Examining the Competency Skills of Graduating Islamic Finance Students
Siti Khadijah, A. M., Rafeah, S., Amal Hayati Ishak, Noorulhuda, S.
Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Abstract
Graduates from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia were reported to remain unemployed after six-months of graduation. Nevertheless, the Islamic finance industry is reporting of shortage in human capital. This has raised the question on the competence of our graduates for employment purpose, particularly those who take Islamic finance programs. This study embarks on examining the competency levels of graduating Islamic finance students in a selected HEIs in Malaysia. As current studies indicated that soft skills are on top of technical skills, this present study focused on the former. The study employed survey method by distributing questionnaires to the respondents. A total of 135 questionnaires were successfully returned and useable for the study. Data were analysed descriptively to identify the level of competency that the graduating students have. Findings of the study indicate that the students are moderately competent in the key soft-skills examined. The outcome is giving a signal to the HEIs in reviewing and amending their program structure to accommodate the grooming of their students for employment.
Keywords: Competence, Graduating students, Islamic finance, Soft-skills
