response where level of dissatisfaction stood at approximately 8 – 10% for both genders. Level of satisfaction, when gauged against the level of importance of each attribute, showed that the most important set of attributes are the ones that have a high importance and low satisfaction ratio, which included; self-motivation, initiative, ability to cope with work pressure, interpersonal skills, capacity to adapt and flexibility, and ability to apply professional or technical knowledge in the workplace. Lastly the employers were asked about ways and means to increase interaction with HEIs, to bridge the gap of expectation of quality between demand and supply of graduates across the country. This can be achieved by increasing the level of interaction between HEIs and employers of various categories that rely on the HEIs for their work force. Employers when asked to respond on this objective, stated that the most important attributes in this category, where they feel minimum interaction with HEIs is presently taking place are; areas such as collaboration on research and innovation, and cooperation on curriculum design and study materials. This means that presently there is inadequate focus of the HEIs on applied research projects that can contribute towards solving local problems instead of focusing on international research projects. Recommendations Key recommendations of this study include the need for Pakistani HEIs to improve their assessment methods, to more practical and hands on assessment, which can actually test the competence and capacity of the student, in addition to theo-retical knowledge. This approach will also inculcate the habit of research and inquisitiveness in students, who would focus more on the next phase, which is the application of knowledge. This will also address the issue raised by a majority of employers regarding their lack of satisfaction in some graduate skills that are important for them such as critical thinking, analytical approach, self-initiative and effective interpersonal communication. While engineering, and information and communication technology are the second and third top most demanded faculties by our employers, there is very little development in our universities that cater to the dynamically evolving technological needs of our country, and as a result employers are resorted to look abroad for their technology needs, as well as for people who have the requisite knowledge and training on latest technologies. The bigger universities should therefore focus on applied research and develop content that is more relevant to the needs of local economy and industry. The importance and need for gender balance should be inculcated at all levels in the society, and HEIs should contribute by providing incentives, confidence building courses and tutorials to the fair gender for being able to assume more leadership roles in organisations that are presently male dominated. HEIs in Pakistan should take heed of the fact that a majority of employers, including government and private employers, have foreign qualified people in their work force. The reason attributed to this is the lack of availability of quality resources in Pakistan, who have practical knowledge and experience in the subject of their specialisation, and also lack overall quality. These are areas that local HEIs need to focus more for being able to adequately meet, local demand of employers. In terms of expectations and satisfaction of employers from graduate skills and competences, HEIs should focus on the aspects that are most important, but have a low satisfaction with employers, such as critical and analytical thinking, motiva-tion and initiative, effective writing skills and quality consciousness. Employers have strongly endorsed the use of various means to enhance engagement with HEIs, including; cooperation on curriculum design and study programs, collaboration on research and innovation, recruitment of graduates, work placement opportunities for students, participation in debates/seminars organized by HEIs, structured discussions with course directors or senior management, and cooperation with career services/centers. A proactive and collaborative effort will be required by employers, HEIs and HEC to make progress on these fronts.


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Introduction

1.1. Employment in Pakistan As per the report presented by Federal Bureau of Statistics. Pakistan has the 10th. largest labour force in the world. According to the Labour Force Survey 2013-14, the total labour force in the country is 60.09 million. Out of this, 3.58 million people are unemployed and 56.52 million people are employed. Pakistan being the 6th. most populous country in the world, with population growth rate of around 1.92 percent per annum, is adding a large number of people to the labour force (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2015).Youth employment has remained one of the major concerns of the government. Youth in Paki-stan face various disadvantages including limited job search expertise, a mismatch between education, aspirations and em-ployers’ requirements and a lack of mobility, among other factors. The government envisions long-term investment in human capital through formal and informal education as well as strate-gically strengthening the links between education and the labor market. Furthermore, entrepreneurial activities among youth shall be increased by providing business wisdom, inspiration and motivation by stressing on the importance of business opportunities. Demand driven technical education along with entrepreneurial education in curriculum shall address the youth unemployment. (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2015) 1.2. Tertiary Education Tertiary education is the third stage of education, and by definition of the World Bank, tertiary education providers contain all the universities, institutions that contribute to higher level learning which include; the colleges, technical training insti-tutes, community colleges, nursing schools, research laboratories, centers of excellence and distance learning centers. (World Bank, n.d.)

1.3. Higher Education Commission The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is an independent, autonomous, and constitutionally established institution of primary funding, overseeing, regulating, and accrediting the higher education efforts in Pakistan. HEC is re-sponsible for formulating the higher education policy and assuring that the quality of tertiary education delivered in Pakistan is up to mark with the international standards. HEC also provides academic accreditation, develops new institutes and focuses on improving educational standards of existing institutes in Pakistan. (Higher Education Commission) The creation of HEC has had a positive impact on higher education in Pakistan, including some of the following facts:

Established the finest Digital Library in Pakistan: Every student in every public sector university today has access to 45,000 textbooks research monographs from 220 international publishers as well as to 25,000 international research journals - regarded as one of the best digital libraries anywhere in the world (HEC, n.d.)

During the 56-year period (1947–2003) not a single Pakistani university could be ranked among the top 600 universities in the world. Today 2 Pakistani universities ranked among top 200 World’s Technology Universities (Associated Press of Pakistan, 2011)

Universities have a leadership role in society, and modern universities are an integral part of the community and the region in which they are located. They serve to promote local industry, protect local heritage, debate policies impacting their region and the country at large, provide education and training addressing local needs. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is therefore supporting initiatives aimed at enhancing collaboration between academia and industry and govern-ment, with focus on developing relevant education and research and development programs at the academic institutions.


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1.4. The Tertiary Education Support Program In response to the efforts regarding implementation of Government’s Higher Education Development Program, as part of second Medium Term Development Framework for Higher Education (MTDF-HE II, 2011-2015), HEC and the World Bank jointly initiated the Tertiary Education Support Program (TESP). The program aims to address both policy design and capacity constraints to support targeted changes for higher education sector in Pakistan. This involves improving the conditions of teaching, learning and research for enhanced access, quality and relevance of tertiary education. The program seeks to enhance capacity of Pakistani Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to produce high quality graduates, support innovation, and improve overall governance and management of the higher education sector. The program is designed to support governmental reforms in tertiary education under two distinct components of; (1) Program Financing, and (2) Capacity Building, Policy Design and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E). Component 1 consists of four sub-components, aligned with the Government's overall program:

Improved fiscal sustainability and expenditure effectiveness

Enhanced quality and relevance of teaching and research

Improved equitable access

Strengthened governance and management

Component 2 is aimed at strengthening capacities for program implementation and M&E systems in the tertiary education sector. It finances essential technical assistance (and capacity building activities, sequenced with the implementation of Component 1. 1.5. Employers’ Perception Survey In order to determine the extent to which the competencies produced by tertiary education offered in Pakistani HEIs is in accordance with the aspirations of the employers, HEC/TESP decided to carry out an Employer Perception Survey about the quality of graduates produced by Pakistani HEIs. A key objective of the survey was to facilitate creation of a good match between knowledge, skills and attitudes fostered by these institutions among students and those that are desired and demanded by local and global markets. Grant Thornton Consulting (Pvt.) Ltd was commissioned by HEC/TESP to conduct the employers’ survey, with specific objectives as mentioned in the terms of reference, which includes the following:

To unveil employer opinion on those graduate qualities/ competencies that they consider important for employment

To attain employer feedback on the extent to which Pakistani graduates demonstrate those qualities/competencies

To point out areas where development of graduate qualities could be refined

To build a closer relationship and goodwill between key employers, HEIs and graduates of HEIs of Pakistan

To obtain baseline data to tailor educational activities at higher level to make them more employment-oriented

To provide useful information to students, parents and other stakeholders for better decision making regarding higher education

To review and determine preferred model in terms of the time that HEIs may allocate between teaching/research and coaching of skills and traits essential for greater employability; vis-a-vis use of tutorials, practicing skill under regular curriculum teaching, or else

To explore best practices for integration and development of high quality employability skills through consultation with key stakeholders, including universities, business and industry

To identify best possible procedures for assessment and reporting of quality of graduates in general and level of employability skills in particular

To pinpoint practical and cost-effective methods that enable quality of graduates and employability skills to be explicitly identified as part of the higher education assessment and reporting process

To recommend assessment and reporting approaches for recognition of graduate employability

To forecast the impact of recommended approaches on higher education sector Second chapter describes the methodology of survey, while the third chapter reviews relevant literature on the subject. Chapter 4 constitutes the main body of report, presenting findings of survey, and their analysis. In Chapter 5, we discuss implications of findings, draw conclusions, and make recommendations based both on literature review as well as findings and conclusions of the study. Sampling design and rationale, survey instrument, list of participating organizations, statistical tables of some of the key findings and references are given in the Annexures.


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Methodology

Survey involved the following steps: 1. Project initiation 2. Literature / documentation review 3. Sampling and work plan 4. Development of questionnaire 5. Inception report 6. Recruitment and training of enumerators 7. Pilot testing 8. Data collection, processing and reporting 2.1. Project Initiation Project was started with an initial meeting between GT and HEC TESP team. Objective of the meeting was to clarify TORs, discuss study methodology in more detail, discuss work plan and time lines and other implementation issues, and gain access to relevant documents. A committee was formed by HEC to oversee implementation of the assignment, participate in key events (e.g. training), and to approve sampling and work plan, survey instrument, survey team profiles, and reports. 2.2. Literature / Documentation Review An extensive review of documentation related to the study was carried out by the designated project team. Documents consulted included HEC and World Bank reports related to TESP and higher education, research studies related to perceptions of employers, employees, HEI graduates and faculties conducted in Pakistan, and in other developing and developed countries. A number of studies were reviewed by the team, including questionnaires used in prior similar studies. Two questionnaires proved particularly useful and relevant for the present study, namely questionnaires used in Eurobarometer Study Employers’ Perception of Graduate Employability conducted in multiple European countries lead by Hungary (The Gallup Organization, 2010)and the Irish Higher Education Outcomes study (Insight Statistical Consulting, 2015). List of documents referred to in this report is given in Annexure 1. 2.3. Sampling Technique It was originally decided to survey 300 organizations for the study, which included government/semi-government/autonomous organizations, public and private HEIs, incorporated companies, financial services companies, insurance companies, and banks. Proportion of different types of organizations in the sample was based on their sizes as reported in various official documents (Federal Bureau of Pakistan) (State Bank of Pakistan) (HEC, n.d.). It was a multi-stage sample considering the estimated number of people in an organization as a measure of size and hence large organizations with more people who were likely to have more graduates were included in the sample as compared to small organizations which were assumed to have less number of graduates. The sample breakdown and rationale for sample selection is given in Annexure 2. The survey team prepared a list of over 400 organizations, and contacted them by phone to seek their concurrence to be part of the survey, explaining benefits and objectives of the survey. Due to the large number of variables and sub-variables involved, ensuring that these variables were covered in the right proportion was a major challenge with teams collecting data simultaneously in ten locations across the country. Eventually the survey was completed with a total of 375 responses, 20% more than originally targeted. Final list of participating organizations has been filed as Annexure 3. Distribution of organizations under various categories as per original sample design and actual sample size is given in Table 1.


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Table 1 Distribution of organizations by category, sample design and actual sample

Sample Design (N=300) Actual Sample (N=375)

Sector

Manufacturing 88 29.3% 134 35.7%

Services 126 42.0% 191 51.0%

Both 50 13.3%

Agriculture 86 28.7% 106 28.3%

Ownership

Government 40 to 82 13.3% to 27.3% 59 15.7%

Private 218 to 260 72.7% to 86.7% 300 80.0%

Non-profit 16 4.3%

Size

Large 93 31.0% 155 41.3%

Medium 142 47.3% 106 28.3%

Small 65 21.7% 114 30.4%

From a sectorial perspective, the proportion of organizations in agriculture sector (28.3%) is as per original sample design (28.7%). Proportion of manufacturing (35.7%) and services (51.0%) is higher than the proportions given in sample design, i.e. manufacturing (29.3%) and services (42.0%). However, actual sample includes 26 agricultural sector manufacturing companies (6.9%) and 44 service companies (11.7%). If these percentages are subtracted from the actual sample, the resultant percentages reduce to 28.8% for manufacturing and 39.3% for services, which are close to the original sample design. The proportion of government (15.7%) and private organizations (80%) in final sample is in line with percentages given in the sample design. A small number, of non-profit organizations was added to the sample based on the mutual agreement and finalization of sample design with the HEC team. According to the sample design, 31% large, 47.3% medium and 21.7% small organizations were to be selected for the sample; however, the sample design did not provide any definition of large, medium and small organizations, and there is considerable variation in categorization by different entities (SBP, n.d.). In the present study, organizations with 250 or more employees were defined as large, organizations with 50-249 employees were defined as medium, and organizations with less than 50 employees were defined as small. Using this definition, the actual sample had 41.3% large, 28.3% medium and 30.4% small organizations. 2.4. Development of Survey Tool In order to address objectives of the study, a specialized questionnaire/survey tool was developed consisting of the following parts: 1. Organizational characteristics 2. Employment and recruitment of graduates 3. Training of graduates 4. Employee attitude, technical and soft skills 5. Communication and cooperation of employers with HEIs The survey tool has been filed as Annexure 5. Pilot testing of the survey tool is discussed under section 2.7 of this report. 2.5. Inception Report As per the terms of reference, an Inception Report was submitted to HEC. Inception report included the survey objectives and methodology, sampling design and list of organizations in the sample by category and city, draft questionnaire, details regarding enumerators and survey approach, data collection methodology, and a detailed work plan for undertaking and completing the study. 2.6. Recruitment and Training of Enumerators A team including male and female enumerators with requisite survey experience was identified from each city in which the survey was to be conducted. Team was trained by GT team in Islamabad in May, 2015, which involved introduction to study objectives and design, detailed discussion of each question and the underlying objective of each area in the survey questionnaire. Participants were divided into different groups for participating in mock interview sessions, with GT team members playing the roles of respondents, while each enumerator conducted the interviews, till such time they were familiar with the questionaire and its objectives. Only those enumerators were finally selected who conducted interviews according to the laid down guidelines.


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2.7. Pilot Testing Pilot testing was conducted with 20 organizations in the selected cities, covering a variety of sectors and fields of work as defined in the sampling plan with an aim to include a cross-section of organizations for the pilot test. The pilot survey was completed in June, 2015, and a report was presented to HEC with the results ascribing findings against each area being tested in the survey tool along with feedback on weak areas which was used to further improve the survey tool. The revised instrument was further reviewed by HEC and finalised after incorporating their inputs, in July, 2015. A second round of training on the revised survey questionaire was conducted in August, 2015 (All enumerators were trained again in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi on the revised questionnaire), this was also observed by representatives from HEC. Data were again collected from 14 organizations in the second pilot testing, and a report ascribing the results and findings was presented to HEC. As a result of feedback from HEC the questionnaire was approved and finalized for start of the full survey. 2.8. Data Collection, Processing and Reporting Enumerators were equipped with relevant material including survey tool and introductory letters for explaining the purpose and desired objectives to the respondents. Enumerators in all ten cities were provided support from GT office in obtaining appointments from each respondent who agreed to participate in the survey for providing needful information. Subsequently enumerators from each city visited the respective organizations in their designated areas and helped the respondents in completing the desired set of questions, after giving underlying explanation for each question and its intended purpose. GT supervisory staff controlled the entire field work by keeping a close watch on daily progress of each enumerator by checking the completed forms, and back testing some of the responses with follow up phone calls to the respondents. The entire data collected from the field were carefully examined for any errors or inconsistencies. Validated data sets were entered in specially designed software for analysis. A frequency distribution template was generated for each set of responses to analyze responses obtained against each area of the survey. The frequency of responses along with variable parameters desired in the terms of reference were cross tabulated for analysis of stratified responses against; economic sectors, organizational ownership profile and organizational size determined by their number of employees. 2.9. Limitations As mentioned earlier, the study had a complicated sample design, with a large number of variables and sub-variables. Ensuring that these variables were covered in the right proportion was a major challenge with teams collecting data simultaneously in ten locations across the country. A common problem faced in most surveys is the social desirability factor; on account of which there is a possibility that respondents may have expressed satisfaction with their employees in order to project a good external image of their organization. Interviewers (enumerators) tried to address this factor by assuring the respondents that their responses would be kept confidential.


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Literature Review

This section discusses the review of available secondary literature on the concepts of employability, perceptions of various stakeholders regarding graduates and their employability, knowledge and skill set required by employers, and the assessment of various employability skills. 3.1. Background Pakistan’s progress has also been severely lagging in achieving universal primary education as it is off track in achieving the targets set for 2015 in all defined indicators. In particular, the completion/survival rate seems to have declined rapidly in recent years implying that more than a quarter of students enrolled in primary schools do not complete their education. Pakistan’s literacy rate, though having improved marginally over the years, remains considerably short of the MDG target of 88% by 2015 at 58%, and closer inspection reveals large gender and rural/urban disparities. (United Nations Development Programme, 2015) According to The Global Innovation Index Pakistan was ranked 133rd out of 141 countries, as compared to China and India, which were ranked 34 and 64, respectively (European Institute of Business Administration, 2012). According to Planning Commission of Pakistan (2011) Pakistan was ranked 92 out of 133 countries in a university-industry linkages index, much lower than China and India, which were ranked 23 and 46, respectively. This clearly indicates that Pakistan is not doing well on key indicators contributing to graduate employability. 3.2. Concept of Graduate Employability There is no one agreed definition of employability. Moreover, the definition of employability has undergone considerable change over time. Harvey (2003) argued that employability was more than about developing attributes, techniques or experience just to enable a student to get a job, or to progress within a current career. According to him, the emphasis was less on ‘employ’ and more on ‘ability’, i.e. on developing critical, reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner. Following a similar line of thinking, Hinchcliffe and Jolly (2011) argue for a four-stranded concept of employability that comprises value, intellect, social engagement and performance.

