Bridging Higher Education Outcomes and Labour Market Needs: A Study of Jouf University Graduates in the Context of Vision 2030

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between various factors that contribute to employability outcomes among graduates of Jouf University, in line with the vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to bridge the gap between higher education outcomes and labour market needs by the year 2030. This study employed a questionnaire as the research tool, which was distributed to a sample of 220 graduates of Jouf University. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaire. The results of this study showed that career services and counselling, skills and competencies, and curriculum design were positively related to employability outcomes, whereas industry partnerships and work-integrated learning were found to have no significant relationship with employability outcomes. This study’s findings suggest that enhancing career services, counselling, skills, competencies, and curriculum design can improve graduates’ employability. These results could help bridge the gap between higher education outcomes and the labour market needs, by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Future research can build on this study to identify specific strategies that can be implemented to enhance these factors, and improve the employability outcomes of graduates.