An employability competency model for human resource management (HRM) graduates : exploring HRM professionals’ perspectives

Abstract

Orientation – The world of work is changing dramatically due to technological changes, digitalization, robotics, automation etc. Organisations need employees who will be competent to deal with these labour market changes, meet the organisations’ set standards, and perform tasks competently by contributing to their success, growth and sustainability. Research Purpose – The study aims to determine which competencies will enhance the employability of human resource management (HRM) graduates. Motivation for the study – The study is motivated by the researcher’s personal experience and her observation on how HRM graduates usually take longer or struggle to find employment, compared to graduates from other disciplines. Research Design – A qualitative descriptive strategy was adopted to give a rich description of which competencies are required for sustainable employability. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with HRM professionals who have been in the industry for more than five years. Main Findings – The findings reveal that HRM graduates struggle to find employment due to a variety of factors such as lack of skills or work experience, their own job preferences or lack of preparation, and employers’ perceptions, among others. HRM professionals define graduate employability in different ways, and this informs the competencies they require from graduates seeking employment in their organisations. Generic skills are not universal, as different industries require different skills for competence. Practical/Managerial implications – HRM graduates can identify which competencies that they need to enter the labour market, how they can acquire and how they can enhance them for current and future employment. South African organisations can use competency models to carry out HRM functions and identify measures they can use to develop graduates, prospective, and existing employees. Higher education institutions can incorporate the competency model into their curriculum and use it to develop employable graduates. Contribution/value add – The study contributes to the HRM graduates, organisations, higher education institutions, graduate employability, and HRM literature.