Arguing against a simplistic “magic bullet” model of employability Harvey (2002) identified the key actors (graduates, HEIs, employers), factors (subject area, employability development opportunities, extra-curricular experiences) and processes (engagement, pedagogy, reflection, and articulation), which contribute to the development of employability, eventually leading to employment or self-employment (Figure 1).


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The notion of skills underpins discussions about employability. With increasing public emphasis on skills in higher education, concept of employability skills has undergone change over time. The term ‘key skills’ was replaced by terms like ‘core skills’, ‘transferable skills’, and ‘generic skills’ in 1980s. However, Yorke (2006) points out that what exactly 'skills' entailed was not

at all clear or supported by enough evidence or demonstrated by proven models. In a similar vein Jensen (2008) criticized the idea of employability as simply a matter of producing lists of required skills which could be matched with employers’ needs, and argued that employers valued broad ‘employability’ skills, such as communication, motivation, independence, analysis, confidence and problem solving. A research project commissioned by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, UK (HECSU) on transitions into employment, found that, rather than acquiring the skills, understanding and knowledge about employability, successful students learned how to change themselves into the sort of person who was more likely to be employed in a particular occupation. The research stressed that, rather than focusing on generic skills, graduates needed to have actual sector specific knowledge, contacts and be part of networks in order for them to be successful. (Bownan, Hodkinson, & Colley, 2005).

Subject Area

HEI Employability Development Opportunities

Graduate

Extra-Curricular Experience

• Employability Attributes

• Work Experience

• Self- Promotional Skills

• Willingness to Develop

Employer

Market

Recruitment

Portfolio

Employment

Self- Employment

Employability External factors

Engagement Pedagogy

Reflection

Articulation

Figure 1 Model of graduate employability development


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3.4. Stakeholder Perceptions of Graduate Employability Skills Studies Conducted Internationally According to the International Labour Organization (2013), many young applicants across the globe do not possess the skills and competencies required for job entry, and also lack specific “21st century workplace skills” such as cooperation, communication, critical thinking, creativity, and a focus on the needs of the enterprise.

The annual survey by the Confederation of British Industry found that having right attitudes and aptitudes was rated as the most important consideration when businesses recruited graduates, taking priority over other factors including degree subject and degree classification. Approximately 45% of employers were critical of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates for not being “rounded, grounded and ready for work”, while 62% criticized their employees’ IT skills. Businesses wanted to see HEIs do more to help students “develop work-relevant skills” and improve “the business relevance of undergraduate courses” (Changing the Peace, 2013).

In a study of employer perceptions regarding marketing graduates, the author found that degree academic content appeared to be less important compared with work experience, while transferrable skills (communication, ICT, interpersonal relationships, self-management, planning, decision making, and problem solving) and personal competencies (creativity, responsibility, determination, confidence and imitativeness) were found to be important for employers (Wellman N. , 2010).

Similar findings emerge from a study by Finch, Hamilton, Riley and Zehner (2013) found that employers placed highest value on soft-skills and lowest value on academic reputation. Employability factors identified in descending order of prior-ity included listening skills, interpersonal skills, verbal communication skills, critical thinking skills, professionalism, written communication skills, creative thinking skills, adaptability, professional confidence, job specific competencies, leadership skills, work experience, job specific technical skills, academic performance, program reputation, knowledge of software, and institutional reputation.

A number of researchers have investigated the gap between needs of employers and perceptions and skills of graduates. Frye (2000) and his colleagues investigated the methods through which employers’ and learners’ needs, can be taken into account in formulating future skills assessments. This supply and demand model identified following mismatches: 1. Employer demand-provider supply: mismatch between employers’ demand for particular skills and flow of skilled

people arising from provider supply 2. Learner aspirations-employer demand: mismatch between what learners aim to achieve through education and training

and skill needs of employers 3. Provider supply-learner aspirations: mismatch between courses offered by providers and expectations and needs of

learners.

Studies Conducted Locally A British Council national survey of 1,226 Pakistani youth found that 50 percent of youth believed that they lacked skills required by modern labour market, with even educated youth struggling to find decent work due to corruption and discrimination. (British Council, 2009)

Saeed (2015) studied the gaps in competencies between employers’ requirements and graduates’ marketing skills through an online survey of 137 marketing graduates of 3 business schools of Karachi. Older graduates were asked to identify importance of different competencies required in marketing jobs, while fresh graduates were asked to rate their own levels of various marketing competencies. The study found that both technical (marketing) and non-technical (e.g. interpersonal) skills were important for fresh graduates to start in a marketing career, and university courses were preparing graduates for such skills. However, there were significant gaps between required and actual levels of a number of marketing competencies like ‘design and implement marketing plan’, ‘conduct market research’ and ‘forecasting and budgeting’.

Salman (2008) conducted a study to assess the views of companies and HEIs regarding the competencies of HE graduates in Gujranwala city. The study found a significant mismatch between assessments of companies on one hand and graduate students and teachers on the other, regarding skills prevalent in graduates. Company managers were of the view that their graduate employees were most lacking in comprehension skills, followed by priority management, time management, and analytical skills, while they were least lacking in personal management, followed by financial management and writing skills. On the other hand, university teachers and students were of the view that graduates were most lacking in priority management, followed by financial management and writing skills, while they were least lacking in comprehension personal management, followed by time management and analytical skills. Thus, except for priority management, there was a major gap in assessments of company managers and teachers/students. However, there were no significant differences by gender of graduate.

A study by Jabeen (2011) comparing employers’ expectations and students’ perceptions found a mismatch between graduating university students’ perceptions and employers’ expectations regarding skills that qualify them to be employed. Discipline, positive attitude, punctuality, time management, and oral communications were ranked highly by employers. Mirza, Jaffri and Hashmi (2014) conducted an assessment of industrial employment skill gaps through a survey of 100 industrial employers and 151 final year students from 6 universities and postgraduate colleges in Gujrat-Sialkot-Gujranwala


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industrial cluster. The study found gaps in assessments of job skills by employers and students in all three categories of communication and business specific skills, core employability skills, and professional skills. Employers were least satisfied with professional skills of new employees compared to their scores on importance of these skills. Students also scored their own professional skills lower than importance of these skills in the job market. Students generally gave higher scores assigned to the importance of all skills compared to employers. When disaggregated by discipline, students in more technical fields (engineering, computer science, and IT) claimed a shortage of these skills, whereas students from economics, commerce and business administration indicated they were neither sound in professional skills or in softer skills. Raza and Naqvi’s (2011) study of managers of 65 companies from 12 industrial sectors listed with the Lahore Stock Exchange found employers dissatisfied with quality of Pakistani university graduates in all four areas of development skills. Personal development skills were found relatively strong, followed by intellectual and professional skills, with social skills being the weakest. The study recommended that Pakistani universities update their curricula, instructional methods, and professional competencies of teachers in order to improve the quality of their graduates. These studies point to the need for increasing communication and cooperation between HEIs, employers and graduates. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) report, for example, stresses that HEIs and employers have different cultures and norms, and there is a need for them to work in partnerships in order to develop a better, more mature, relationship with each other. The report advocates for changes in HEIs, prioritizing employer engagement, reinventing course design and delivering flexible provision, while stressing that employers take responsibility for investment in training. At the same time some contributors disagree with the business view that, since higher education is connected to the economy, role of HE is to produce “employable” graduates (Jensen, 2008). 3.5. Assessing Graduate Employability Skills There has been considerable work on assessment of employability skills of graduates during their education at HEIs. Two approaches that have shown considerable promise are Graduate Employability Indicators (GEI) created by an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Project, and Curtin Teaching and Learning Authentic Assessment Framework (AAF) (linked to the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) approach), developed at Curtin University, Australia. The AAF enables evidence of work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences that are embedded in curriculum. The most authentic tasks in a workplace include; fieldwork, work placement, internship, cooperative experience, and critical reflection. The least authentic tasks in an educational setting include examinations, essays, laboratory tests, investigation, etc. In between are highly authentic tasks, such as case studies, simulations, fieldwork project analysis, reflection, industry expert lectures, etc. “AAF is able to assess the overall performance of a curriculum to provide composite knowledge regarding the potential veracity, range and relevancy of learning tasks applicable for the real-world setting. In curriculum renewal and review, the AAF provides a method for gauging student learning within curricula which provides direction for developmentally appropriate, student-focused, and actively engaging assessment (learning) strategies which develop decision making, communication and leadership skills relevant for future employment. The AAF provides graphic evidence to challenge curricula to ensure that learning tasks have real-world experience and relevance for learning which can subsequently empower students to direct their own learning (Bosco & Fern, 2014).” The Graduate Employability Indicators (GEI) were created as part of Australian Learning and Teaching Council Competitive Grant ‘Building course team capacity for graduate employability’, a joint initiative by Curtin University, University of Southern Queensland, RMIT University and Victoria University. The fourteen capabilities in GEI are drawn from National Survey of Student Engagement, and include knowledge, writing, speaking, thinking, quantitative, using ICT, teamwork, independent learning, intercultural understanding, problem-solving, values and ethics, community engagement, industry awareness, and social contexts. Through online surveys, graduates, employers and academic staff are asked to indicate capabilities that count for early professional success, and extent to which they are demonstrated by new graduates (Oliver, 2011). Conclusion: The literature review highlights complex nature of employability; need to increase communication and collaboration between employers, students, and HEI faculties; the importance of soft skills, on-the-job learning, life-long learning; and the potential of using tools like GEI and AAF for assessing and developing graduate employability skills.


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Survey Findings

Findings of the study are presented under the specific areas highlighted by the survey terms of reference, including: organi-zational/sample characteristics, employment of graduates, training of graduates, assessment methods of employers, employ-ers expectations from graduates, employers satisfaction with graduates, gap analysis of expectations vs. satisfaction, com-munication and cooperation of HEIs, gap analysis of the importance vs. frequency of collaborative activities between HEIs and organizations and the employer recommendations. 4.1. Organizational/Sample Characteristics Data for the study were primarily obtained from HR Heads/Managers/Directors of respondent organizations, GMs/Managing Directors/CEOs, or Senior Managers who had relevant knowledge sought under this project regarding their organizations. (Figure 2)

Figure 2 Respondents’ position in organization

(N=375)

Our sample distribution in terms of organizational size determined by their number of employees, their ownership structure and broad operational sectors within the economy, have been shown below for reference.

Figure 3 Estimated number of employees in organization

(N=375)

Figure 4 Ownership of organizations

(N=375)

33%26%

41%

HR manager/HR director/Head of HRDepartment

General Manager/Director/ManagingDirector/CEO

Senior Manager

Less than 5030%

50-24928%

250 or more42%

4%

7%

9%

80%

Non-profit/NGO

Semi-Government/Autonomous

Public/Government

Private/Corporate


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Figure 5 Broad activity of organizations

(N=375)

Figure 6 Broad activity of organizations by size

(N=375)

As you can see above that a larger preference has been given to large organizations with a view to get more insight from them on their employees’ perception by virtue of their size. Also a larger segment of privately held organizations were selected to gain a fair insight of the diverse nature of activities being undertaken by this segment, as opposed to the public sector entities, which have employment rules and associated policies largely similar when compared with each other. The distribution of our sample, in terms of economic sectors including manufacturing and services, has also been done based on their contribution to the GDP of Pakistan, which shows that both these sectors have been equally performing in the past two to three years’ period. Agricultural sector is the most significant sector of the economy and is a major source of inputs for agro-based industry. It provides employment to 43.5 percent of the population; hence in order to take this into account a significant amount of organizations was selected from the agriculture and livestock/dairy sectors. Similarly, other sectors that were also selected were textile, financial services, education, engineering, hospitality, and information and communications technology. (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Organizations by sectors

(N=375)

Manufacturing36%

Services51%

Both13%

19%

37% 36%32%

23%

36%

49%40%

28%

Manufacturing Services Both

<50 50-249 250 or more

446678910101111121414

1716

202223

3032

4247

106

Others

Beverage

Medical/health

Automotive

Insurance

Chemical, paints, plastics

Sports

Public services, regulatory bodies

Oil, gas, power

ICT

Group of companies

Agriculture and livestock/dairy


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4.2. Employment of graduates Most graduates were hired from the fields of business and management, engineering and ICT. In a sector wise analysis engineering was more dominant in manufacturing sector, whereas ICT and social sciences were dominant in the services sector. Except for agriculture, all other fields’ requirement of graduates increased with size of the organization with signifi-cant increase in the fields of business and management, engineering, ICT and law. In ownership analysis, top two fields remained consistently dominant in government and private sector entities. Government had a higher preference for ICT and law graduates. NGO sector had a higher preference or social science graduates, and both NGO and government sectors had a higher preference for arts and humanities, and health and medicine, when compared to the private sector. Interview performance, professional attitude and core qualifications were top three most significant criteria for recruitment of graduates. Almost half of the organizations had a strict bias of hiring male graduates. This trend was more dominant in the manufacturing sector as opposed to other economic sectors as well as organizations that were smaller in size and in private sector entities as opposed to government entities and NGOs.

A majority of organizations hire foreign graduates, out of which service sector is the biggest employer of foreign graduates, due to the requirement of more technical knowledge amongst their staff. Large sized organizations were more likely to hire foreign graduates by virtue of their size and greater competition, which requires international best practices. Government entities were also found to hire more foreign graduates as compared with privately owned companies. Key reasons for hiring foreign graduates included quality of subject specialization, discipline knowledge and better quality of soft skills and attrib-utes, these reasons remained similar when cross examined against economic sectors or nature of business.

The greatest challenge being faced by employers in Pakistan, when hiring graduates, includes shortage of right skills, and the ability of employers to meet increasing demand of starting salaries asked by fresh graduates. These challenges remained consistent when cross-examined against ownership structure of respondent organizations, economic sectors and the differ-ent sizes of these organizations. Employers’ Preference of Graduate Disciplines for Graduate Hiring Respondents were provided with a list of educational fields and were asked about their preferred field for hiring of graduates. Figures shown below are cross-examined against different independent categories. (Figure 8)

Figure 8 Educational fields from which graduates recruited

(Multiple Response) (N=375)

Most preferred discipline for hiring of graduates by both manufacturing and services sectors is business and management, which is mainly on account of the broad spectrum of curriculum and academic expertise. Organizations that are engaged in both manufacturing and services are few, and their major focus of sourcing graduates is from the agriculture and veterinary disciplines. Students from the engineering discipline by virtue of their specialized qualification have a higher probability of being hired by the manufacturing sector, which is also evident in the Table 2 below. Graduates from the field of information and computer technology are more likely to be recruited by the services sector which is comprised by a large number of specialized and dedicated technology based organization. Graduates from social sciences are more likely to be hired by employers in services sector, on account of large number of NGOs that are primarily service driven; however, this will be further clarified in the ensuing analysis.

9.9%

13.6%

14.1%

15.7%

20.3%

22.4%

36.3%

49.3%

70.7%

Health and Medicine

Science and Mathematics

Law

Arts and Humanities

Social Sciences

Agriculture and Veterinary

Engineering

Information and Computer Technology

Business and Management


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Table 2: Educational fields from which graduates were recruited by broad activity of organization Manufacturing Services Both N

Agriculture and Veterinary 14.9% 18.9% 56.0% 84

Arts and Humanities 11.2% 22.1% 4.0% 59

Business and Management 78.4% 71.1% 48.0% 264

Engineering 51.5% 26.8% 32.0%, 136

Health and Medicine 8.2% 12.1% 6.0% 37

Information and Computer Technology 47.0% 57.4% 24.0% 184

Law 11.2% 16.3% 12.0% 52

Science and Mathematics 9.0% 15.8% 18.0% 51

Social Sciences 6.7% 32.1% 12.0% 76

Larger organizations are likely to hire more qualified individuals or graduates from various disciplines, on account of their need for quality, standardization and global competition, as compared to smaller organizations that are more informal and tend to operate without a formal HR structure, hence do not have the need of highly qualified university graduates. Preferred disciplines, of hiring of graduates by size of organization, show that large organizations prefer business and man-agement graduates as compared with all other specializations. Smaller firms are more likely to hire graduates from agriculture and veterinary disciplines when compared with larger firms, therefore graduates from these fields are more likely to get employed in organizations that are smaller in number, and are involved in both manufacturing and services sector. Graduates from information technology and law were more likely to be hired by larger organizations in addition to the specialized organizations in these fields, since the size of their operations justify the need for these services in-house, as compared with smaller organizations who tend to outsource these tasks. (Table 3)

Table 3: Educational fields from which graduates were recruited by number of employees in organization

Small Organizations Medium Organizations Large Organizations N




Engineering 9.6% 35.8% 56.1% 136


Information and Computer Technology 36.8% 39.6% 65.2% 185

Law 3.5% 7.5% 26.5% 53

Science and Mathematics 7.0% 11.3%, 20.0% 51

Social Sciences 16.7% 16.0% 25.8% 76

Business and management, information technology and engineering are top three preferred specializations for hiring grad-uates by both public sector and private sector entities; however social sciences stand out in the NGO sector where there is a clear preference to graduates with knowledge of community development and associated skills.

