Using a Simulated Employer Project to Enhance Student Employability Skills in a Tertiary Level Language Course
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/sh.v16n2.2135Keywords:
employer project, employability skills, work-integrated learning, English language course, tertiary educationAbstract
Recent reports highlighted that new graduates are still not meeting the expertise requirements of the industry, and with the increased use of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, there are also growing concerns that tertiary level students’ development of their knowledge and skills may be affected. Over the years, various strategies have been developed to address the expertise gap, such as internship and apprenticeship programmes, seminars, bootcamps, etc. The Employer Project (EP) is one such effort implemented at a private higher education institution in Malaysia, where students analyse and solve business case studies or industry-relevant problems given by the partnering employers. These EPs are mapped to the course learning outcomes; therefore, finding and implementing suitable EPs that would match an English language course’ learning outcomes has been challenging. This paper discusses a case study where the EP model is simulated for a degree-level Business English course assignment, involving an industry partner who has over 30 over years of industry experience. The assignment spanning across 11 weeks is based on a case study developed by the industry partner. After the students’ face-to-face presentation session with the industry partner, a survey was conducted to gather their feedback. A preliminary text analysis revealed that while many of the students felt nervous while presenting to the industry partner, they found the session very enjoyable and helpful to their knowledge development. An interview with the industry partner revealed some areas of focus and suggestions to reduce the expertise gap. The implications include how EPs can make a degree-level language course more relevant in developing employability skills and how EPs can mitigate the negative impacts of AI tools in the language course.
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