An assessment of industrial employment skill gaps among university graduates in the Gujrat-Sialkot-Gujranwala industrial cluster, Pakistan

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine different assessments of employers and students about job skills leading to differences defined as skill, employability, and perception gaps based on surveys of 100 industrial employers and 151 final year students from 6 universities and postgraduate colleges in the Gujrat-Sialkot-Gujranwala industrial cluster. Factor analysis grouped 24 specific skills into the three interpretable categories: communication and business specific skills, core employability skills, and professional skills. The results suggest gaps in all three respects for each of the skill categories.