Assessing the influence of diverse skills on employability outcomes for IT undergraduates

Abstract

Rapid technological advancements have reshaped the global job market, emphasizing the importance of specialized competencies such as user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, alongside technical and interpersonal skills.. This study examines how UI/UX skills (UIUX), soft skills (SS), and technical skills (TS) influence the employability (EP) of IT undergraduates in Sri Lanka, addressing a notable gap in existing literature that often examines these competencies in isolation and predominantly within Western contexts. The current study offers a detailed examination of employability determinants in Sri Lanka’s IT sector by incorporating gender as a moderating factor and investigating the mediating roles of self-efficacy (SE) and proficiency levels (LP). The collection of data involved 345 IT undergraduates participating in structured surveys, which were subsequently analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that gender significantly affects the relationship between soft skills and technical skills with employability, underscoring differences in the assessment of these competencies among different genders. Moreover, the degree of proficiency influences the connection between technical skills and employability, yet it does not play a significant mediating role in the relationship between soft skills and UI/UX employability. Self-efficacy has proven to be a significant mediator across various skill categories UI/UX, soft, and technical highlighting its essential function in converting competencies into career success. This work seeks to add to existing knowledge by tackling the main significant gap of examining the combined effect of UI/UX, soft, and technical skills on employability. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of employability by presenting an integrated model that elucidates the complex interactions among skills, mediators, and gender within the Sri Lankan IT sector. The results provide actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and industry leaders, advocating for curriculum alignment with industry needs and the promotion of self-efficacy through mentorship and experiential learning.