Identifying Strategies to Enhance Graduate Employability in the Labor Market: A Mixed-Methods Study with an Emphasis on Experts’ Perspectives

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant professor, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

2 University of Sistan and BAluchestan

Abstract

Considering the importance of utilizing skilled human resources in the development of the educational system and its impact on economic and social development, identifying strategies to enhance the employability of graduates in Educational Management is a research priority. Considering the importance of utilizing skilled human resources in the development of the educational system and its impact on economic and social development, identifying strategies to enhance the employability of graduates in Educational Management is a research priority. This study aimed to determine strategies to increase the employment of graduates in Educational Management from the perspective of experts. The research was applied in terms of purpose and employed a mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) approach with an exploratory design. The qualitative sample included 15 experts in the field of Educational Management selected purposively, and the quantitative sample included 255 faculty members, graduates, and managers involved in youth employment in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, with a sample size of 153 estimated using Morgan’s table and simple random sampling. In the qualitative phase, influential factors were identified through content analysis (thematic analysis) and categorized and ranked using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Expert Choice software. Results indicated that internal factors, with a weight of 0.582, had the highest priority, while external factors, with a weight of 0.279, had the lowest priority in graduate employment. In the quantitative phase, using SPSS version 23 and a one-sample mean test, all identified factors were found to significantly contribute to enhancing graduate employability in the labor market according to the respondents.

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