Assesing AutoCAD Competence and Employer Attitudes Towards Graduate Employability in the Malaysian Civil Engineering Industry

Abstract

The research demonstrates that employers view AutoCAD proficiency as critical to productivity and employability. Civil engineering firms and TVET institutions should collaborate to create internships and curricula that are relevant to the industry. The pact will enhance the employability of the graduates as well as Malaysia’s Industry 4.0 and sustainable infrastructure. The study aims to assess the CAD knowledge of TVET civil engineering graduates, employers’ perception on AutoCAD skills as entry-level job requirements and recommends collaboration between academia and industry for enhancement of employability of graduates. Structured surveys were deployed through Google Form to collect quantitative data. The respondents were selected from Southern Johor which is an area of fast developing infrastructure using purposive and stratified sampling. The study involved 151 participants. The total comprised 78 TVET graduates (51.7%) and 73 industry practitioners (48.3%). The reliability of the scale was good, Cronbach’s Alpha of 27 items in SPSS reliability test was 0.842. The study showed a significant correlation between the hiring criteria and industry-academia collaboration (r=.953, p<.001) and graduate AutoCAD skills and employer standards (r=.832, p<.001). Collaboration was best predicted by hiring criteria (R = 0.998, Adjusted R2 = 0.996, β = 0.581, p < 0.001) in regression analysis. The findings suggest that proficiency in AutoCAD is important to employers regarding productivity and employability. TVET institutions and civil engineering firms should collaborate in developing curricula and internship programs that are responsive to the needs of both academia and business. The project will boost Malaysia’s Industry 4.0, sustainable infrastructure and graduate employability.