The data varied for some fields of study when ownership structure of an organization was taken into account. Graduates from arts and humanities, social sciences and health and medicine graduates were more likely to be recruited by NGO’s and public sector entities, as compared to privately held organizations. Specialization of law and IT were more preferred by public sector entities as compared with others, mostly on account of the large organizational structures of these entities, which require the need for these specialisations in-house. Smaller organisations tend to outsource these functions. (Table 4)

Table 4 Educational fields from which graduates were recruited by ownership structure of organization

Government / Semi Government / Autonomous

Private / Corporate NGO / Non Profit

N




Engineering 42.4% 36.3% 12.5% 136


Information and Computer Technology 66.1% 46.0% 50.0%, 185

Law 28.8% 12.0% 0.0% 53

Science and Mathematics 20.3% 11.7% 25.0% 51

Social Sciences 40.7% 12.3% 93.8% 76


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Criteria for Recruiting Graduates Respondents were provided with a list, and were asked to select three most important criteria their organizations take into account when recruiting graduates. Interview performance, professional attitude, communication skills and core qual-ification were ranked as highest attributes of employability by more than 50% of respondents. References, alma mater, temporary placements or internships and extra-curricular skills were considered as relatively less important employability factors amongst the respondents. (Figure 9)

Figure 9 Most important criteria for recruiting graduates

(Multiple Response) (N=375) Gender Preference of Graduates The following analysis entails findings regarding preference of employers for gender while hiring graduates. It is sur-prising to learn that the employer base is clearly divided into two distinct categories, one that have an equal opportunity policy for both genders, whereas almost 50% of the employers had a preference towards male candidates. (Figure 10)

Figure 10 Preference for male or female graduates

(N=368)

Sector wise analysis for gender preference shows that respondents from manufacturing sector have a much higher prefer-ence for males as compared with respondents that had no preference to gender. While services sector respondents have a lesser preference for male graduates, however there still remains a significant 35% of respondents that actually had a gen-der preference. On account of the gender preference found in a substantial number of respondents, female candidates are less likely to get employed in manufacturing based organizations. Table 5: Preference of male or female graduates by broad activity of organization.


Male 58.8% 34.8% 59.2%

Female 1.5% 2.7% 0.0%

No preference 39.7% 62.6% 40.8%

N 131 187 49

The above analysis can be further elaborated by following table, which states that preferences for male candidates tends to become less in large scale organizations, owing to their more structured human resource policies, and formal management practices. Therefore, female graduates are more likely to find jobs easily in larger organizations as compared with small sized entities with a small employee base.

2.7

3.7

10.9

19.2

19.5

46.1

61.1

65.3

69.6

Studied Abroad

Extracurricular skills

Internship or Placement as Part of Course

Institution attended

References/Recommendations

Discipline or subject choice

Qualification result

Employability skills

Interview Performance

46.5

1.9

51.6

Male Female No preference


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Table 6: Preference of male or female graduates by number of employees in organization

Small Organizations Medium Organizations Large Organizations

Male 69.3% 47.6% 28.5%

Female 1.8% 1.9% 2.0%

No preference 28.9% 50.5% 69.5%

N 114 103 151

The likelihood of preferring males was much higher in private organizations as compared to government and non-profit organizations. However, based on the analysis below, it will be highly likely for females to get employed in public sector entities and NGOs as compared with privately held organizations, except for a few large multinational type organizations that have a policy for providing an equal opportunity to both genders. Table 7: Preference of male or female graduates by ownership structure of organization

Government / Semi Government / Autonomous Private / Corporate NGO / Non Profit

Male 17.5% 53.9% 12.5%

Female 0.0% 1.0% 25.0%

No preference 82.5% 45.1% 62.5% ,

N 57 295 16

Out of the total respondents 41% had no female graduates in their staff. Other gender based attributes or preferences were naturally distributed according to size of the organization. Other respondents were broadly classified into two categories one with up to 25 graduates of both genders and another category that employed more than 100 graduates of both genders. (Figure 11)

Figure 11 Number of male and female graduate staff in organizations

(N=375)

Preference for graduates of public or private sector HEIs Out of the total respondents 78% had no preference over HEIs in the private or public sector. Approximately 1/5th (83) of the respondents has a preference of graduates of private vs. public HEIs. (Figure 12)

Figure 12 Preference for graduates of public or private sector HEIs

(N=372)

These 83 respondents include 42 who have a preference for private sector HEIs (Figure 13) and 41 who have a preference public sector HEIs (Figure 14). While preference for both public and private sector HEIs is the same. Main reasons for preferring graduates from private rather than public sector HEIs included better overall quality of graduates, quality of employability skills and attributes, quality of subject knowledge, and the reputation of the institution. Similar reasons were given for preference for public over private sector universities, except that fewer proportion of respondents mentioned quality of employability skills and attributes for public compared to private HEI graduates.

2%

44%

12%

6% 7%

29%

41%

34%

6%3% 2%

14%

None 1-25 26-50 51-75 76-100 More than 100

Male Female

11.0 11.3

77.7

Public HEIs Private HEIs No preference


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Figure 13 Reasons for preferring graduates from private sector


Figure 14 Reasons for preferring graduates from public sector


Number of foreign qualified graduate employees in organizations It is important to learn from the analysis below that a majority of employers have hired foreign graduates. While overall number of foreign graduate employees is less in comparison to local graduates, there however remains a considerable number of 7% entities that have in their staff more than 50 foreign graduates per entity which is a substantial number.

Figure 15 Number of foreign qualified graduate employees in organizations, percentage distribution

(N=355)

Based on the analysis below there is a clear distinction of preferences within services sector for foreign qualified graduates. This is due to the technical nature of industries within this sector, such as telecommunication, banking and finance etc. that require more knowledge and adaptation of international best practices with in their relevant sphere of activities in Pakistan. Table 8: Number of foreign qualified employees in organization by broad activity of organization


None 54.9% 38.6% 64.6%

1-20 41.0% 40.2% 31.3%

21-50 3.3% 8.7% 4.2%

51-100 0.0% 4.9% 0.0%

More than 100 0.8% 7.6% 0.0%

N 122 184 48

This attribute when further analyzed by ownership structure shows that a higher number of foreign graduates were employed by public sector entities as compared with the private sector. This tendency is also supported by the fact that a large number of scholarships are provided to government employees for advancing their academic skills and eventually helping the gov-ernment in being able to adapt to the dynamically changing international best practices in local organizations. Table 9: Number of foreign qualified employees in organization by ownership structure of organization


None 22.4% 54.1% 25.0%

1-20 48.3% 36.3% 62.5%

21-50 13.8% 4.6% 6.3%

51-100 5.2% 2.1% 0.0%

More than 100 10.3% 2.8% 6.3%

N 58 281 16

0%18%

40%

42%50%

50%

Low salary expectation

Successful past experience of recruiting from

Institutional Reputaion

Quality of subject knowledge

Better Overal Quality of graduates

Quality of employablity skills and attributes

8%

8%

18%

34%

39%

43%

Successful past experience of recruiting from

Low salary expectation

Quality of employablity skills and attributes

Quality of subject knowledge

Better Overal Quality of graduates

Institutional Reputaion

47.6%

39.4%

6.2%2.6% 4.2%

None 1-20 21-50 51-100 More than 100


21 | P a g e

When analyzing the hiring of foreign graduates, it is clearly evident that larger organizations have a much higher tendency of hiring foreign graduates. There are two major reasons, one being that larger organizations have to meet international standards and hence they require graduates who are more aware of international best practices. The second being that most government organizations are also large entities, hence it correlates with finding in the previous table that government organizations tend to hire more foreign graduates.

Table 10: Number of foreign qualified employees in organization by number of employees in organization


None 78.7% 49.0% 23.8%

1-20 21.3% 51.0% 44.9%

21-50 0.0% 0.0% 15.0%

51-100 0.0% 0.0% 6.1%

More than 100 0.0% 0.0% 10.2%

N 108 100 147

Reasons for Recruiting Foreign Graduates The main reason that outstands from the analysis of employer preference for foreign graduates is that ; overall quality which includes quality of command over subject specialization and discipline knowledge, soft skills and attributes , there by resulting in an overall better professional quality of the individuals. Institutional reputations and insufficient candidates with the right skills in Pakistan were the least preferred attributes for preferring foreign graduates.

Figure 16 Reasons for recruiting foreign qualified graduates


The above analysis when further desegregated shows that qualities of attributes in foreign graduates such as command on soft skills and subject knowledge stand out for respondents in services sector, more than manufacturing, mainly owing to the specialized nature of these skills in their relevant business activities. While similar attributes were also preferred by the manufacturing sector, their rate of preference was less when compared to the services sector. Table 11: Reasons for recruiting foreign qualified graduates by broad activity of organization

Manufacturing Services Both N

Insufficient Candidates with Right Skills in Pakistan 7.5% 10.5% 2.0% 31

The Institutional Reputation 5.2% 10.5% 8.0% 31

Better Overall Quality of Graduates 22.4% 38.4% 12.0% 109

Quality of Subject Knowledge 21.6% 26.8% 14.0% 87

Quality of Employability Skills and Attributes 21.6% 35.8% 20.0% 107

Successful Past Experience of Recruiting from these Institutions 2.2% 4.7% 6.0% 15

Greatest challenges faced by employers in filling vacancies Shortage of applicants with right skills and capabilities stands out as the biggest perceived challenge in graduate recruit-ment. The second biggest challenge is the ability of employers in being able to meet the increasing demand of starting salary by the graduates.

Figure 17 Greatest challenges in recruitment


3.2

4.0

8.3

8.3

23.2

28.5

29.1

Other

Successful past experience of recruiting from these…

Insufficient candidates with the right skills in Pakistan

The institutional reputation

Quality of subject or discipline knowledge

Quality of employability skills and attributes

Better overall quality of graduates

5.6%

29.6%

33.6%

68.0%

Graduate Candidates Withdraw Applications because Hiring Process is Slow

Limited Resources to Market Graduate Vacancies Adequately

Offering a Competitive Starting Salary

Shortage of Applicants with the Right Skills and Capabilities


22 | P a g e

These challenges remained the same when examined against ownership structure of the organization, size of organization and different sectors in which these organizations are classified into.

Table 12: Greatest challenges in filling vacancies by ownership structure of organization

Government / Semi Govern-

ment / Autono-mous

Private / Cor-porate

NGO / Non Profit

N

Shortage of Applicants with the Right Skills and Capabilities 67.8% 66.7% 93.8% 255

Limited Resources to Market Graduate Vacancies Adequately 37.3% 27.3% 43.8% 111

Offering a Competitive Starting Salary 32.2% 33.7% 37.5% 126

Graduate Candidates Withdraw Applications because Hiring Process is Slow 6.8% 5.7% 0.0% 21

Table 13: Greatest challenges in filling vacancies by number of employees in an organization

Small Organiza-tions

Medium Or-ganizations

Large Organ-izations

N

Shortage of Applicants with the Right Skills and Capabilities 67.5% 67.0% 69.0% 255

Limited Resources to Market Graduate Vacancies Adequately 33.3% 31.1% 25.8% 111

Offering a Competitive Starting Salary 33.3% 40.6% 29.0% 126

Graduate Candidates Withdraw Applications because Hiring Process is Slow

7.9% 5.7% 3.9% 21

Table 14: Greatest challenges in filling vacancies by broad activity of organization

Manufacturing Services N

Shortage of Applicants with the Right Skills and Capabilities 78.4% 67.9% 254

Limited Resources to Market Graduate Vacancies Adequately 29.1% 32.6% 111

Offering a Competitive Starting Salary 41.8% 29.5% 126

Graduate Candidates Withdraw Applications because Hiring Process is Slow 9.0% 4.2% 21


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4.3. Training of Graduates

Training is a very important attribute of graduate employment, and training is primarily undertaken on a training need assessment, done by employers on periodic basis. Training is being provided to graduates in 85% organizations, which have a formal training programme for their staff. Public sector entities, large entities and NGOs have more formal service struc-tures in place and a larger employee pool, hence all employees get at least some kind of training during their careers.

Proportion of graduate employees participating in training Following analysis shows that almost 85% respondents have a formal training program for varying proportions of their graduate staff. This attribute is pleasing to know that there is a conscious effort by employers to continually improve the skill set and quality of their graduate employees.

Figure 18 Proportion of graduate employees participating in training to update their skills in the past 5 years

(N=371)

As larger organizations have a more formalized structure in comparison to smaller organizations; they have a culture of providing professional development and training, while smaller organizations do not invest in training on account of their limited resources and competitiveness.

Table 15: Percentage of graduate employees that participated in training to update their skills in past five years by number of employees in organization


None 26.5% 16.3% 5.8%

1-10% 31.0% 35.6% 22.7%

11-20% 10.6% 12.5% 17.5%

21-50% 11.5% 22.1% 28.6%

More than 50% 20.4% 13.5% 25.3%

N 113 104 154

All public sector entities provide training to their graduates; whereas, a substantial part of privately held organizations do not have a formal culture for training of their professional staff or graduate employees. However, owing to the specialized nature of work in NGOs and development sector entities, there is a high ratio of employees receiving training on a periodic basis.

Table 16: Percentage of graduate employees that participated in training to update their skills in past five years by owner-ship structure of organization


None 0.0% 18.2% 12.5%

1-10% 25.4% 30.1% 18.8%

11-20% 18.6% 13.5% 6.3%

21-50% 28.8% 19.6% 31.3%

More than 50% 27.1% 18.6% 31.3%

N 59 296 16

Training activities in which graduates participate

Out of the total respondents 78% have a formal training arrangement for their graduate employees. In-house training and enrollment in short courses and modules by specialized training providers, including part time programs being offered by HEIs, are top two training and development approaches being used.

Figure 19 Training activities in which graduates participate


15.1

28.8

14.08.9

4.38.4

20.5

None 1-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% More than 50%

38

51

55

72

95

Distance learning

Training offered by continuing education institutions

Part-time study programs

Short courses/modules

In-house training and development programs


24 | P a g e

Assessment Methods

Most respondents consider internship, fieldwork, case study, and work placement/probation as the most useful student assessment methods, for developing graduate employability skills. Fieldwork was given more importance by NGO sector entities, in comparison to entities from other sectors. HEI Assessment Methods Practical knowledge and prior work experience, along with the ability to think analytically, are three most important attributes for HEIs, to develop as part of graduate employability skills. Interestingly, more traditionally used methods, which are classroom examinations, lab testing, and essay writing were the least frequently mentioned. (Figure 20)

Figure 20 Most useful HEI student assessment methods for developing graduate employability skills


When analyzed by ownership category of the organizations, top three most significant methods of assessment remained the same. However, fieldwork was given highest importance by NGOs, this is due to highly specialized nature of work undertaken by these organizations.

Table 17: List of student assessment methods used in HEIs by ownership structure of organization

Government / Semi Govern-ment / Autonomous

Private / Corporate NGO / Non Profit N

Case study 55.9% 46.0% 56.3% 180

Classroom examination 28.8% 25.7% 12.5% 96

Essay 11.9% 9.3% 18.8% 38

Field work 54.2% 66.0% 93.8% 245

Internship 62.7% 68.0% 62.5% 251

Laboratory testing 15.3% 12.3% 0.0% 46

Site visit 23.7% 33.0% 6.3% 114

Work placement/Probation 49.2% 36.0% 50.0% 145

10

12

26

30

39

48

65

67

Essay

Laboratory testing

Classroom examination

Site visit

Work placement/Probation

Case study

Field work

Internship


25 | P a g e

4.4. Employers’ Expectations from Graduates The three most important employers’ expectations are; their ability to take responsibility, self-motivation, and good oral communication skills. Manufacturing sector highlighted ability to cope with pressure as most significant, whereas services sector highlighted oral communication skill as the most important attribute that they aspire, in a graduate at the time of recruitment.

Attributes required in graduates in the next 5-10 years were primarily the same as above, except more weightage was given to analytical and problem solving skills. Greatest contributors to this attribute were public sector entities, whereas private sector and NGOs highlighted sector specific skills as the most important attribute required in the future. Large organizations and public sector entities preferred to have more PhD graduates in future, as they require more special-ized knowledge to carry out their business, which is becoming more and more challenging every day. Financial institutions were more likely to hire masters’ graduates in comparison to non-financial institutions. Information technology, manage-ment skills, and engineering and technological knowledge were given highest importance, when respondents were asked about the subject specific knowledge that will be required by their organizations in the next 5-10 years.

Employers were also asked about importance of knowledge, soft skills, workplace ethics, and attitudes of graduate em-ployees. While most of the attributes mentioned in the table below were ranked important in varying degrees; follow-ing are some highlights of the analysis. Most important attributes and skills, being sought by employers at the time of hiring graduates, were their ability to take responsibility and self-motivation, followed by their capability of oral communication in the work place. Also the most un-important attributes rated by employers are, ability of candidates to portray business acumen, or entrepreneurial skills, followed by their ability to process and interpret numerical data. Table 18: Importance of employee skills and attitudes required by organizations at the time of recruitment of graduates over the past 5 years

Very

un

imp

ort

an

t

Un

imp

ort

an

t

Imp

ort

an

t

Very

Im

po

rtan

t

N

Importance of subject or discipline knowledge 0.3 0.0 35.0 64.7 371

Importance of computing and IT 0.5 3.5 52.2 43.8 370

Importance of processing and interpreting numerical data 0.8 9.4 55.2 34.5 362

Importance of effective oral communication 0.3 0.8 32.2 66.8 370

Importance of effective written communication 0.3 3.2 46.5 50.0 370

Importance of ability to apply professional and/or Technical Knowledge in the Workplace

0.3 1.1 39.8 58.8 369

Importance of working effectively with others 0.5 0.5 35.9 63.0 370

Importance of working effectively on their own 0.3 1.3 32.3 66.1 372

Importance of having concern for quality and detail 0.3 1.4 42.4 55.9 370

Importance of having business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 0.9 10.8 53.6 34.8 351

Importance of thinking critically and analytically 0.3 3.0 40.9 55.8 369

Importance of having leadership skills/leading others 0.3 3.4 52.1 44.2 355

Importance of having self-motivation/taking responsibility 0.3 0.3 31.5 67.9 371

Importance of having ability to cope with work pressure 0.3 0.5 35.8 63.4 372

Importance of capacity to be flexible and adaptable 0.5 0.8 38.5 60.1 371

Graduates should develop knowledge of specific subject, attitude of working with others, capabilities of learning, and seriousness. – Large Government, services sector entity in Lahore. Graduates should be able to perform multi-tasks for the global market and their own survival – Medium privately owned, manufacturing sector entity in Faisalabad.


