“Collaborate or perish”: employers’ perspectives of university–industry partnership to promote business graduates’ soft skills in Sri Lanka

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine employers’ perspectives on developing the soft skills of business graduates via university–industry partnership in a “developing country” context. Design/methodology/approach Informed by the interpretivist paradigm, a qualitative study was conducted by exploring the perspectives of 24 industry experts on their roles and the activities they participate in with the interest of developing soft skills. Findings While industry experts perceived their role as being supportive in nature, they did acknowledge the roles of other salient stakeholders such as academics and students as facilitators and key drivers. Regarding the activities undertaken by the industry, internships and awareness-building activities were mostly highlighted as direct form of industry participation. The presence of stakeholder-related, institutional and contextual barriers appears to limit the effectiveness of collaboration in enhancing graduates’ soft skills. Practical implications For HEIs, the need for strategic orientation in designing and executing soft skill development interventions through university–industry partnerships, rather than using such collaboration to address need-based, short-term and ad hoc measures is emphasied. Originality/value This study contributes to the debate on salient stakeholders’ role in soft skills development and provides insights into industry’s engagement in nurturing soft skills via university–industry partnership.