STUDIES ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAREER COMPETENCIES AND EMPLOYABILITY

SYSTEM CAREER M A N A G E M E N T O F I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M S D E P A R T M E N T FOR SIR FERDINAND JILAN ANAK DAWIE 14 JANUARY 2024 6 004460 567700 1 Prepared By: Muhammad Mirza Syafiq Bin J Mizan Muhammad Shaheed Hakeimi Bin Roslan Abdul Halim Bin Abdull Razak

CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION IV. OBJECTIVE II. LITERATURE REVIEW V. METHODOLOGY III. PROBLEM STATEMENT X. REFERENCE IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT VI. FINDINGS VII. ANALYSIS/DiSCUSSION VIII. CONCLUSION IX. RECOMMENDATION XI. APPENDIX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Sir Ferdinand Jilan Anak Dawie, our lecturer, for providing valuable guidance and support throughout the completion of this assignment. Your encouragement and feedback have been instrumental in shaping the outcome of this work. We feel more confident about our abilities as a result of your insight and expertise in understanding the subject matter better. Also, we'd like to thank our friends and classmates who have helped us out in a variety of ways. Your support and encouragement have driven us to work harder and to stay focused. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and ideas with us, we've learned so much about the subject matter, and we appreciate your insight. We'd also like to say thanks to our family for their unwavering support. Your belief in us has helped us to persevere during challenging times, and we're grateful for the sacrifices you've made to help us. I'd like to thank everyone who helped me complete this assignment. Hi! NICE TO MEET YOU! IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT

INTRODUCTION IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS) ENCOMPASS THE INTEGRATED SYSTEMS OF PEOPLE, PROCESSES, AND TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED TO EFFECTIVELY GATHER, PROCESS, STORE, AND DISSEMINATE INFORMATION WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION. These systems play a crucial role in supporting business operations, decision-making processes, and strategic initiatives. IS incorporates a wide array of technologies, including databases, networks, software applications, and hardware infrastructure, to facilitate the flow of information and enable efficient data management. The primary objective of IS is to enhance organizational efficiency, improve decision-making capabilities, and provide a competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving business landscape. Career opportunities in IS The field of Information Systems (IS) offers a wide range of career opportunities for individuals with a passion for technology and business. IS professionals play a critical role in designing, developing, and managing information technology systems that support business operations and decision-making processes. As businesses continue to rely more heavily on technology, the demand for IS professionals is expected to grow. One of the most popular career paths in the field of IS is that of a systems analyst. Systems analysts are responsible for analyzing business requirements and designing information systems that meet those requirements. They work closely with business stakeholders to understand their needs and develop solutions that meet those needs. Systems analysts must have strong technical skills, as well as excellent communication and problem-solving skills. Another popular career path in the field of IS is that of a database administrator. Database administrators are responsible for managing and maintaining databases that store critical business data. They must ensure that the data is accurate, secure, and easily accessible to authorized users. Database administrators must have strong technical skills, as well as excellent attention to detail and problem-solving skills. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for database administrators was $98,860 in May 2020.

INTRODUCTION Other career paths in the field of IS include network administrator, IT project manager, and business analyst. Each of these roles requires a unique set of skills and expertise, but all are critical to the success of modern businesses. Besides that, IS professionals can also pursue careers in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity professionals are responsible for protecting businesses from cyber threats, such as hacking, malware, and phishing attacks. They must have a deep understanding of the latest cybersecurity threats and technologies, as well as strong problem-solving and analytical skills. In general, the field of Information Systems are a critical component of modern businesses. IS professionals play a vital role in designing, developing, and managing information technology systems that support business operations and decision-making processes. As technology continues to evolve, the field of IS will continue to grow and evolve, providing new opportunities and challenges for professionals in this field. IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT

Carreer Competencies A successful career in Information Systems demands a diverse set of competencies. Technical skills, including proficiency in programming languages, database management, and network administration, are fundamental to IS roles. Additionally, IS professionals must possess strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to effectively address complex technological challenges. Communication skills are equally crucial, as IS professionals often need to collaborate with cross-functional teams and communicate technical concepts to nontechnical stakeholders. Furthermore, adaptability and a continuous learning mindset are essential due to the rapid evolution of technology in the IS domain (Hanadi Jumah Buarki et al., 2021). According to the Sharma et al., (2021), the most critical aspect is the ability to produce an effective and practical graduate who is fit for the field of technology through proper development of the identified hard skills and soft skills. Participant 4 stated that 'We can't have people who have just perfect soft skills but no technical knowledge to do an IT job and vice versa. Also, I would say there can be many candidates/graduates but there is a lesser chance that they will survive or rather they will be liked / preferred by employers. As such, job seekers need to have the right balance of soft skills and hard skills. on their hard skills and soft skills. This current study also confirmed that hard skills and soft skills are key determinants of graduate employability. The most critical aspect is the ability to produce an effective and practical graduate who is fit for the field of technology through proper development of the identified hard skills and soft skills. According to Kenneth Nwanua Ohei et al., (2019), the conceptual framework suggests that the employability of ICT graduates/students is achievable through the information management approach and communication between the triad parties with collective concepts such career planning, self-confidence, selfesteem, self-awareness and opportunity, and many more as suggested in the above demonstration. The concept of career planning is part of the element adopted from the DOTS elements; for an ICT graduate/student to stand a better chance of acquiring employment that is desirable, and where they can be fulfilled and successful, it is fundamental for graduates/students to acquire some form of basic education in career development learning. Besides that, Intellectual ability and competence are one of the most vital skills required to meet workplace demands and prospects. Therefore, for a graduate to have these skills, they are required to have a generic understanding of the economic state, the capability to LITERATURE REVIEW IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT Carreer Employability Graduate employability mainly depends