26 | P a g e

To develop a single measurable index of importance among employability skills, the percentage response in column 1 (Very Important) was multiplied by 4, response in column 2 (Important) was multiplied by 3, response in column 3 (Unimportant) was multiplied by 2, and response in column 1 (Very Unimportant) was multiplied by 1, and these sums were added to produce a weighted sum which was then used to estimate the mean score for each of the item or employability skill. Table 19: Importance of employee skills and attitudes required by organizations at the time of recruitment of graduates over the past 5 years (weighted mean scores)

N Mean

Importance of having self-motivation/taking responsibility 371 92%

Importance of effective oral communication 370 91%

Importance of subject or discipline knowledge 371 91%

Importance of working effectively on their own 372 91%

Importance of having ability to cope with work pressure 372 91%

Importance of working effectively with others 370 90%

Importance of capacity to be flexible and adaptable 371 90%

Importance of ability to apply professional and/or Technical Knowledge in the Workplace 369 89%

Importance of having concern for quality and detail 370 89%

Importance of thinking critically and analytically 369 88%

Importance of effective written communication 370 87%

Importance of having leadership skills/leading others 355 85%

Importance of computing and IT 370 85%

Importance of processing and interpreting numerical data 362 81%

Importance of having business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 351 81%

This analysis indicates that manufacturing sector highlights subject knowledge, self-motivation and ability to apply profes-sional knowledge as top three most important attributes required in a graduate. Services sector highlights effective oral communication, working effectively on their own, and self-motivation, as the top three most important attributes required in a graduate. The mixed sector highlights discipline knowledge, working effectively on their own, and effective oral com-munication as top three most important attributes required in a graduate. (Table 1: Annexure 4) The analysis indicates that, smaller organizations considered effective written communication, self-motivation and ability to cope with work pressure as top three most important attributes required in a graduate. Smaller organizations have relatively more informal work environments hence the ability of graduates to handle pressure from time to time is considered a key attribute. The analysis further indicates that large sized organizations considered subject discipline, effective oral communi-cation and working effectively with others as top three most important attributes required in a graduate. (Table2: Annexure 4). Employability skills, competencies and attitudes that new graduates should have in the next 5-10 years Employers were asked about graduate employability skills that will be required from new graduates five to ten years down the road. The skills most commonly identified included; sector specific skills, analytical skills/creativity, and working effectively with others, followed by numerical, writing and computer skills , and capacity of graduates to be flexible, in being able to adapt to changing market and economic needs. (see Figure 21). Fewer respondents mentioned leadership and business acumen or entrepreneurial skills; which is understandable since most organizations hire graduates to fit into the organization and its culture , and to get used to its systems rather than for providing leadership or portraying entrepreneurial skills. There was not much difference in responses regarding importance of employability skills, and skills required in future, except that, analytical, creative and problem solving skills were considered relatively more important as future skills, than as skills in current demand.


27 | P a g e

Figure 21 Employability skills, competencies and attitudes that new graduates should have in the next 5-10 years


Skills and attitudes necessary in future graduates varied amongst different entities of Pakistan. The government sector val-ued analytical and problem solving skills as the highest. Private sector entities rated sector specific skills as the highest, and working effectively with others were the top rated attributes required by NGOs in the future. Table 20: Skills, competencies and attitudes considered most important for new graduates in the next 5-10 years, by own-ership structure of organization

Government / Semi Gov-ernment / Autonomous

Private / Corporate

NGO / Non Profit

N

Sector-specific skills 55.9% 52.7% 68.8% 202

Basic skills (numeracy, literacy, writing, computers) 35.6% 33.3% 18.8% 124

Working effectively with others (interpersonal and team skills)

57.6% 41.7% 68.8% 170

Working effectively on their own (planning, personal organization, commitment and time management)

44.1% 43.7% 50.0% 165

Business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 22.0% 25.3% 6.3% 90

Analytical, creative and problem solving skills 61.0% 43.7% 50.0%, 175

Leadership 20.3% 29.0% 62.5% 109

Capacity to be flexible and adaptable 25.4% 35.3% 12.5% 123

The top three important future attributes required in the graduates remained consistent with the consolidated responses across all economic sectors of Pakistan. Table 21: Skills, competencies and attitudes considered most important for new graduates in the next 5-10 years by broad activity of organization

Manufacturing Services Both N

Sector-specific skills 53.0% 54.2% 54.0% 201

Basic skills (numeracy, literacy, writing, computers) 39.6% 31.6% 22.0% 124

Working effectively with others (interpersonal and team skills) 48.5% 46.3% 32.0% 169

Working effectively on their own (planning, personal organization, commitment and time management)

37.3% 46.8% 52.0% 165

Business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 20.9% 27.4% 20.0% 90

Analytical, creative and problem solving skills 41.8% 52.6% 38.0% 175

Leadership 26.9% 25.8% 46.0% 108

Capacity to be flexible and adaptable 38.8% 30.0% 28.0% 123

24%

29%

33%

33%

44%

45%

47%

54%

Business acumen/entrepreneurial skills

Leadership

Capacity to be flexible and adaptable

Basic skills (numeracy, literacy, writing, computers)

Working effectively on their own (planning, personal…

Working effectively with others (interpersonal and team…

Analytical, creative and problem solving skills

Sector-specific skills


28 | P a g e

Employers’ Future Needs of Education Level of Graduates Regarding the level of graduate which would best fit future skill requirements of the organization

Figure 22Level of graduate degree required to fulfill future skill requirements

(N=370)

Small organizations, as compared to medium and large organization were more likely to believe that graduates with bache-lors’ degree would best fit their skill requirements, while on the other hand, large organizations were more likely to prefer graduates with PhD degrees as compared to medium and small organizations. This is due to the fact that larger organizations require more specialized knowledge to carry out their daily business functions. Table 22: Level of graduate qualification required to fulfill future skills requirements by number of employees in organiza-tion


Graduates with bachelor degrees 47.4% 36.6% 28.9%

Graduates with master degrees 51.8% 62.4% 61.7%

Graduates with PhD degrees 0.9% 1.0% 9.4%

N 114 101 149

Interestingly, government/semi-government/autonomous organizations were much more likely than private organizations and NGOs to believe that graduates with PhD degrees will best fit the future skill requirements of their organizations. This analysis when further dis-aggregated, showed that the demand for PhDs in the public sector entities was primarily driver by educational institutions with only a few large private organisations in the manufacturing sector that require PhDs for the technical nature of their business. Table 23: Level of graduate qualification required to fulfill future skills requirements by ownership structure of organiza-tion

Government /Semi Government /Autonomous Private / Corporate NGO / Non Profit

Graduates with bachelor degrees 24.1% 39.7% 31.3%

Graduates with master degrees 60.3% 57.9% 68.8%

Graduates with PhD degrees 15.5% 2.4% 0.0%

N 58 290 16

Non-financial institutions were more likely to prefer graduates with bachelor’s degree while financial institutions (bank-ing/insurance), were of the view that masters’ degree holders would best fit the skill requirements of their organizations in the future. Table 24: Level of graduate qualification required to fulfill future skills requirements by financial (Banking/Insurance in-cluding) institutions

Financial Institutions Others

Graduates with bachelor degrees 14.3% 38.7%

Graduates with master degrees 85.7% 56.5%

Graduates with PhD degrees 0.0% 4.8%

N 28 336

Respondents who were inquired about the skills and specific knowledge that they deem necessary from future graduates of HEIs, highlighted skills relating to; information technology, knowledge of business development and business man-agement and skills regarding engineering and technology as the most important. (Figure 23).

36.2%

57.8%

4.3% 1.6%

Graduates with bachelordegrees

Graduates with masterdegrees

Graduates with PhD degrees Other


29 | P a g e

Figure 23 Subject specific knowledge and skills that will be required by organizations in the next 5-10 years which HEIs should develop


Additionally, respondents mentioned certain generic skills, including communication (35 respondents), leadership, ana-lytical skills, attitude building, problem solving and team work (Figure 24)

Figure 24 Skills required by organizations in next 5-10 years which should be developed by HEIs

(N=375)

77

5

5

5

5

6

7

8

9

9

9

10

10

10

10

14

18

19

36

45

52

91

97

Other

Accounting

Fashion design

Awareness of industry standards, laws

Sciences

Safety, Health and Environment (SHE)

Human Resource Management (HRM)

Health and medicine

Energy

Economics

Research

Food sciences

Commerce

Textiles

Veterinary / animal sciences

Hotel management

Finance / financial management

Agriculture

Management

Marketing and sales

Engineering and technology

Business / business management

Information technology

4

5

6

8

9

14

35

Team work

Problem solving

Attitude building

Interpersonal

Analytical

Leadership

Communication


30 | P a g e

4.5. Employers’ Satisfaction with Graduates The respondents were generally satisfied with performance parameters of graduates. Satisfaction levels were almost the same for both male and female graduates. The areas of concern include, critical thinking skills, leadership skills, writing skills, work pressure management and entrepreneurial skills. Satisfaction from graduates recruited in the past 5 years Employers were asked about the extent to which they were satisfied with their graduate employees with regard to knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Accordingly, a large majority of the respondents were satisfied with almost all employ-ability skills; however soft skills including; effective written communication, leadership skills, and thinking critically were comparatively lower than other employment skills. The mean score illustrates the comparative satisfaction with employability skills in a more intuitive way, which are presented in Table 25. Table 25: Employers’ satisfaction against skills and attitudes of graduates recruited in the past 5 years

Very

Dis

sati

s-

fied

Dis

sati

sfie

d

Sati

sfie

d

Very

Sati

sfie

d

N

Satisfaction with subject or discipline knowledge 1.9 9.2 80.0 8.9 370

Satisfaction with computing and IT 0.8 13.3 75.9 10.0 369

Satisfaction with processing and interpreting numerical data 0.8 17.4 72.5 9.2 357

Satisfaction with effective oral communication 0.8 13.7 73.2 12.3 366

Satisfaction with effective written communication 2.2 28.3 57.6 12.0 368

Satisfaction with ability to apply professional and/or Technical Knowledge in the Workplace

2.2 13.4 73.8 10.7 366

Satisfaction with working effectively with others 0.5 12.3 75.7 11.4 367

Satisfaction with working effectively on their own 2.7 21.7 67.5 8.1 369

Satisfaction with having concern for quality and detail 2.2 19.4 67.2 11.2 366

Satisfaction with having business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 2.1 23.0 67.2 7.8 335

Satisfaction with thinking critically and analytically 2.7 26.6 63.2 7.4 364

Satisfaction with having leadership skills/leading others 4.6 28.5 61.0 6.0 351

Satisfaction with having self-motivation/taking responsibility 2.4 19.2 68.3 10.0 369

Satisfaction with having ability to cope with work pressure 2.5 17.4 70.0 10.1 367

Satisfaction with capacity to be flexible and adaptable 1.4 17.8 71.0 9.8 366

The next table (Table 26) presents satisfaction level mean scores for various employability skills that are rated in order from highest satisfaction level to lowest satisfaction level. Satisfaction was highest with the following skills; working effectively, oral communication sk ills of graduates, disci-pline knowledge, computing skills and ability to apply technical knowledge. On the other hand, satisfaction was lowest in the following areas; critical thinking skills, leadership skills, writing skills, work pressure management and entrepre-neurial skills.


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Table 26 Employers’ satisfaction against skills and attitudes of graduates recruited in the past 5 years (weighted mean scores)

N Mean

Satisfaction with working effectively with others 367 75%

Satisfaction with effective oral communication 366 74%

Satisfaction with subject or discipline knowledge 370 74%

Satisfaction with computing and IT 369 74%

Satisfaction with ability to apply professional and/or Technical Knowledge in the Workplace 366 73%

Satisfaction with processing and interpreting numerical data 357 73%

Satisfaction with capacity to be flexible and adaptable 366 72%

Satisfaction with having ability to cope with work pressure 367 72%

Satisfaction with having concern for quality and detail 366 72%

Satisfaction with having self-motivation/taking responsibility 369 72%

Satisfaction with working effectively on their own 369 70%

Satisfaction with having business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 335 70%

Satisfaction with effective written communication 368 70%

Satisfaction with thinking critically and analytically 364 69%

Satisfaction with having leadership skills/leading others 351 67%

Level of satisfaction with overall performance of graduate employees in organization

Figure 25 Level of satisfaction with overall performance of graduate employees

Level of satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees Majority of the organizations were also satisfied with the overall performance of their male graduate employees.

Figure 26 Level of satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees

Level of satisfaction with performance of female graduate employees Similarly, majority of the organizations were also satisfied with the overall performance of their female graduate employees. There does not seem to be any statistically significant difference between satisfaction level with performance of male and female employees.

Figure 27 Level of satisfaction with performance of female graduate employees

.38.8

82.1

8.8

Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied

10.8

75.9

13.2

Dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied

0.4 7.8

75.7

16.1

Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied


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Table 27 presents mean scores of overall satisfaction, satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees, and satis-faction with performance of female graduate employees. Although we observe higher satisfaction score for female graduate employees’ performance, it is not statistically different from male performance scores. Thus, the difference we observe here may be due to chance as we have no statistical evidence that female mean scores are higher than male mean performance scores. Table 27 Analysis of overall satisfaction, satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees, and satisfaction with performance of female graduate employees

N Mean

Level of satisfaction with performance of female graduate employees 230 77%

Level of satisfaction with performance of male graduate employees 295 76%

Level of satisfaction with overall performance of graduate employees in organization 374 75%


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4.6. Gap Analysis of Employer Expectation and Satisfaction The most important areas where HEIs should shift their focus are improving the self-motivation of graduates, developing of individualistic skills, engrain the value of quality and revision of assignments and the ability to think critically. These areas are deemed most important because these are of great importance to the employers but the satisfaction levels in these areas are very low. Table 28 presents gap analysis of importance versus performance of employability skills using mean scores as calculated before. The table presents four main cells or specific groups. Group A is high importance high satisfaction group. Here skills are perceived to be very important to respondents, and at the same time, the respondents seem to have high satisfaction level comparatively on these skills. The message here is to keep up the good work by HEI in these areas or employability skills. Group B is the most important. Here we have high importance but low satisfaction comparatively. Employability skills falling into this group should be the priority areas for the HEI and HEI should concentrate here and improve satisfaction level for all the skills falling into this group. Group C contains skills with low importance and low satisfaction mean scores. Although performance levels may be low for skills present in this cell, HEI should not be overly concerned since the skills in this cell is not perceived to be very important by the organizations. Limited resources should be expended on this low priority cell or group. Group D contains low importance high performance / satisfaction skills. Respondents/organizations are satisfied with the performance of the organizations for the skills present here, but these skills have comparatively lower perceived importance. Hence HEI should consider putting fewer efforts here as these skills are being over utilized.


34 | P a g e

Sat

isfa

ctio

n

Importance

Table 28 Gap analysis of employer expectation and satisfaction (weighted mean scores)

Low Importance - High Satisfaction

Low Priority Areas Sat Imp

Computing and IT 73.8% 84.8%

Processing and interpreting numer-ical data 72.5% 80.8%

High Importance High Satisfaction

Keep up the Good Work Sat Imp

Effective oral communication 74.3% 91.3%

Subject or discipline knowledge 74.0% 91.0%

Having ability to cope with work pressure 72.0% 90.5%

Working effectively with others 74.5% 90.3%

Capacity to be flexible and adaptable 72.3% 89.5%

Ability to apply professional and/or Technical Knowledge in the Workplace 73.3% 89.3%

Low Importance - Low Satisfaction


Effective written communication 69.8% 86.5%

Having leadership skills/leading others 67.0% 85.0%

Having business acumen/entrepre-neurial skills 70.3% 80.5%

High Importance - Low Satisfaction

Top Priority Areas Sat Imp

Having self-motivation/taking responsibility 71.5% 91.8%

Working effectively on their own 70.3% 91.0%

Having concern for quality and detail 71.8% 88.5%

Thinking critically and analyti-cally 68.8% 88.0%


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4.7. Communication and Cooperation with HEIs

Respondents were asked to rate the level of communication and cooperation between their organizations and HEIs in terms of importance. The responses are summarized in the following table. Table 29 Importance of interaction between employers and HEI

Very unimportant Unimportant Important Very important

Cooperation on curriculum design, study programs 0.0 5.2 45.5 49.3

Collaboration on research and innovation 0.3 3.0 43.2 53.5

Recruitment of graduates 0.8 4.7 48.8 45.8

Work placement opportunities for students 0.5 3.3 49.7 46.4

Participating in debates/seminars organized by HEIs 0.8 7.8 51.3 40.1

Structured discussions with course directors 0.3 5.6 53.1 41.1

Cooperation with career services/centers 1.1 4.8 58.2 35.8

Table 30 presents importance level of various types of HEIs and organization engagements. Almost all of types of HEI and organization engagements were considered important or very important by a large majority of the organizations. All catego-ries of interaction between HEIs and employers were considered important or very important by approximately 90 percent of the organizations. Respondents who considered these engagements less important were less than 10 percent of the overall responses. Table 30: Importance of interaction between employers and HEI (weighted mean scores)

N Mean

Collaboration on research and innovation 368 88%

Cooperation on curriculum design, study programs 367 86%

Work placement opportunities for students 364 86%

Recruitment of graduates 365 85%

Structured discussions with course directors 360 84%

Participating in debates/seminars organized by HEIs 359 83%

Cooperation with career services/centers 352 82%

Frequency of HEI-organizations collaborative activities Table 31 Frequency of interaction between employers and HEI

