Developing university students’ personal skills: the role of business–university partnership programmes

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence of Mutqen programmes on university students’ personality and skills development. It evaluates the cognitive attitudes of university student participants in Mutqen training programmes. The research was analysed thematically, and this paper reports on the roles businesses and universities play in enhancing students’ personality and skills and the importance of knowledge acquisition to develop students’ career prospects. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative research approach, the study used a descriptive survey design. A total of 1,039 respondents based in Saudi Arabia participated voluntarily in the survey. Findings The results revealed a positive impact from Mutqen programmes on students’ personality and skills development. Moreover, the outcomes demonstrated that the Mutqen programmes promote knowledge acquisition, which enhances future career readiness by enabling students to positively develop their awareness of potential future career requirements. Originality/value The critical contribution of this paper is that it empirically evaluates the perceived impact of social corporate training programmes on students’ personality and skills development from the perspective of the students themselves.