Employability Skills Element's: Difference Perspective Between Teaching staff and Employers Industrial in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to identify various elements of employability skills that are integrated into the agricultural vocational education programs in Malaysia and their importance to employers in industry. The sample consisted of one hundred and thirty (130) teaching staff from vocational agricultural institutions and one hundred and fifty two (152) agricultural employers representing the industry. The study found that the five mean elements of employability skills which were always integrated by the teaching staff of agricultural vocational training institutions during the teaching process were: "cooperating with others", "working in a team", "possessing honesty", "following instructions given", and "interacting with others". Five mean important elements of employability skills needed by employers in the industry were: "possessing, cooperating with others", "using technology instrument and information systems effectively", "making decisions", and "managing times". Three main constraints that the teaching staff of agricultural vocational training institutions have to face in order to integrate the elements of the employability skills are; "did not clearly understand the term of employability skills", "Curriculum designed not emphasized on employability skills", and "No evaluation of employability". (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.