Never Occasionally Frequently Very frequently

Cooperation on curriculum design, study programs 57.3 19.0 17.9 5.9

Collaboration on research and innovation 53.4 20.4 18.5 7.7

Recruitment of graduates 38.7 11.3 33.3 16.7

Work placement opportunities for students 37.6 16.7 32.2 13.6

Participating in debates/seminars organized by HEIs 43.4 30.0 18.9 7.7

Structured discussions with course directors 59.9 18.7 15.3 6.1

Cooperation with career services/centers 55.8 16.4 20.5 7.3

Hire professionals from industry to educate graduates. Basic skills set needs to be updated – large government manufacturing, Lahore HEIs should accommodate industry representatives in their faculty as mentors. – Small Private Manufacturing, Lahore Syllabus designing needs industry participation. Industries must be registered with the HEC, which should organize meetings with industry professionals. – Large government manufacturing, Lahore


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Table 32 Frequency of interaction between employers and HEI (weighted mean scores)

N Mean

Recruitment of graduates 354 57%

Work placement opportunities for students 354 56%

Participating in debates/seminars organized by HEIs 350 48%

Collaboration on research and innovation 363 45%

Cooperation with career services/centers 342 45%

Cooperation on curriculum design, study programs 358 43%

Structured discussions with course directors 347 42%

Frequency of HEI-organizations collaborative activities by broad activity of organization Respondents of the manufacturing and services sectors highlighted recruitment of graduates, work placement opportunities of students and participation in debates as top three most frequent collaborative activities with HEI organizations. However, respondents of the mixed sector highlighted recruitment of graduates, work placement opportunities for students and co-operation with career services as top three most frequent collaborative activities with HEIs. (Table4: Annex 4). All respondents when analyzed by ownership of organizations highlighted recruitment of graduates, work placement op-portunities for students and participating in debates/seminars as the most frequent collaborative activities with the HEIs. (Table 5: Annex 4)


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Fre

qu

ency

Importance

4.8. Gap Analysis of Importance and Frequency of HEI-Organizations Collaborative Activities Most important collaborative activity that organizations agreed was collaboration on research and innovation and curricu-lum design, whereas frequency of these activities is very low which shows a major gap in collaboration. On the other hand, low importance activities such as recruitment of graduates and debates/seminars are being conducted on a much higher frequency. Table 33 presents gap analysis of importance versus frequency of joint HEIs-organizations activities using mean scores as shown above. The table presents four main cells or specific groups. Group A is high importance high frequency group. Here activities are perceived to be very important to respondents, and at the same time, there is higher frequency of these activities. The message here is to keep up the good work by HEIs in these activity areas. Group B is the most important where all findings have been grouped that have high importance but low frequency of ac-tivities. Activities falling into this group should be the priority areas for HEIs, which should concentrate on these areas and improve frequency of activities falling into this group. Group C contains activities with low importance and low frequency mean scores. Although activity level or mean scores for activity may be low in this cell, HEIs should not be overly concerned since activities in this cell is not perceived to be very important by the organizations. Limited resources should be expended on this low priority cell or group. Group D contains low importance high activity mean score areas. Organizations have higher activity mean score here, but these activities have comparatively lower perceived importance. Hence HEIs should consider putting fewer efforts here as these activities are being over utilized. Table 33 Gap analysis of importance and frequency of interaction between employers and HEI (weighted mean scores)

Low Importance – More Frequent


Recruitment of graduates 57% 85%

Participating in debates/semi-nars organized by HEIs

48% 83%

High Importance – More Frequent

Keep up the Good Work Sat Imp

Work placement opportunities for students

56% 86%

Low Importance – Less Frequent


Structured discussions with course directors

42% 84%

Cooperation with career ser-vices/centers

45% 82%

High Importance – Less Frequent

Concentrate here - Top Prior-ity Areas

Sat Imp

Collaboration on research and innovation

45% 88%

Cooperation on curriculum de-sign, study programs

43% 86%


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4.9. Employers’ Recommendations Most respondents desire that HEIs provide practical and quality education, and promote increased organization/HEI en-gagement, curriculum development, sector-specific skills, training, research, IT, management, interpersonal and communi-cation skills, modern teaching methods, and internships.

When asked what HEIs could do to contribute to development of their organizations, most respondents expressed the desire that education at HEIs should be more practical in nature. Quality of education should be the focus and graduates should possess all necessary skills to be the right fit for organizations. The means for this objective were mentioned by many respondents, including; increased organization/HEI engagement, curriculum development, developing sector-spe-cific skills, conducting training/short courses, developing research, IT, management, interpersonal and communication skills, adapting modern teaching methods, and providing internships (Figure 28).

Figure 28 Employers’ expected contribution from HEIs for employee skill development


46

5

6

6

6

7

7

8

8

9

9

9

6

9

10

10

11

14

15

16

20

21

30

33

36

44

0 10 20 30 40 50

Other

Refer quality graduates

Develop skills in textiles/garments

Organise seminars

Faculty development

Develop efficiency, cost control skills

Exposure visits to organizations

Develop skills in marketing/sales

Develop business/business management skills

Develop agricultural and related skills (e.g. livestock, rice mills)

Provide counselling (including career counseling)

Develop communication skills

Workplace ethics

Develop management skills

Develop hotel management skills

Develop interpersonal skills

Improve teaching methods

Provide internship

Develop IT skills

Develop research, R&D

Improve/develop curricula

Conduct training/short courses

Increase organization-HEI engagement

Produce quality graduates

Provide quality education

Provide practical education

MOUs should be signed between HEIs for teacher/student exchange programs. Training modules should be developed, particularly for teaching staff. –Large semi-government/autonomous services, Quetta Number of graduates should be restricted to the number of opportunities available, so that they are accommodated in their environment. –Medium private manufacturing/service, Islamabad Establish mechanism to foresee demand for graduates – small private manufacturing, Lahore HEIs can survey, through market research projects of students, industrial organizations’ procurement policy, and their future projects. This type of information will be very helpful for business to business transactions. –Small private manufacturing/service, Karachi HEIs can give proposals for cost reduction, introduce innovative product and technology, and arrange seminars and workshops on advanced marketing tools and strategies. –Large private manufacturing, Sialkot HEIs must design all curricula keeping in view future requirements of growing industrial sector. Students can only bring change if they are familiar with future strategic choices. –Large private manufacturing, Faisalabad


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Communication

Methods

General Recommendations

Skills

Technical Skills

Soft Skills

IT

Textile/garments

Marketing/Sales

Business/Business Management

Agriculture and Allied

Hotel Management

Efficiency/Cost Control

Interpersonal

Management

Develop Curricula

Improve Teaching

Seminars

Engagement with HEIs

Research

Counseling

Faculty Development

Exposure Visits

Internships

Short courses/Training

Quality Graduates

Quality Education

Practical Education

Figure 29 Word tree of respondents' recommendations


40 | P a g e

Other responses included confidence building, motivation, leadership, technical education, food sciences, critical thinking, chemical technology, upgraded assessment techniques, education labs, and health/HSE. In response to suggestions for further improvement by HEIs a number of respondents stressed the need for practical education, and the need for engagement with HEIs, while many appreciated this survey and this questionnaire used for the survey and expected that it would contribute towards better engagement between organizations and HEIs (Figure 30).

Figure 30 Analysis of open-ended discussions

19

4

5

7

13

18

18

Other

Ethics

Curriculum development

Quality education

Increased communication/cooperation with HEIs

Practical education

Useful survey


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Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations

In this section we discuss implications of the findings, draw conclusions, and make recommendations for various stakeholders. 5.1. Discussion While a review of literature suggests a significant gap between employer expectations and employer satisfaction with graduates, the present study indicates a much lower gap between expectations and satisfaction levels. On the other hand, when asked to identify the two most important challenges in recruitment, two-thirds of the respondents selected shortage of applicants with right skills and capabilities. Also one-third of respondents want the HEIs to improve various aspects of their educational system, including its curricula, quality and practicality of education, and the quality of its graduates. The fact that half of the organizations had foreign educated graduate employees, and most of them were selected because of their higher quality as compared to local graduates, also indicates a level of dissatisfaction among a section of employers with regard to local graduates. When asked to select the three most important criteria for recruitment from a list of nine criteria, the majority of participants chose interview performance, employability skills and qualification or examination result, while only 11% selected internship or placement as part of a course. However, when asked to select the three most useful methods for assessing development of graduate employability skills, two-thirds of respondents chose internship and field work, followed by case study and work placement, while only a fourth chose classroom examination. Another important finding is that the majority of employers did not have any preferences for public or private universities. This is contrary to the general perception that graduates of certain leading private universities are in high demand in the job market. A possible explanation for the lack of preference may be that there are good and poor quality universities both in the public and private sector, and even within universities, there are variations in the standards of different departments. A less unexpected, but nevertheless important finding is that a significant number (almost half) of employers prefer male over female graduates. Considering the fact that the ratio of Pakistani female to male graduates has increased exponentially over the last decade, and female graduate students are generally outperforming male graduate students academically as well as in the exercise of soft skills. Employers preferring male over female graduates may have to re-align their recruitment practices with changing times and trends. 5.2. Conclusions The study clearly shows that employability skills are important to the majority of employers in Pakistan. More importantly, it shows that most employers are satisfied with the performance of their graduate employees on most employability indicators. At the same time, HEIs cannot afford to be complacent. The overall message is that HEIs need to improve the quality

of their education and graduates, and make education more practical. The study clearly identifies a number of employabil-

ity skills which need to be improved, including thinking, problem solving, innovation, written communication, leadership,

entrepreneurial skills, concern for quality and detail, working effectively on their own (planning, personal organization,

commitment, time management), self-motivation/taking responsibility.

The study recommends improvements in a number of skill areas, including soft skills like interpersonal skills, communication, and management, generic technical skills such as IT, business management, marketing and sales, efficiency and cost control, as well as sector specific skills (e.g. textiles, agriculture, and hotel management).


42 | P a g e

Employers have also provided a range of recommendations on how HEIs can develop employability skills of their graduates. They include curriculum development, training, research, faculty development, use of interactive teaching and assessment methods, seminars, exposure visits, internships, student counseling, and increased engagement with industry. On the positive side, employers support various forms of engagement with HEIs, including research, work placement, curriculum design, recruitment of graduates, seminars, discussions with staff, career services, etc. However, in actual practice such engagement is mainly limited to recruitment of graduates and work placements, with much less interaction in other areas. There is a dire need to fill this gap. 5.3. Recommendations In the literature review we identified a number of approaches for assessing and enhancing graduate employability skills. We found two approaches particularly relevant to Pakistani HEIs since they incorporate the assessments of key stakeholders (academic staff, graduates, employers), provide a comprehensive but simple means of assessing and comparing the perceptions of these stakeholders, provide a matrix which can be used to categorize and distinguish between authentic and in-authentic assessment of employability skills, and use a graphical interface which is simple to adopt and is an effective communication tool. These approaches are being used for assessing graduate employability skills in Australian universities, namely the Authentic Assessment Framework (AAF) and the Graduate Employability Indicators (GEI), and the work-integrated learning (WIL) approach which with they are both linked. It is highly recommended that Pakistani HEIs, after suitable modifications, incorporate WIL, AAF and GEI into their teaching-learning and assessment systems.

Faculties/departments of HEIs could take this process one step further by assessing the expectations of employers from graduates of specific disciplines, so that they could make their curricula and courses more responsive to employer needs. Ideally, such sector-specific assessment should be institutionalized in faculties/departments, so that it may be conducted on an on-going basis, and emerging and changing trends and employer needs are anticipated and catered to. This is important, considering that it takes a minimum of five years for institutions to make curricular changes, enroll student, and churn out graduates with new employability skills in keeping with market trends. Key recommendations of this study include the need for Pakistani HEIs to improve their assessment methods to more practical and hands on assessment, which can actually test the competence and capacity of the student in addition to theo-retical knowledge. This approach will also inculcate the habit of research and inquisitiveness in students who would focus more on the next phase, which is the application of knowledge. This will also address the issue raised by a majority of employers regarding their lack of satisfaction in some graduate skills that are important for them such as critical thinking, analytical approach, self-initiative and effective interpersonal communication. While engineering and information and communication technology are the second and third top most demanded faculties by our employers, there is very little development in our universities that cater to the dynamically evolving technological needs of our country, and as a result employers are resorted to look abroad for their technology needs as well as people who have the requisite knowledge and training on the latest technologies. The bigger universities should therefore focus on applied research and develop content that is relevant to the needs of local economy and industry for avoiding the need for importing the entire technology needs of the country. The importance and need for gender balance should be inculcated at all levels in the society, and HEIs should contribute by providing incentives, confidence building courses and tutorials to the fair gender for being able to assume more leadership based roles in organizations that are presently male dominated. HEIs in Pakistan should take heed of the fact that a majority of employers, including government and private employers have foreign qualified people in their work force. The reason attributed to this is the lack of availability of quality resources in Pakistan who have practical knowledge and experience on the subject of their specialisation, and lack overall quality, which highlights the weakness of local HEIs in not being able to meet local demand of employers. In terms of expectations and satisfaction of employers from graduate skills and competences, HEIs should focus on the aspects that are most important, but have a low satisfaction with employers, such as critical and analytical thinking, motiva-tion and initiative, effective writing skills and quality consciousness. Employers have strongly endorsed the use of various means to enhance engagement with HEIs, including cooperation on curriculum design and study programs, collaboration on research and innovation, recruitment of graduates, work placement opportunities for students, participation in debates/seminars organized by HEIs, structured discussions with course directors or senior management, and cooperation with career services/centers. A proactive and collaborative effort will be required by employers, HEIs and HEC to make progress on these fronts.


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Annexures

Annexure 1: Bibliography

1. Associated Press of Pakistan. (2011). Two Pakistani universities ranked among top 200 World’s

Technology Universities. Retrieved from www.dawn.com: http://www.dawn.com/news/607780/two-

pakistani-universities-ranked-among-top-200-worlds-technology-universities

2. Bosco, A., & Fern, S. (2014). Embedding of Authentic assessment in work-integrated learning

curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 281-290.

3. Bownan, H., Hodkinson, P., & Colley, H. (2005). Employabilty and Career Progression for Fulltime

UK Masters Students. Final Report for the Higher Education Career Service Unit, Manchester.

4. British Council. (2009). Retrieved from British Council :

www.britishcouncil.pk/sites/default/files/next-generation-report.pdf

5. Changing the Peace. (2013). Retrieved from CBI:

http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/2119176/education_and_skills_survey_2013.pdf

6. European Institute of Business Administration. (2012). The Global Innovation Index 2012. Retrieved

from World intellectual Property: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/economics/gii/gii_2012.pdf

7. Federal Bureau of Pakistan. (n.d.). Retrieved from Federal Bureau of Pakistan:

http://www.fbr.gov.pk/CategoryLayoutList.aspx?view=Category[Documents]%20With%20List%20

Layout&ActionID=746&ArticleID=),

8. Finch, D., Riley, L., & Zehner, M. (2013). An Exploratory Study of Factors Affecting

Undergraduate Employability. Education + Training, 55(7), 681-70.

9. Frye, M. (2000). Matching Employer Needs and Learner. Retrieved from

http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/15187/1/matching%20employer%20needs.pdf

10. Harvey, L. (2002). Retrieved from www2.wlv.ac.uk/webteam/confs/socdiv/sdd-harvey-0602.doc

11. Harvey, L. (2003). Retrieved from

http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/esecttools/esectpubs/harveytransitions.pdf

12. HEC. (n.d.). Digital Library. Retrieved from Higher Education Commission of Pakistan:

http://www.hec.gov.pk/InsideHEC/Divisions/AECA/Others/DigitalLibrary/Pages/DigitalLibrarywel

come.aspx

13. HEC. (n.d.). Digital Library. Retrieved from http://www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/

14. HEC. (n.d.). Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Retrieved from

http://www.hec.gov.pk/OurInstitutes/Pages/Default.aspx

15. Higher Education Commission. (n.d.). HEC Ordinance. Retrieved from Higher Education

Commission:

http://www.hec.gov.pk/MediaPublication/HECPublication/Documents/455_HECOrdinance.pdf

16. Hinchliffe, G., & Jolly, A. (2011). Graduate Identity and Employability. In A. Jolly, & Hinchliffe.

17. Insight Statistical Consulting. (2015). Higher Education Authority. Retrieved from

http://www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/employersurveymay2015final_web_0.pdf

18. International Labour Organization. (2013). Global Employment Trends. Recovering from a Second

Job Dip. International Labor Organization, Geneva.


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19. Jabeen, T. (2011). An appraisal of mismatch between graduating Students Perception and

Employers' expectation regarding employability skills. Thesis: University of Gujrat, Pakistan.

20. Jensen. (2008). A new employability paradigm. Cross Cutting Measures of Retrenchment/

Restructuring of European Employment Policies.

21. Mirza, F., Jaffri, A., & Hashmi, M. (2014). An Assessmet of Industrial Employment Skill gaps

among university graduates in the Gujrat-Sialkot-Gujranwala Industrial Cluster, Pakistan.

International Food Policy Research Institute, 17.

22. Oliver, B. (2011). The Graduate Employability Indicastors; An Australian Perspective. Management

of Sustainable Development, Special Issues, 105-108.

23. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.finance.gov.pk/:

http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_15/12_Population.pdf

24. Planning Commission of Pakistan. (2011). Retrieved from Planning Commission:

http://www.pc.gov.pk/feg/PDFs/2012/FEG-Final-Report_2-1-2012.pdf

25. Planning Commission, Government of Paksitan. (2012). Framework for Economic Growth,

Pakistan.

26. Raza, S., & Naqvi, S. (2011). Quality of Pakistani University Graduates as percieved by Employers:

Implication for Faculty Development. Journal of Quality and TEchnology Developmet, 57-72.

27. Saeed, K. (2015). Gaps in Marketing Competencies between Employers' Requirement and

Graduates' Marketing Skills. Pakistan Business Review.

