Determinants of Self–perceived Employability of University Students in Kenya: An Empirical Approach

Aim: Self–perceived employability refers to a student’s perceptions and beliefs about their possibility to succeed and obtain employment after graduation in the labor market. To enable a profound knowledge on employability from individual’s perspective, it is essential to deepen the understanding on the determinants of self–perceived employability of the university student. Several internal (at individual level) and external factors that affects self–perceived employability have been suggested in the existing literature which include, inter alia, knowledge and skills learned at the university, work–related experience, non–cognitive skills, demographic characteristics such as gender and labor market conditions as a proxy to external factors. As such, endeavored to empirically evaluate the effect of the key determinants on self–perceived employability in Kenya. Methods: Descriptive research design was adopted, and the study collected data from university students on these indicators and used the ordered logit regression model for analysis. Results: The results suggest that work–related experience is the most important factor in enhancing the student’s confidence in self–perceived employability. Students without any internship are 75% less likely to be confident in their employability skills relative to those with work–related experience. Female students were found to be 81.6% more likely to be confident in their employability skills compared to male students. Conclusion: The overarching conclusion is that university curricula should emphasize internships. Recommendation: A more rigorous study is deemed apt that includes several universities (both public and private) in different countries to clearly underpin the key determinants of self–perceived employability amongst university student