Prepared by: Dr. Doaa S. Abdou, Shereen Effat & Roba Mohamed MSA Graduates Employability Attributes in light of the 21stcentury skills Presented to "MSA University Conference: Sharing Innovation in Higher Education Teaching, Learning and Assessing" held in April 6, 2017 Prepared by: Dr. Doaa S. Abdou, Shereen Effat & Roba Mohamed

This paper aims to: Explore the employability skills that are needed by the domestic labor market To what extent these attributes are compatible with the 21stcentury employability skills.

Historical experience The curriculum developers are not paying enough attention to issues of relevance of labor market skills and competencies of higher education to the job market (Griesel and Parker, 2009). A closer look reveals that while there is an abundance of labor, the multitude of the Egyptian workforce largely lacks the knowledge and technical expertise that the market demands, not just internationally but also locally (Amin, 2008). The high unemployment persists, and various fields in the Egyptian private sector continue to experience acute labor shortages (Osman 2011).

The 21st century employability skills are much greater than the mere possession of the generic skills listed by graduate employees In 2008, world bank reported , these 21st century skills are not offered by education systems in the Egyptian universities Later, in 2011, Osman showed that education system offers quantity solution rather than quality development Studies proved that obtaining high quality of education leads to increase the mobility of individuals which in return help in developing the nations.

The 21st century employability skills are much greater than the mere possession of the generic skills listed by graduate employees, continue, In 2008, world bank reported , these 21st century skills are not offered by education systems in the Egyptian universities Later, in 2011, Osman showed that education system offers quantity solution rather than quality development Studies proved that obtaining high quality of education leads to increase the mobility of individuals which in return help in developing the nations.

The Research framework: This research employs mixed research: quantitative and qualitative methods. This study's framework is derived from the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) that was adopted by HESA (Higher Education in South Africa) which served as a powerful catalyst in bringing into the need to adopt the employability skills of university graduates in the modern era.

Delimitation of the Study: The sample of this study is from management students and working graduates of October University for Modern Sciences and Arts University (MSA), Cairo, Egypt. The graduates were chosen from Private Higher Education (MSA University). They were invited to share their after graduation experience in the work place, and to provide the undergraduates with insights about work skills in demand. Employers feedback based on labor market requirements done by the management quality unit.

Research Methodology: Even though the study was a baseline pilot study, and therefore not intended to be definitive, this does not signal a weakness in the design or execution of the questionnaire. It is worth highlighting that the questionnaire was benchmarked against similar studies undertaken in the United Kingdom. The scope of this study is perhaps more modest and focused on the quality of MSA University graduates produced as perceived by graduate students and by current students.  

Given the focus of this baseline study on the quality of graduates, the questionnaire was structured to generate data on the following:   The highly rated attributes that MSA students and current graduates should have when they enter the workplace. The least required attributes rated by MSA students and graduates based on the labor market demands.

The study is designed to take the views and expectations of 40 MSA students' employability traits after attending a discussion session with 5 graduate MSA students regarding the following skills: Basic skills and understanding: Knowledge and intellectual ability: Workplace skills and applied knowledge: Interactive and personal skills:

Data Analysis: 1-Basic skills and understanding (rated by current MSA undergraduates):-

2- Knowledge and intellectual ability:

3-Workplace skills and applied knowledge Questions Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Ability to choose appropriate information to address problems 16 8 Ability to plan and execute tasks independently 12 11 1 An appropriate approach to problem solving 19 13 7 2 Ability to monitor and evaluate own workrelated actions 14 10 Ability to relate specific issues to wider organisational context 17 5 Ability to apply knowledge to new situations Ability to devise ways to improve on own actions 18 Understanding of changing workplace practices 15 Ability to recognise a problem situation Ability to deal with different cultural practices 6

4- Attribute four: students'’ ratings of the quality and importance of attributes associated with personal and interactive skills:-

The above quantitative data was triangulated by some interview questions (over the phone) to the 10 MSA graduate students "What are the main skills that you attained during your study? - Presentation and communication skills that was done via research and project in different courses". Team work was well practiced via forming a group to initiate our research themes and questions. - Forming a team builds more networking and enhance my openness and flexibility. As well, this helps students explore leadership and this helped me carry out the responsibility as a team leader

'What do you recall from your life in university? They recall from the course how to handle customers and how to build a relationship with them Business ethics was a guide to me in real life', 'ability to plan, MSA guided me through research to set a plan in my life in reality', 'Problem solving was in researchers and planning and how to manage it', 'build knowledge of new situations as we used to share the experience from instructor and students'.

Employers feedback They expected students with the following skills: 1- Positive attitude, self confidence and responsibility. 2- Marketing and admin skills 3- communication skills and computer skills Their expectation were as follows: 1- Fluent English, presentations and computer skills 2- marketing and admin skills

'What do you need to be add for the students in the future? Results focused on : to be able to recognize a problem situation and try to solve it', 'ability to follow logical argument, based on theories', 'more market simulation and training'.

Conclusion The personal and interactive skills that are mostly needed as employability attributes are negotiation and mediation skills along with creativity and innovation, openness and flexibility, ability to relate to wide range of people and willingness to learn It is evident that graduates must not only maintain and develop knowledge and skills that are specific to their own discipline or occupation, but must also possess ‘generic’ skills, dispositions and attributes that are transferable to many occupational situations and areas. These generic skills and qualities assist individual's integration into both society in general and the working world after graduation. It is hoped that MSA constantly question the market job specifications in order to face the ever-changing requirements of the quality of graduates stepping in the Egyptian labor market.