28. Salman, A. (2008). Skill Gaps in the Labour Market. A Gender Perspective. Bargad, Gujranwala.

29. State Bank of Pakistan. (n.d.). Retrieved from State Bank of Pakistan:

www.sbp.org.pk/departments/stats/listsGovtInst.pdf).

30. The Gallup Organization. (2010). Employers perception of graduate employability. The Gallup

Organization. Flash EB Series 304.

31. United Nations Development Programme. (2015). Retrieved from Aser Pakistan:

http://www.aserpakistan.org/document/learning_resources/2014/Post_2015_Agenda/MDGs%20&%

20EFA%20Goals.pdf

32. Wellman, N. (2010). Retrieved from Emerald Insight:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02634501011086490

33. World Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://web.worldbank.org:

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:2029

8183~menuPK:617592~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:282386,00.html#what_why

34. Yorke, M. (2006). Employability in Higher Education. What it is, what it is not, ESECT,Learning

and Employability. Series one. York: THe Higher Education Academy.


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Annexure 2: Rationale for sample design

Government/ Semi Government/

Autonomous Organizations

SectorsSample Size

(Organizations)

10

5 National Level

Organizations

5 Regional Level

Organizations

Detailed Sample Breakup

All

Larg

e Sc

ale

Org

aniz

atio

ns

Public and Private Higher Education

Institutes in Pakistan8

1 Private

Educational

Institute in 4

provinces each

1 Public

Educational

Institute in 4

provinces each 50%

Med

ium

Sca

le a

nd

50%

Lar

ge S

cale

Org

aniz

atio

ns

Incorporated Companies 260

10-20%

Government

Managed

Companies

80-90%

Private Sector

Managed

Companies 10%

list

ed a

nd 9

0% n

on

liste

d

34%

Manufacturing

33% Services

33%

Agriculture

25%

Sm

all S

cale

, 50%

Med

ium

Sca

le a

nd 2

5%

Larg

e Sc

ale

Financial Services Companies 8

2 Mutual Fund

Companies

50%

Med

ium

Sca

le a

nd 5

0%

Larg

e Sc

ale

Org

aniz

atio

ns

2 Leasing

Companies

2 Investment

Companies

2 Development

Financial

Companies

Insurance Companies 8

2 Local Insurance

Companies

50%

Med

ium

Sca

le a

nd 5

0%

Larg

e Sc

ale

Org

aniz

atio

ns

2 Foreign

Insurance

Companies

2 Local Insurance

Companies

2 Foreign

Insurance

Companies

4 Life Insurance

Companies

4 General

Insurance

Companies

Banks 6

All

Larg

e Sc

ale

Org

aniz

atio

ns

2 National Banks

2 Regional Banks

2 Foreign Banks


46 | P a g e

Sectors Rationale of Sample

Government/ Semi Government/ Autonomous Organizations of Pakistan

Out of a population of approximately 1068 organizations (State Bank of Pakistan), under this sector, we plan to cover 10 organizations. The reason for selecting the said sample is due to the fact that organizations are governed by similar rules for hiring and perception will not be significantly varying. We will however, cover 5 national level and 5 provincial level government organizations in order to keep the sample representative for the purpose of the assignment output. Government entities pertaining to other sectors mentioned below will be selected during sampling for the other categories respectively.

Public & Private sector higher education institutions of Pakistan

Out of a population of 164 higher education institutes (HEC, n.d.), 95 are public sector institutes whereas 69 are private sector institutes. For this sample we aim to cover 8 institutes with further sub-division of 4 private sector and 4 public sector institutes, including 1 public and 1 private sector institute for each province. Amongst these HEIs we intend to cover both medium and large scale institutes. The said sample will help us gauge meaningful perceptions of both public and private sector higher educational institutes.

Companies Incorporated There are approximately 21,818 incorporated companies in (FBR, n.d), out of which 1,969 are listed whereas 19,849 are non-listed. Out of the said sample we plan to cover 260 organizations. To cover the perception of both government and private sector companies we shall cover at least 10-20% government/ semi government/ autonomous bodies and 80-90% private sector companies from the aforementioned sample. Out of the total incorporated companies we will cover 90% non-listed (Private Limited Companies) and 10% listed organizations (Limited Companies) as per the ratio of population bifurcation provided above. It is pertinent to mention that same is in-line with the ratio of listed and non-listed organizations of total incorporated companies. Within the incorporated companies, the idea of selecting sub sectors is to cover all key industrial sectors. We have reviewed the statistics of the Labor Force Survey 2012-13 in light of suggestions of HEC. It is pertinent to mention that, if we base our sample wholly on the results of Labor Force Survey, significant sectors for employers of HEC graduates may not be selected (Please refer Annexure B). In order to keep the sample representative, we shall cover 34% manufacturing, 33% services and 33% agriculture concerns. In relation to size of organizations we shall cover 25% small scale organizations, 50% medium scale organizations and 25% large scale organizations. This will enable us to gauge the perception of a broad base of employers from different industries. Please note that we shall cover the incorporated financial services companies, insurance companies and banks, within their respective sector samples.


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Sectors Rationale of Sample

Financial Services Companies

There are approximately 203 financial services companies, (State Bank of Pakistan) operating in the country, out of which we have selected a sample of 8 financial companies. In order to cover representative sample under this component we shall cover 2 mutual funds, 2 investment, 2 insurance and 2 development financial companies. The said sample will enable us to gauge the employer perception over all financial services sector. We plan on covering 50% medium scale and 50% large scale organizations.

Insurance Companies There are 59 insurance companies, (SBP, n.d.) operating in the country. Out of the said population we plan to cover 8 insurance companies. Considering insurance companies are further divided into general and life insurance, we plan to cover 4 companies for each sub division. Further we shall cover 2 local and 2 foreign insurance companies for each of the sub divisions provided above. We plan to cover 50% medium and 50% large scale insurance companies. The said sample plan will enable to gauge the employer’s perceptions across the insurance industry.

Banking Companies There are 39 banks operating in Pakistan (SBP, n.d.) out of which we plan to cover 6 banks. In order to gauge the perception employers at a wider level for this sector, we intend to cover 2 national banks, 2 regional banks and 2 foreign banks. The sample will cover large scale organizations.


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Annexure 3: List of Participating Organizations

Sr. # Participating Organization Address

1 Masood Textile Mills, Janowa Road, Faisalabad

2 A & Z International, 90-B, Tipu Road, Small Industrial State, Sialkot.

3 AAB Pvt. Limited, House # 94-i, St. # 40, Sector I-8/2, Islamabad

4 Aaj TV, 531-Business Recorder Road, Karachi

5 Abacus Consulting Technology, 4-Noon Venue, Main Canal Road, New Muslim Town, Lahore.

6 Abaseen Foundation Peshawar, TF-272 Deans Trade Centre Peshawar Cantt

7 Abdullah Haseeb Agro Chemicals, 6-A, Industrial Estate, Multan

8 Abdullah Sugar Mills, 6-S, Model Town, Lahore

9 Abdullah Sugar Mills Ltd Hujra Chunian Distt, Okara

10 Abdullah Sugar Mills Ltd. Distillery, Marajabad, Distt. Nankana

11 Abid Sons Cheema Street, Nadir Town, Fateh Garh Agency, Defence Road, Sialkot.

12 Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd. Tanveer Building, C-III, M.M. Alam Road, Gulberg-III, Lahore.

13 AFRASCO Lab, Umer Khan Road, Main Canal Mananwan Pind, Lahore.

14 AGFA Annova, 54-A, St # 10, Sector G-10/2, Islamabad

15 AgPharma Evyol Group, 151-A, Taunsa House Road, Garden Town, Multan

16 Agricultural Department, Govt. of Punjab, Near Kachehry & State Bank, Sialkot.

17 Agriculture (EXTN) Department, Govt. of Balochistan, Quetta

18 Agritec Industries Pvt. Ltd., 47-B 1, Industrial Estate, Multan

19 Agro Food Processing Facilities, Plot # 30-33, Industrial Estate, Phase 2, Multan.

20 Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), H-8/2, Islamabad.

21 Air Blue, 55-A Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

22 AKSA SDA Pvt Ltd, Ground Floor, Software Technology Park, 5-A Constitution Avenue, F-5 Isb.

23 Al-Bario Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd., 60-G, Mall Road, Lahore

24 Al-Ghurair Giga Construction Pvt. Ltd., DHA Phase-II, GT Road, Islamabad.

25 Al-Hadi Textile Pvt. Ltd. L-10-A, Block-22, IB Area, Karachi

26 Al-Hilal Industry (Pvt.) Ltd., Sultan Nagar, Vehari Road, Multan

27 Al-Karam Textiles Landhi Industrial Area, near Dawood Chorangi, Karachi

28 Al-Khair Gadoon (Ltd.), 103-Amin Mansion, GT Road, Peshawar

29 Al-Moiz Industries Ltd., 2-D-1, G-III, Lahore.

30 Al-Waheed Group of Industries, Plot # 176, I-10/3, Islamabad

31 Aleena Hotel GT Road, Gujranwala

32 Ali Akbar Group 48-A, Industrial Estate, Multan

33 AllahDin Group 47-A, Industrial Estate, Multan

34 Alpha Pipe Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. Room # 206-7, Amin Mansion, GT Road, Peshawar.

35 Anjum Textile (Private) Limited 42 Km Sheikhupura Road, Faisalabad

36 Apollo Telecom 3 Floor Royal Plaza, Fazle Haq Road, Blue Area Islamabad

37 Arabian Sea Enterprises Ltd. Mezzanine Floor, Sheraton Hotel, karachi Hotel & Club Road, Karachi

38 ARCO Palace Ourux Paints GT Road opposite Amin Hotel, Hashtnagri, Peshawar.

39 ARMS International Sharja Center, Shadman, Lahore.

40 Arshad Corporation Pvt. Ltd. 1-58-Jail Road, Faisalabad

41 Arysta Lifescience 2-A Roomi Cotton Factory, Industrial Estate, Multan

42 Ashraf Hospital 148-D, S.Town, Gujranwala

43 Ashrafia Food & Processing Industry Rawali, GT Road, Gujranwala

44 Asia Petroleum Ltd. 1st Floor, PSO-House, Khayaban-e-Iqbal, Clifton, Karachi

45 Asia Rice Mill Gohadpur, Head Merala Road, Sialkot

46 Askari Bank Ltd. Sharif Plaza, Paris Road, Sialkot.

47 Askari General Insurance Office 401, 4th Floor, Shaheen Center, Block &, KDA Scheme # 5, Clifton, Khi

48 Attock Refinery Limited Refinery P.O. Morgan, Rawalpindi.

49 Aurat Foundation H # 42/B, SAQ Road, University Town, Peshawar.

50 Auriga Group 33 km, Multan Road, Lahore.

51 AVENTLE Mezzanine Floor, Building 11-C, Lane 5, Seher Commercial, phase VII, DHA, Khi

52 AWAM Tipu Street, Sohailabad, Bata Colony, Faisalabad

53 Awan Sports Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. Aadha, Daska Road, Sialkot.

54 AWARD Azeem House, St. # 10, Barkatpura (Warispura), Faisalabad

55 Aziz Group 77-Industrial Estate, Multan.

56 Bahria University Shangrila Road, E-8, Islamabad.

57 Bajwa Rice Mill Bagowal Road, Jaspal Kotli, Sialkot

58 Balochistan Horticulture Cooperative Society M. A. Jinnah Road, Quetta.

59 Balochistan Rural Support Program House # 5-A, Gulshan-e-Janan Street, Saryab Road, Quetta.

60 Bank Alfalah 1-B, Awan Arcade, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

61 Bank of Khyber Adam Jee Road, Saddar, Rawalpindi.

62 Bayer Cropscience 7/C-1, Industrial Estate, Multan

63 BBDO Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. 1st/9th Floor, MM-Tower, MM Alam Road, Lahore

64 Bestway Cement Limited 19-A, Collage Road, F-7 Markaz, Islamabad

65 Bhalli Rice Mill Kingra Road, Rasoolpur Bhallian, Sialkot

66 Bharara Textiles 111-A Peoples' Colony # 1, Main Jaranwala Road, Faisalabad


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67 Big Feed (Stock feed) 2.5 km, Soo-e-Hasil Road, Kasur.

68 Big Feed Poultry 3 km, Raiwind Sue Asil, 2-A, Garden Town, lahore

69 Bilal Fibers Ltd. 38th km Sheikhupura Road, Faisalabad.

70 Biocutics Pharma P-8 Main Road, Shehzad Colony, Satiana Road, Faisalabad

71 Bismillah Textiles Ltd. 1 km Jaranwala Road, Khurrianwala, Faisalabad.

72 BRAVO Crop Science 21-A, Industrial Estate,

73 Bromed Surgical (Pvt.) Ltd. Hakeem Street, Rahimpur Khachian, P.O. Bharth, Sialkot.

74 Brother Associates GT Road, Mureedkay near Izhar Builders

75 BUNNY's Ltd. 105-A, Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore.

76 BURAQ 339- Phase II, Industrial Area Estate, Multan

77 Capital Development Authority (CDA) CDA Secretariate

78 Capital Sports Corp. Pvt. Ltd. PO Box 393, Kashmir Road, Sialkot.

79 Chashma Sugar Mills Ltd. University ROad, DI Khan.

80 Cherat Cement 2nd Floor, Modern Motors House, Begum ??? Road, Karachi

81 Child & Social Development Organization Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry Building, Paris Road, Sialkot.

82 Chiltan Travels Double Road, Quetta

83 CHIP Chip House, Plot # 5, St. # 9, G-8/2, Islamabad

84 Coca Cola Beverages Ltd. 104-A, Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore.

85 Commander International 41-C, Industrial Estate, Multan

86 Community Development Concern Gosha-e-Noor, Gulshan-e-Ahsan, 44- Sublime Chowk,Wazirabad Road, Sialkot.

87 Competition Commission of Pakistan 7th, 8th, 9th, Floors, ISE Towers, Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad.

88 COMSATS IT Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad

89 Concurrent System Saudi Pak Tower, 10th Floor, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

90 Crescent Tracking (Pvt.) Ltd.

91 Cretesol Pvt Ltd Plot#399,Sector 1-9/3 Industrail Area, Islamabad

92 Dandot Cement Company Ltd. 30-Sher Shah Block, Garden Town, Lahore

93 Danish Trading Corporation 110-A Malik Colony, sadar Bazar, Sialkot Cantt.

94 DG Cement Nishat House near Jail Road, Lahore.

95 DHQ Civil Hospital (Teaching Hospit)al DHQ, Civil line, Munir Chowk, Gujranwala

96 Development In Literacy (DIL) Islamabad

97 Dilpasand Hosiery Pvt. Ltd. Opposite Sui Gas Sub Station, Narowala Road, Marzipyra, Faisalabad

98 District Health Development Center Model Town, near HBL, Sialkot.

99 District Health Development Centre Sialkot Road near Accounts Office, Gujranwala

100 DOCE Foods 48-M, Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore.

101 DOMINO's Office # 505, 5th Floor, Clifton Center, Block # 5, Karachi.

102 DYNAMIC Crop Science 24-1-B, Industrial Estate, Multan

103 E-lite Room # 203, Building 40-C, 2nd Floor, 3rd Commercial Rahat lane, DHA, Khi

104 EDEN Biosciences Plot # 50,51,53,Phase I, loIndustrial Estate, Multan

105 Education & Protection Foundation

106 EFU Life Assurance Ltd. 2nd Floor, Shareef Center, near SCCI, Paris Road, Sialkot

107 Engineering Development Board SEDC Building(STP), 5th Floor, 5A, Constitution Avenue, Islamabad

108 Ericson Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. 3rd Floor, Low Risc, Sandi Pak Tower, Blue Area, Islamabad

109 EVYOL Group House # 2524, St. # 9, Shadman Colony, Multan

110 EXCEL Crop Care 160-B, WAPDA Town, Multan

111 EXIN Chemicals 33-B, Industrial Estate, Multan

112 Fairflow Consultant Company Kashmir Road, Pacca Garah near Meezan Bank, Sialkot.

113 Faisal Plastic Pvt. Limited Plot # M-11-E-189 Street # 53, Block-B, Shershah, karachi

114 Farm Tec International House # 236, St. # 5, Nisar Colony, Faisalabad

115 Farmers Equity Pakistan Pvt Ltd. 1st Floor, Mall Plaza, Mall Road, Multan Cantt.

116 Farooq Ghee & Oil Mills (Pvt.) Ltd. Shahrah-e-Afnan, Quetta

117 Fattani Traders O. T. 5/12-13, Shop # 4, Amin Manzil, Kagzi Bazar, Karachi

118 Fauji Fertilizer Company Mall Road, Saddar, Rawalpindi

119 Fazal Steel Pvt. Ltd. I-9, Industrial Area, 9th Avenue, Islamabad

120 FC College Ferozpur Road, Lahore

121 Fillgree Enterprises Sidhupura Road, Faisalabad

122 Finca Micro-finance Johar Town, Lahore.

123 Fircos Industries Pvt. Ltd. Rehmanpur, Aimanabad, Ramgarh, Sialkot.

124 FITRITE Main Tariq Road near Rehmania Mosque, PECHS, Off. # 52, Karachi

125 Fraz Enterprises C-115-116, SIE, Sialkot.

126 Frontier Ceramics Limited Toyota Rawal Motors Building, near Sawan Company, A. T. Road, Rawalpindi.

127 G. C. University, Faisalabad G. C. University, Faisalabad.

128 Garvaish Hotel East Canal Road, 204 Bridge Dummar Chowk, Faisalabad

129 Gem Sports Corporation. S.I.E., Sialkot.

130 Ghani Glass

131 Gharia Ghee Industry

132 Glorious Mercantile Corporation Pvt. Ltd. 15-A, SIE, Sialkot.

133 Golden Harvest Food Pvt. Ltd. Plot # 33, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi.

134 Gourmet Foods Main Defence Road, Bhubtian Chauk, Raiwind Roar, Lahore


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135 Grace Hotel Outside of Chiniot Bazar, Faisalabad

136 Green Revolution Plot # 48, Industrial Estate, Phase 2, Multan.

137 Greif Flexibles Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited 501, 5th Floor, Business Avenue, Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi

138 Habib Metropolitan Bank Spencers Building, 1.1-Chandrigarh Road, Karachi

139 Habib Rafiq Pvt. DHA Phase-2, Gate # ll, Islamabad

140 Hagler Bailly H # 39, Street # 3, E-7, Islamabad

141 Haleeb Foods 62 km, Multan Road, Bhai Pheru, Kasur

142 Hamdard Laboratories Welfare/Foundation 142-Lyton Road, Lahore

143 Haroon & Brothers Afzalabad, Old Bara, University Town, Peshawar

144 Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills Main Bulevard, S- Block # 6, Model Town, Lahore

145 HAVEN Chemicals 41-C, Industrial Estate, Multan

146 Hayat Foundation Sheikh Colony near Farooq High School, Faisalabad.

147 HELB Group 7-C-1, Industrial Estate, Multan

148 Herbion Naturals Plot # 30, Sector 28, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi

149 HEREX Enterprises 34-A I, Jannat Garden, Industrial Estate, Multan

150 Hi Tech Petroleum Kashmir Pullwala Road, nearNagra Mills, Amin Town, Faisalabad.

151 Hillcrest Solution Pvt. Ltd. Circle Centre, Behria Town, Islamabad

152 Himont Pharma Sameel Enterprises, Susan Road, Faisalabad.

153 Hotel Global Village G. T. Road Gujranwala

154 Hotel One H # 24, St. # 33, F-6/1, Islamabad.

155 Huawei Mobile 12th Floor, Saudi Pak Tower, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad.

156 Hussain Sugar Mills (Pvt.) Ltd. Lahore Road, Jaranwala

157 Huzaifa Group of industries Raja Road, Sialkot.

158 Hycarbex Incorporated E-11/3, Islamabad.

159 i2 Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. Banglow # 34, Main Gulberg, Lahore

160 Ibrahim Fibers Ltd. 38-km Sheikhupura Road, Faisalabad

161 IESCO Behind ISI Headquarters, G-7/4, Islamabad.

162 IGI Life International General Insurance Co. Ltd Soni Square, Suite # 7 & 8, 1st Floor, Khadim Ali Road, Mubarak Pura, Sialkot.

