Exploring Employability Gap: The Case of Social-Science Senior Students

In the aim to explore employability in Thailand from both the demand and supply sides, this study analyzes employability gaps in Thailand through comparing the employers' demand and the supply of 4th year social-science students, in the context of pandemic and technological disruption.The data were collected from online questionnaire surveys conducted upon 250 HR managers/recruiters for the demand side, and 350 senior social-science students for the supply side.The survey asks how the employers prioritize the qualifications of applicants, while the students were asked to self-evaluate their qualifications.The data were examined through the perspective of "employability components" based on an earlier-published work, which has derived employability qualifications from the interviews of 30 HR managers.The data were then analyzed by utilizing sample means and standard deviations.Among the three employability components, the results reveal that the employers prioritized attitudes, followed by adaptability and then career ability.On attitudes, 'respectfulness to diversity' is ranked highest, while 'the ability to change quickly and perseverance' is required most in adaptability.For career ability, the employers emphasized 'the fit with firms' corporate culture and value the most.By comparing HR demand to the students' self-evaluation, the widest gap is found in the core component of adaptability followed by career ability, and then attitudes.The research is beneficial both conceptually and practically.It adds to the literature on employability, whereby the study on developing economies remains limited.Practically, the research findings could help preparing university graduates prior to entering the labor market.