Abstract:
Entry level college graduates have not acquired the skills necessary for the workforce and, as such, are not prepared for the demands of industry careers (Peddle, 2000). The purpose of this study was to assess the employability skill constructs of entry level College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) graduates at the University of Missouri and their immediate supervisors. Sixteen employability skill constructs were identified through the literature. The Borich (1980) needs assessment model and the quadrant analysis model were used to assess the data. By combining the importance of the construct with the competence level of the graduate, both graduates and their supervisors agreed that the problem-solving and analytic skill construct was most in need of curriculum enhancement, while written communication was least in need of curriculum enhancement. Supervisors perceived graduates to be more competent at performing the employability skill constructs than graduates perceived themselves. Specifically, supervisors rated graduates higher on 11 of the 16 constructs on the competence scale.
Keywords:
skills, graduates, employability
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