163 IKAI 92-C, Block 6, PECHS, Karachi

164 Inbox Business Technology E-Block, Satellite Town, near Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi

165 Indus Motor Company Ltd. Plot # N, NWIP-1, Port Qasim Authority, Karachi.

166 Infatact Business Pvt. DHA Phase-ll, Gate # ll, Islamabad

167 Innovative Chemicals 36-A, Industrial Estate, Multan

168 Institute of Soil Chemistry& Environmental Sci-ence, Ayub Agri

Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Jhang Road, Faisalabad.

169 Interflow Communications 1- School Road, F-6/1, Islamabad

170 International Pharma Lab. Raiwind Road, Bhoobtian Chowk, Deffence Road, Kahna, Lahore

171 International Textile Limited 205, 208-Pak Towers, Shahrah-e-Firdausi, Clifton, Karachi.

172 Intertec Business System Pvt. Ltd. Suit # 6, 7 Inter Floor, Eden Centre, Jail Road Lahore

173 Iqra University Zaghoon Road, Quetta.

174 Ittehad Steel Finance & Ad

175 J-K Dairies 19-A, St. # 1, Link 6, Cavalry Ground, Cantt., Lahore

176 Jaffer Brothers Pvt Ltd 1 Floor, 26-D Kashmir Plaza, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

177 Javed Publishers 17 Al-Fazal Market, Urdu Bazar, Lahore.

178 Jubilee General Insurance 1 Floor, 26-D Kashmir Plaza, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

179 Jullundur (Pvt.) Ltd. 44-B, Industrial Estate, Multan

180 Junaid Brothers

Custom's Public Bonded Warehouse, SLB-7/G/P-4 State Life Building # &-G, Allana Road, Karachi

181 K & N's Poultry Farms K & N's Center, 160-Banglore Town, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi

182 K. Electric Gol Market, nazimabad, Karachi

183 Kamal Ltd. 4 km Kharlanwala to Jaranwala Road, Kharlainwala, Faisalabad

184 Kampala Industries Pvt. Ltd. Gondal Road, Khichian, Sialkot.

185 Karachi Steel Rerolling I-10 Markaz, Islamabad

186 Karachi University University of Karachi, University Road, Karachi

187 Kareem Chemicals 2/A, Industrial Estate, Multan.

188 Karmanwala Rice Mill Bagowal Road, Darganwali, Sialkot

189 KASHEEF Brothers S # 3-18, Sheesh mahal Building, New Challi, Karachi.

190 Khanewal Seed & Safari Dairy Farm 19 km Khaniwal, Garh Mor Road, khaniwal

191 Khirman Micro Fertilizers Plot # 48,49,50, Industrial Estate, Multan

192 KISAN Dost Chemicals Plot # 222, Phase II, Industrial Estate, Multan

193 Klash Group 117-JB Paharang, Faisalabad

194 Lafarge Cement Pakistan 18-B, Kaghan Road, Rawalpindi

195 Lahore Chemical & Pharmaceutical Pvt. Ltd. 137-Ferozepur Road , Lahore

196 Lahore Stock Exchange Near Mall road, Lahore

197 Latif Group of Industries R & S Plaza, Plot # 3-A, 3rd Floor, I-10 Markaz, Islamabad.

198 Libermann International Harrar, Wazirabad Road, Sialkot.

199 Lords Inn Hotel Opposite Police Station, People's Colony, Main Jaranwala Road, Faisalabad

200 Lyallpur Chemicals Lahore Road, Jaranwala


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201 M. Sadiq Corporation Adalat Gharha, Babarianwala, Ugoki Road, Sialkot.

202 Mahmood Feeds (Pvt.) Ltd Vehari Road, Multan.

203 Malik Dairies Main canal, Northern Side, Ghaus Garden, Phase I, Lahore

204 Maple Leaf Group 42-Lawrence Road, Lahore.

205 Mari Petroleum Company Ltd 21 Mawe Area, 3rd Road, G-10/4, Islamabad

206 Matrix Intech 786-Sadra Badra, Daska Road, Sialkot.

207 MCB 2nd Floor Al-Gilan Building, Murree Road, Rawalpindi.

208 Medical Transcription Billing Company (MTBC) 106 A/1, Satellite Town, near 6th Road, Rawalpindi

209 Meezan Bank 32-Sohrab Plaza, First Floor, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

210 Mehta Brothers Pvt. Ltd. 60-Ahmad Block, Garden Town, Lahore.

211 MERCK 7-Jail Road, Quetta

212 Metal & Crucibles 17 km, Multan Riad, Lahore.

213 Metro-Habib Cash & Carry Plot # 01, 1-A, I-11/4, Islamabad.

214 Mira Power Limited 10-C, Shahmeer Road, F-10/3, Islamabad.

215 Mobilink Mobilink House, 1-A, IBC-I, Kohistan Road, F-8 Markaz, Islamabad.

216 Movenpick Hotel Karachi P O Box 3918, Club Road, Karachi

217 Mughals Group 57-Main Ghazi Road, Lahore.

218 Muta Industries Pvt. Ltd. 285-Muradia Road, Model Town, Sialkot

219 Nadeem Leather Industries Near PSO Pump, Kullowal Road, Kotli Bharam, Sialkot.

220 Naeem Electronics Main Sheenabad, GT Road, Gujranwala

221 Nagina Cotton Mills Ltd. 91-B-1, M.M Alam Road Lahore.

222 National Commission for Human Development Chaman Housing Scheme, Airport Road, Quetta.

223 National Fertilizer Marketing Ltd 53-Jail Road, Lahore

224 National Flour & General Mills Ltd. 176- Shadman-I, Lahore

225 National University of Modern Languages (NUML)

NUML Campus, H-9, Islamabad.

226 Naveena Group of Industries 21, Banglore Town, Block # 7/8, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi

227 Nayatel GD Arcade, 73-E, Fazal-ul-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad.

228 NCS (University System Management Sciences) 25-Park Road, opposite National Bank, University Town, Peshawar.

229 NICE International 25-H, Industrial Estate, Multan

230 Nishat Mills P.O. Nishatabad, Faisalabad.

231 NRSP Balochistan 11-A, Chaman Housing, Airport Road, Quetta.

232 OCEAN Pakistan Limited PTEI House, 3rd Road, Mauve Area, G-10/4, Islamabad

233 OGDCL OGDCL Building, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

234 OMV Pakistan 16th Floor, ISE Towers, 55-B, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad.

235 Online Laboratories Main Canal road, Mananwan pind, Lahore.

236 P & D Department, Govt. of Punjab P & D Department, Civil Secretariate, Lahore.

237 Pak China 236-Mall Plaza, Cannt., Multan.

238 Pak Green Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Jail Road, Lahore.

239 Pak Oil Logistics Suite # 502, 5th Floor, Business Arcade Centre, Mumtaz Hassan Road, Karachi

240 PakChina Investment Co. Sandipak Tower, 13th Floor, Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad.

241 Pakistan Beverage Ltd. PEPSI D-113, SITE, Manghopir Road, Karachi

242 Pakistan Motors Opposite Aleena Shopping Mall, GT Road, Gujranwala

243 Pakistan Post Pakistan Post Headquarter, G8/4, Islamabad

244 Pakistan Poultry Farm 55-D/5, Shadman, Lahore.

245 Pakistan Services Ltd. NESPAK, G-5/2, Islamabad.

246 Pakistan Tobacco Company Regional Office, 57/A-6, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi

247 Pan Pacific (PVT.) Ltd 275-Shamsabad Colony, Khanewal Road, Multan

248 Panasian Group 49-C, Jail Road, Lahore

249 Paramount Fumigation Services M-6, Mezanine Floor, Dada Terrace, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi

250 Pasban Group of IT Main Gatanwala Chowk, Batala Colony, Satiana Road, Faisalabad.

251 Patron Chemicals 101/4, Industrial Estate, Multan

252 PC Hotels Khyber Road, Peshawer Cantt. ( PC) HR Deptt.

253 Phedra Industries Pvt. Ltd. B 72/74, Industrial Estate, Liaqat Ali Road, Sialkot.

254 PIA 5- The Mall, Saddar, Rawalpindi

255 Piffers Security Services Office # 17, 2nd Floor, Capital Plaza, G-11 Markaz, Islamabad.

256 Pioneer Cement Ferozpur Road, Lahore

257 PIONEER Group of Company 209,210- Industrial Estate, Multan.

258 PMAS University of Arid Agriculture Shamasabad Stop, Murre road, Rawalpindi

259 PMC Punjab Mineral Company 10-B, Model Town, Lahore.

260 Power Chemical Industries 45 km Jaranwala to Khurianwala Road, Faisalabad

261 Premier Dairies Defence Road, Raiwind Road, Lahore.

262 Premier Group 20-A Markaz, F-7, Islamabad

263 PRGTTI 71-L, Gulberg-III, near Kalma Chawk, Lahore

264 Prime Education Network Soldier Bazar # 1, near Holy Family Hospital

265 Prime Hotel Allama Iqbal Road, opposite Dhobi Ghat, Faisalabad.

266 Provincial Institute of Teacher Education Tariq Hospital, Sayab Road, Quetta.

267 PTCL PTCL Headquaters, F-5 Islamabad


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268 Punjab Education Foundation 87-B-1, MM Alam Road, Gulberg-lll, Lahore

269 Punjab Seed Corporation Khanewal

270 Punjab Skills Development Fund 125-Abu Bakar Block, Garden Town, Lahore

271 Punjnud Feeds Faisalabad Road, Sheikhupura

272 Qarshi Foundation & Industry 9-Ali Block, Garden Town, Lahore.

273 Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Pvt. Ltd. 3rd Floor 83 A/E-1, Main Buleward, Gulberg-lll, Lahore

274 Quaid-e-Azam University Noorpur Shahan University Campus,

275 Raaziq Group H/No-36 A, Near Police Station Abdara Road, Uni Town Peshawar

276 RACHNA Pearl Hotel GT Road, Gujranwala

277 Rajput Enterprises 6S, Adnan Center, Nicol Road, Karachi. 74000

278 Rana Textile Industries Faisalabad 42 km Sheikhupura Road, near Shahkot, Faisalabad

279 Reckitte Benckiser 24-D- Jamrud Road University Town Peshawar

280 Reliance Insurance Company Ltd. suit # 321, 3rd Floor, Eden Centre, Lahore

281 Right to Public Services Commission, KP 6-Saddar ROad, Peshawar Cantt.

282 Rosati Bistro Plot # 13-D, KDA Scheme 1, Main Karsaz Road, Karachi

283 Royal Airport Services Ryal Plaza, 30-E, 4th Floor, Fazl-e-Haq road, Blue Area, Islamabad.

284 Royal Developers & Builders Ltd. DHA Phase-2, Gate # 1, Plaza H, Main Gulwal,

285 Royal Textile Mills Ltd. Amin Mansion, GT Road, Peshawar

286 Roznama Pakistan 41-Jail Road, Lahore

287 Ruba Sez Group 6th Floor, Mega Towers ,63-B, Main Bulevard, Gulberg II,Lahore.

288 SACH Lawrencepur 3rd Floor, Dawood Center, M.T. Khan Road, Karachi

289 Sadiq Brothers Pvt. Ltd. 47-C, Chandni Chowk, Rawalpindi

290 SAF International Suite # 7, 3rd Floor, Fareed Plaza, 65-Shadman, Lahore.

291 Saif Group of Companies Basement of Kalsoom International Hospital, Blue Area, Islamabad.

292 Samin Textiles Ltd. 50- Main Gulberg # C, lahore

293 Sapphire Group 7 A-K, Main Bulevard, Gulberg II, Lahore

294 Saudi Pak Industrial & Agricultural Co. Ltd. 19th Floor, Saudi Pak Tower, 16-A, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad

295 Save The Children H # 78, Main Margalla Road, F-6/2, Islamabad

296 SBK Women's University Brewery Road, Quetta.

297 Scotmann Pharmaceuticals (Pvt.) Ltd H.# 4, Bhatti Road, F-7, Islamabad

298 Seasons Edible Oil 171-Shadman 1, Lahore

299 Semiotics Consultants Pvt. Limited 6,7 Pearl Centre, Super Market, F-6, Islamabad.

300 Serena Hotel Zarghon Road, Quetta.

301 Shakarganj Food Products Lahore Road, Jaranwala.

302 Shama Banaspati Bahawalpur Road, Multan

303 Sharif Dairy Farm 55-K, Model Town, Lahore.

304 Shazam Pharma Casnal Park Colony near FCCI, Canal Road, Faisalabad.

305 Shell Shell House, 6-Ch. Khaliquzzaman Road, Karachi

306 Shifa International Hospital H-8/4, Islamabad.

307 Sialkot Waste Management Company Paris Road, Sialkot, near Tempo Enterprizes

308 Sind Police Altacy Medan Police Station, Din Muhammad Wafia Road, Karachi

309 Sindh Bank

Head Office, 3rd Floor, Federation House, Abdullah Shah Ghazi Road, Clifton, Karachi

310 SME Bank Limited Near Baverly Centre, Khawaja Nazim-ud-Din Road, Blue Area, Islamabad

311 SNL 101-W, Al-Khair Plaza, Fazl-ul-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad

312 Solex Chemicals Ltd. 25-A-II, Industrial Estate, Multan

313 Solo Seed Associate House, near Mall Road, Lahore

314 Solve Gri Pak (Pvt.) Ltd. F-6/2, Model Town Link Road, Lahore.

315 SOS Securities 217/A, Block-2, G.F.I. P.E.C.H.S Karachi

316 SPEL 127-S, Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Lahore.

317 Standard Surgical Supply Agencies Khyber Bazar, Qissa Khawani Road, Peshawar.

318 Standered Chartered 6-A, Union Arcade, F-7 Markaz, Jinnah Super Market, Islamabad

319 Star Power Associate House, near Mall Road, Lahore

320 Statelife Insurance Statelife Builing 9 Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad.

321 Statistics Bureau of Pakistan Statistics House, G-9/1, Mauve Area, Islamabad

322 Stylers International 20 Km ferozpur Road, Lahore

323 Summit Bank Ltd 24, Ali Asghar Plaza Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area

324 Suncrop Group Pakistan 8-B, Industrial Estate, Multan

325 SUNNY Gold Bread (Tayyab Food Products) Plot # S-66, Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore.

326 Super Asia 89-Temple Road, Abid Market, Lahore.

327 Supreme Feeds (Pvt.) Ltd. 170- Main Shadman Market, Lahore.

328 SUZUKI Gujranwala Motors 3-A, S.I.E., GT Road, Gujranwala

329 Syngenta Mauza Kotla Abul Fateh near Industrial Estate, Multan

330 T & N Group 13 km, Satiana Road, Faisalabad.

331 Tacha Steel Mills Plot#412, Sector 1 -9/3, Industrial Area Islamabad

332 Talon Sports (Pvt.) Ltd.

333 Tameer Bank K-583, Murre Road, Rawalpindi.

334 Tanjwa Dairy Farm 43-Chack Khaniwal


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335 Tanveer Group of Companies Lahore 98-A, B-lll, Gulberg-lll, Lahore.

