Effectiveness of Blended Learning in Facilitating Employability Skills Among Tertiary-Level Students: A Proposed Model

Blended learning (BL), which offers a learning ecosystem through a combination of face-to-face and online learning components, has positively impacted teaching and learning experiences. However, its role in facilitating employability skills remains underexplored. Drawing on evidence from a qualitative exploratory study based on a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews, and observations of students’ engagement in a BL course at a Bangladeshi university, this study examines the effectiveness of BL in complementing traditional face-to-face and purely online learning, while facilitating students’ employability skills in the process. Findings reveal that BL decreases the shortcomings of both face-to-face and online learning by helping students overcome reticent behavior, time constraints, learning inertia, anxiety about engagement, and the risk of dropping out. Subsequently, it improves a range of recognized employability skills among the students, such as critical thinking skills, analytical and problem-solving skills, cognitive and meta-cognitive skills, communication (reading and writing) skills, teamwork skills, technological skills, and time management skills. Additionally, BL indirectly influences their adaptability and leadership attributes. This study provides valuable insights for designing and refining educational strategies that bolster employability among graduates. The paper concludes with an exhortation for further research on this relatively less-explored subject.