336 Tapal Wind Energy (Pvt.) Ltd. 2nd Floor Ameejee Chambers, Campbell Street, Karachi.

337 TARA Crop Sciences 6-B, Industrial Estate, Multan

338 Taraqee Foundation

339 Tavern Grill Samar Heights, DMCHS near Tariq Road Signal, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi.

340 Tayyab Group of Industries New Civil Lines, Faisalabad

341 Team A Venture Shafi Court, Ground Floor, Block 3, Civil Lines, Mereweather Road,Karachi

342 Teamsun Technology H # 51-B, St. # 38, F-10/4, Islamabad.

343 Telenor Silver Square, Plot # 15, Menar Ali Road, E-11 Markaz, Islamabad

344 Tempo Enterprizes Paris Road 51310, Sialkot.

345 Teradata Pakistan Ground Floor TF Complex, G-9/4, Islamabad.

346 Thal Ltd. Mezzanine Floor, house of Habib, 3-Jinnah Ch. Society, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi.

347 The Digital Factory Plot # 22/C, Bukhari Commercial Lane 9, Phase VI, DHA, Karachi

348 The EXPERT Plot # 14, Industrial Estate, Multan

349 The Resource Group (TRG) 7-Aitchison Street, 1 Km Raiwind Road, Lahore.

350 The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry P.O.Box 1870, Shahrah-e-Aiwan-e-Sanat-o-Tijarat, Paris Road, Sialkot.

351 TOPSUN Chemical Enterprises Plot # 50, Industrial Estate, Multan.

352 Total Care Sciences 25-A, Industrial Estate, Multan

353 Toyota Capital Motor Plot#405-406, 9 Avenue Sector 1-9, Islamabad

354 Toyota Frontiss Motors Pvt. Ltd. Main University Road, Peshawar.

355 Tufail Chemicals A-69, Eastern Industrial Zone, Port Qasim, Karachi

356 UBL Funds Manager 8th Floor, Executive Tower, Dolmen City Building, Block-4, Clifton, Karachi

357 Ufone Ufone Tower, Blue Rea, Islamabad

358 UM Enterprises 6,7,8 3rd Floor, Sharjah Center, Shadman, Lahore.

359 UNDP 4th Floor, Serena Business Complex, Khayaban-e-Soharwardy, G-5/1, Islamabad

360 Unilable Sourcing 71-L near National Hospital, DHA, Lahore

361 United Chemicals 10-B, Industrial Estate, Multan

362 United Insurance Group Nizam Chamber, 7-Fatima Jinnah Road, Lahore

363 University of Agriculture University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

364 University of Balochistan Saryab Road, Quetta.

365 Vinco Textiles Opposite Sitarasapna City, Dawood Road, Faisalabad.

366 Wahid Group of Companies Plot # 217,218,Industrial Estate, Multan

367 Well Wishers Agro Chemicals Plot # 15, Industrial Estate, Multan

368 Wi-tribe Wi-tribe House, F-8 Markaz, Islamabad.

369 WorldCall Telecom Ltd. Ibrahim Trade Centre, Aibak Block, New Garden Town, Lahore

370 Yaqoob Group 6-D, Industrial Estate, Multan

371 Young's Private Ltd. 33-D, Block 6, PECH, shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi

372 Zainab Chemicals Pakistan Plot 747, Small Industries Estate, Faisalabad

373 Zandan 23-A, Dattari Villas, Main Clifton Road, karachi

374 ZOIC International Office # 5, 3rd Floor, Fareed Plaza, Shadman, Lahore.

375 ZTBL ZTBL Head Office, G-7, Islamabad.


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Annexure 4: Analysis for gauging importance of various skills and attributes Table1. Importance of various skills by broad activity of organization

Man

ufa

ctu

r-

ing

Serv

ices

Bo

th

N

Importance of subject or discipline knowledge 91% 91% 91% 370

Importance of computing and IT 86% 86% 80% 369

Importance of processing and interpreting numerical data 82% 81% 81% 361

Importance of effective oral communication 89% 94% 90% 369

Importance of effective written communication 89% 87% 80% 369


90% 89% 87% 368

Importance of working effectively with others 90% 91% 89% 369

Importance of working effectively on their own 89% 93% 90% 371

Importance of having concern for quality and detail 88% 89% 89% 369

Importance of having business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 79% 82% 79% 351

Importance of thinking critically and analytically 86% 90% 87% 368

Importance of having leadership skills/leading others 83% 87% 83% 354

Importance of having self-motivation/taking responsibility 92% 92% 89% 370

Importance of having ability to cope with work pressure 89% 92% 89% 371

Importance of capacity to be flexible and adaptable 88% 91% 88% 370

Table 2. Importance of various skills by number of employees

Sm

all

Org

an

i-

zati

on

s

Med

ium

Or-

gan

izati

on

s

Larg

e O

rgan

i-

zati

on

s

N

Importance of subject or discipline knowledge 90% 92% 91% 371

Importance of computing and IT 82% 85% 87% 370

Importance of processing and interpreting numerical data 77% 82% 83% 362

Importance of effective oral communication 93% 91% 91% 370

Importance of effective written communication 85% 86% 89% 370


87% 91% 90% 369

Importance of working effectively with others 89% 91% 91% 370

Importance of working effectively on their own 92% 91% 91% 372

Importance of having concern for quality and detail 88% 89% 88% 370

Importance of having business acumen/entrepreneurial skills 82% 78% 82% 351

Importance of thinking critically and analytically 89% 88% 88% 369

Importance of having leadership skills/leading others 86% 84% 85% 355

Importance of having self-motivation/taking responsibility 93% 93% 90% 371

Importance of having ability to cope with work pressure 93% 92% 88% 372

Importance of capacity to be flexible and adaptable 92% 90% 88% 371


55 | P a g e

Table 3. Importance of interaction between employers and HEIs by broad activity of organization

Man

ufa

ctu

rin

g

Serv

ices

Bo

th

N

Cooperation on curriculum design, study programs 87% 87% 82% 366

Collaboration on research and innovation 87% 88% 87% 367

Recruitment of graduates 87% 86% 77% 364

Work placement opportunities for students 85% 87% 81% 363

Participating in debates/seminars organized by HEIs 81% 84% 83% 358

Structured discussions with course directors 85% 84% 81% 359

Cooperation with career services/centers 81% 83% 81% 351

Table4. Frequency of interaction between employers and HEIs by broad activity of organization

Man

ufa

ctu

rin

g

Serv

ices

Bo

th

N








Table 5. Frequency of interaction between employers and HEIs by ownership structure of organization

Go

vern

men

t /

Sem

i G

ov-

ern

men

t /

Au

ton

om

ou

s

Pri

vate

/ C

orp

ora

te

NG

O /

No

n P

rofi

t

N









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Annexure 5: Survey Tool

Employer Perception Survey about Quality of Graduates

Tertiary Education Support Program implemented by Higher Education Commission funded by the World Bank

About Interviewee Name Designation Email Contact Number

About Organization Name Address Contact Number

About Interviewer Name Designation Organization Date

DD MM YY

1. This national survey is being conducted to ascertain the views of employers regarding Higher Education (HE) graduates. The survey will determine the extent to which the competencies produced in higher education offered in Pakistani institutions is in accordance with aspirations of the employers. The findings of the survey will help higher education institutions (HEIs) in Pakistan to create a match between the knowledge, skills and attitudes fostered by HEIs among their students and those that are desired and demanded by local and global markets. The term graduate refers to graduates of HEIs in Pakistan unless stated otherwise. All information received will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

2. You are requested to extend your fullest cooperation and provide any information and documents relevant to this survey to the visiting team.

3. You may retain a copy of this questionnaire for your records by photocopying the filled form. 4. Please sign and stamp the filled form for our record and onward submission to HEC. 5. If you have any reservation regarding the interviewer, questionnaire or timing of interview, please contact Mr. Khurram Abbas

at 051-2800168 for your queries and comments, if any.


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1. Background Questions BQ1 What is the broad activity of your organization? [ENCIRCLE THE SELECTED NUMBER] - Manufacturing 01

- Services 02

- Both 03

BQ2 What is the specific activity of your organization? [MULTIPLE RESPONSES POSSIBLE] - Advertising 01 - Automotive 02 - Agriculture 03 - Agricultural Inputs (Fertilizer, Seeds, Pesticides) 04 - Banking and Finance 05 - Beverage 06 - Cement 07 - Chemicals, Paints, Plastics 08 - Dairy, Livestock, Veterinary 09 - Development/NGO 10 - Education 11 - Foods 12 - Garments, Hosiery, Textiles 13 - Hospitality, Hotels 14 - Information & Communication Technology 15 - Insurance 16 - Marketing 17 - Media 18 - Oil, Gas, Power 19 - Pharmaceuticals 20 - Poultry 21 - Public Services, Regulatory Bodies 22 - Steel 23 - Sugar 24 - Other (specify) 25

BQ3 What is your position in your organization? - HR manager/HR director/Head of HR Department 01 - General Manager/Director/Managing Director/CEO 02 - Other [Specify] 03 BQ4 What is the ownership structure of your organization? - Public/Government 01 - Semi-Government/Autonomous 02 - Private/Corporate 03 - Non-Profit/NGO 04 - [Don’t Know (DK)/Not Applicable (NA)] 99 BQ5 What is the estimated number of employees in your organization?

- Less than 50 01 - 50-249 02 - 250 or more 03 - [DK/NA] 99

Employment of Graduates

EG1 What is the estimated number of graduates in your organization? - 1-25 01 - 26-50 02 - 51-75 03 - 76-100 04 - More than 100 05 - [DK/NA] 99


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EG2 What is the estimated number of male graduates in your organization? - None 01 - 1-25 02 - 26-50 03 - 51-75 04 - 76-100 05 - More than 100 06 - [DK/NA] 99 EG3 What is the estimated number of female graduates in your organization? - None 01 - 1-25 02 - 26-50 03 - 51-75 04 - 76-100 05 - More than 100 06 - [DK/NA] 99

EG4 From which EDUCATIONAL fields do you mostly recruit HE graduates? [MULTIPLE RESPONSES POSSIBLE] - Agriculture & Veterinary 01 - Arts & Humanities (including Education, Fine Arts, Fashion Design, Language and Literature, Philosophy, History, Religion) 02 - Business and Management 03 - Engineering 04 - Health and Medicine 05 - Information & Computer Technology 06 - Law 07 - Science and Mathematics (including Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Math, Physics) 08 - Social Sciences (Anthropology, Communication & Media, Economics International Relations, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology) 09 - Other (specify) 10 - [DK/NA] 99

3. Recruitment R1 From the list below please select the 3 most important criteria your organization takes into account when recruiting graduates?

- Subject Choice 01 - Institution Attended 02 - Qualification or Examination Result 03 - Employability Skills (e.g. Attitude, Communication Skills) 04

- Extracurricular Activities 05 - Internship or Placement as Part of Course 06 - Studied Abroad 07

- Interview Performance 08 - References/Recommendations 09 - Other (specify) 10 - [DK/NA] 99

R2 Do you prefer to hire male or female graduates in your organization? - Male Graduates 01 - Female Graduates 02 - No Preference 03 - Other (specify) 04 - [DK/NA] 99 R3 Do you prefer to hire graduates from private or public HEIs? - Public HEIs 01 - Private HEIs 02 - No Preference 03 - Other (specify) 04 - [DK/NA] 99 [If NO preference or DK/NA, go to R4]


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R3a What is your reason for preferring graduates from public or private sector HEIs? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE]

- The Institutional Reputation 01 - Better Overall Quality of Graduates 02 - Quality of Subject Knowledge 03 - Quality of Employability Skills and Attributes 04 - Successful Past Experience of Recruiting from this Institution(s) 05 - Low Salary Expectation 06 - Other (specify) 07 - [DK/NA] 99 R4 What is the number of foreign qualified employees in your organization? - None 01 - 1-20 02 - 21-50 03 - 51-100 04 - More than 100 05 - DK/NA 99 [If NONE or DK/NA, go to R5]

R4a What is your reason for recruiting foreign qualified graduates? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE]

- Insufficient Candidates with the Right Skills in Pakistan 01 - The Institutional Reputation 02 - Better Overall Quality of Graduates 03 - Quality of Subject Knowledge 04 - Quality of Employability Skills and Attributes 05 - Successful Past Experience of Recruiting from these Institutions 06 - Other (specify) 07 - [DK/NA] 99 R5 What are the greatest challenges in filling vacancies? Please select the two most important ones.

- Shortage of Applicants with the Right Skills and Capabilities 01 - Limited Resources to Market Graduate Vacancies Adequately 02 - Offering a Competitive Starting Salary 03 - Graduate Candidates Withdraw Applications because Hiring Process is Slow 04 - Other (specify) 05 - [DK/NA] 99


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4. Skills Set SS1 Please rate each skill and attitude under two headings as follows: (a) How important is it that graduates in your organization recruited in the past 5 years have these skills and attitudes upon recruitment? (b) How satisfied are you that graduates in your organization recruited in the past 5 years have these skills and attitudes upon recruitment?

Employability Skills (a) How Important (b) How Satisfied

Very

Im

-

po

rtan

t=4

Im

-

po

rtan

t=3

Un

im-

po

rtan

t=2

Very

Un

-

im-

po

rtan

t=1

D.K

./N

.A.

=99

Very

Sati

s-

fied

=4

Sati

sfie

d=

3

Dis

sati

s-

fied

=2

Very

Dis

-

sati

sfie

d=

1

D.K

./N

.A

=99.

Knowledge and Skills

i) Subject Knowledge

ii) Computing and Information Technology

iii) Processing and Interpreting Numerical Data

Workplace Skills

iv) Effective oral communication

v) Effective written communication

vi) Ability to Apply Professional and/or Technical Knowledge in the Workplace

vii) Working Effectively with Others (e.g. Team and In-terpersonal skills)

viii) Working Effectively on their own (e.g. Planning, Per-sonal Organization, Commitment and Time Manage-ment)

ix) Concern for Quality and Detail

x) Business Acumen/Entrepreneurial Skills

xi) Thinking Critically and Analytically (e.g. Problem Solving and Innovation)

xii) Leadership/Leading Others

Attitudes

xiii) Self-motivation, Taking Responsibility

xiv) Ability to Cope with Work Pressure

xv) Capacity to be Flexible and Adaptable

SS2 What percentage of your graduate employees participated in training to update their skills in the past five years? - None 01 - 1-10% 02 - 11-20% 03 - 21-30% 04 - 31-40% 05 - 41-50% 06 - More than 50% 07 - [DK/NA] 99 [If NONE or DK/NA, go to SS4]

SS3 Which of the following training activities do your graduate employees participate in? [Participate = 1, Do Not Participate = 2, [DK/NA] = 99] [MULTIPLE RESPONSES POSSIBLE]

a) Training and Development Programs In-house (in the workplace) 1 2 99 b) Short Courses/Modules 1 2 99 c) Part-time Study Programs 1 2 99 d) Training Offered by Continuing Education Institutions 1 2 99 e) Distance Learning 1 2 99 f) Other (specify) 1 2 99 SS4 What is your level of satisfaction regarding the overall performance of graduate employees in your organization recruited in the

past 5 years?

Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA

[GO TO SS6 IF THERE ARE ONLY MEN OR ONLY WOMEN IN THE ORGANIZATION]


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SS5 What is your overall level of satisfaction regarding the performance of male and female graduate employees in your organization recruited in the past 5 years?

Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA

a) Males

b) Females

SS6 In the next 5-10 years, which skills, competencies and attitudes will be the most important for new higher education graduates?

Please choose the three most important ones!

- Sector-specific Skills 01 - Basic Skills (numeracy, literacy, writing, computers) 02 - Working effectively with others (interpersonal and team skills) 03 - Working effectively on their own (planning, personal organization, Commitment and time management) 04

- Business Acumen/Entrepreneurial Skills 05 - Analytical, Creative and Problem-solving Skills 06 - Leadership 07

- Capacity to be Flexible and Adaptable 08 - Other (specify) 09

- [DK/NA] 99

SS7 Which level of graduate would best fit the skill requirements for your organization in the future?

- Graduates with Bachelor Degrees or 01 - Graduates with Master Degrees or 02 - Graduates with PhD degrees? 03 - Other (specify) 04 - [DK/NA] 99

SS8 In the next 5-10 years, which subject/sector specific knowledge and skills required by your organization should be developed by HEIs?

[PROBE FOR SPECIFIC SECTORAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS] _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SS9 From the list of student assessment methods used in HEIs given below, please select the three assessment methods that would

be most useful in developing graduate employability skills.

- Case Study 01 - Classroom Examination 02 - Essay Writing 03 - Field Work 04 - Internship 05 - Laboratory Testing 06 - Site Visit 07 - Work Placement/Probation 08 - Other (specify) 09


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COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION WITH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS CC1 Please rate each of the following statements under two headings by ticking the response which best reflects your organization’s

experience:

i. How important is it that this occurs between your organization and HEIs? ii. How frequently does this occur between your organization and HEIs?

Organization-HEI Engagement How Important How Frequently

Very

Im

-

po

rtan

t=4

Im

po

rtan

t=3

Un

im-

po

rtan

t=2

Very

Un

im-

po

rtan

t=1

D.K

./N

.A.=

99

Very

Fre

-

qu

en

tly=

4

Fre

qu

en

tly=

3

Occasi

on

all

y

=2

Never=

1

D.K

./N

.A=

99.

a) Cooperation on Curriculum Design, Study Programs

b) Collaboration on Research and Innovation

c) Recruitment of Graduates

d) Work Placement Opportunities for Students

e) Participate in Debates/Seminars Organized by HEIs

f) Structured Discussions with Course Directors or Senior Management of HEI

g) Cooperation with Career Services/Centers

h) Other (specify)

CC2 What, if anything, could HEIs do that could contribute to the development of your organization?

[PROBE FOR SPECIFIC RESPONSES] ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CC3 Any other comments

[PROBE FOR SPECIFIC RESPONSES] ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supervisor Signature Respondent Signature and Stamp Verified By Date

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