articulate assumptions, undertake logical reasoning, conduct basic analysis, apply research skills, be interested and have a zeal to continue learning. Another fundamental set of skills required by industry is technical and communication skills ,(Kenneth Nwanua Ohei & Brink, 2021). Issues and Challenges in IS Carreers The field of Information Systems (IS) presents unique challenges and issues for career development, particularly for graduates seeking employment in this dynamic and rapidly evolving industry. A study by Ohei and Brink (2019) sheds light on the multifaceted nature of these challenges, highlighting the complexities faced by IS graduates as they navigate the employment landscape. One of the primary challenges identified in the study is the rapid transformation of ICT fundamentals, which presents a significant hurdle for graduates aiming to develop practical skills relevant to the industry. The ever-changing nature of technology necessitates continuous learning and adaptation, posing a challenge for graduates to stay abreast of the latest developments in the field. Moreover, the study underscores the stringent staff recruitment criteria employed by employers, which often require extensive work experience from graduates. This presents a Catch-22 situation for aspiring IS professionals, LITERATURE REVIEW as they are confronted with the paradox of needing experience to secure a job, yet being unable to gain experience without job opportunities that provide the requisite experience (Gupta et al., 2023). Further, the reluctance of employers to invest in upskilling graduates compounds the challenges faced by IS professionals. Employers often prefer candidates who already possess the relevant skills, leading to a dearth of opportunities for recent graduates to acquire the necessary expertise (Kenneth Nwanua Ohei et al., 2019). The culmination of these challenges has contributed to a graduate unemployment crisis within the IS sector, leading to social unrest and exacerbating the difficulties faced by aspiring professionals. The study emphasizes the gravity of this issue and the need to address the systemic barriers that hinder the employability of IS graduates. IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT

IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT PROBLEM STATEMENT OBJECTIVE Three potential problem statements that can be derived: Despite the demand for IT professionals, there is a gap between the skills and competencies required by the industry and those possessed by graduates, leading to challenges in their employability. The rapidly evolving nature of technology poses challenges for IS graduates in acquiring and maintaining practical skills relevant to the IT industry. The lack of work experience requirements and the reluctance of employers to invest in upskilling graduates contribute to the graduate unemployment crisis within the IS sector. To identify and analyze the system competencies required for successful careers in the IT field. 1. To examine the employability factors, including hard and soft skills, that contribute to the success of graduates in the IT industry. 2. To investigate the issues and challenges faced by IS professionals in their career development, particularly in relation to rapid technological changes and the demand for work experience. 3.

METHODOLOGY The methodology used in this paper is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach from the relevant literature and research reports. This will provide a broader understanding of the current landscape of the IT field, including emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices for career development. The SLR will explore topics such as the rapid evolution of technology, the demand for specific skills, the recruitment criteria employed by employers, and the availability of upskilling opportunities. Finally, the findings of the literature review will be synthesized to provide a comprehensive analysis of the system competencies, employability of careers, and the challenges and issues faced by IT professionals. The results will be presented in a clear and concise manner, using tables and charts to support the findings. IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT

FINDINGS IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT

Position Name Company Name Advertise ment Published Date Job Description/Responsibilities Job Requirements Salary a month (RM) Experi ence Requir ed (YEAR S) (If any) Comp any Size (Empl oyees) Type of IT and Com puter Indus try Source of Informa tion Data Scientist Michael Page 12/10/2023 1. Manage data extraction, storage, transformation, and applying data science and/or machine learning, and generate output for visualisation/analysis by the rest of the team. 2. Use tools to automate routines and develop techniques for continuous monitoring and analysing large volumes of data. 3. Interact with management and business partners to identify appropriate data sources and data elements to support data science initiatives. 4. Assessing data sources and validating the completeness and accuracy of data received (where applicable). 5. Interact and collaborate with other team members in working towards departmental objectives relating to data science and analytics. 1. Experience with accounting firm and/or corporate industry experience - preferred but not essential. 2.Experience in the development and use of data science and analysis tools and techniques (e.g. SQL, Python/R, Tableau/Power BI). Other similar tools can be considered. 3. Experience with SAP (ERP and BW) data analysis at a database level. 4. Knowledge in ecommerce platforms (e.g. Shopfy, Magento) preferred but no essential. 5. Experience with tools like SQL Server, Snowflake and Dataiku. 10000- 12000 5 5001 - 10000 manuf acture r Careerjet MSSQL Database Administrator Michael Page 11/10/2023 1. Responsible for creating, supporting and maintaining SQL Server databases ensuring their performance, availability and security in order to provide a stable database environment. 2. Installation, configuration and upgrading of SQL Server software and products - SQL 2016/ 2017/ 2019 3. Planning for and actual backup and recovery of database information 4. Configure SQL Server Clustering 5. Work independently and as a team on multiple tasks and commitment to deadlines 1. Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Information Technology. 2.Minimum of 2-4 years' hands-on experience as database administrator of SQL Server Databases in production environments 3. Proficiency in database security and audit requirements 4. Familiarity with MSSQL features such as TDE, Compression and DMVs 5. Good knowledge of SSRS, SSAS, and SSIS is asset 8000- 12000 4 5001 - 10000 manuf acture r Careerjet Data Operations Specialist Michael Page 29/12/2023 1. Design, develop, and support data pipelines, warehouses, data models, and reporting systems to tackle marketing impact, performance analysis and new campaign opportunities. 2. Troubleshooting existing data setups to uncover data transformation issues. 3. Partner with business stakeholders, upstream infrastructure platform teams, and downstream data consumers to understand data and translate business requirements into technical design of building and leveraging scalable data pipelines. 4.Use your expertise in data engineering best practices to guide others to do the same through building proofs of concept and prototypes. 5. Build efficient solutions on top of the Google Cloud Infrastructure. 1.Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Engineering or Data Analytics and/or with 2 - 5 years of relevant work experience in data operations support. 2. Experience in ETL specifically in SQL stores. 3. Experience in managing instances on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). 4. Familiarity with a range of data engineering approaches, covering theoretical best practices and the technical applications of these methods. 5. Good understanding of marketing terminology and measurement metrics. 5000- 10000 4 5001 - 10000 manuf acture r Careerjet Data Scientist Bridge 12/12/2023 1. responsible for day-to-day tasks related to data science, which includes but is not limited to: data analytics, data analysis, data visualization, and statistics. 2. improving and maintaining our system and contributing to the development of new data-driven solutions that add value for our users. 1.Data Science, Data Analytics, and Data Analysis skills 2.Expertise in Statistics and Data Visualization 3. Strong problem-solving and critical thinking abilities 4. Experience with programming languages such as R and/or Python 5. Excellent written and verbal communication skills 10,000 3 51 - 200 Invest ment Careerjet Data Administrator Genting Berhad · 19/12/2023 1. Responsible for database design, implementation and administration in particular for research data. 2. Maintains and manages the research data held by the Company, including data administration and database modelling. 3. Acts as a subject matter expert, leading the development and improvement of software related quality procedures (with input from external consultants). 4. Manages administration of production environments for released products. 5.Manages data backups and accessibility. 1. Degree in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science/Programming or equivalent. 2. Database knowledge and proficiency in programming languages (SQL, Python). 3. Experienced with different operating systems. 4. Possess knowledge of psychometric assessments will be added advantage. 4,000 - 5,000 0 51 - 200 Invest ment Linkedin Data Governance Specialist PersolKelly 10/9/2023 1. Review existing work on Investment Data Governance, conduct current state assessment, refine desired future state, identify gaps based on benchmarking with the industry, and recommend best approach in implementing Investment Data Governance initiative. 2. Execute recommended solutions from #1 with the existing team by working directly with various relevant stakeholders. 3. Update and/or develop relevant documentations for Investment Data Governance implementation 4. Recommend potential actions for the improvement of data performance and quality, in the areas of consistencies, completeness, uniqueness, accuracy, validity, reliability, timeliness, relevancy, auditability, and compliance within the relevant areas such as systems and procedures. 5. Lead in the developing awareness of Investment Data Governance, process adaptation, change management and training program including to structure and organise relevant trainings/workshops/engagements for the various function relevant to Investment Data Governance 1. Bachelor/master's degree in information technology / finance related background (i.e., Computer Science, Information Technology, Management Information Systems, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Actuarial Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Statistics). 2. A minimum of 8 years related experience covering areas such as Strategy, Management Consulting, Framework Development, Data & Information Governance, Project Management Implementation, in leadership roles. 3. Familiarity with financial services, asset management and/or investment process is required. 4. Being certified in data management related certification; is an added advantage. E.g., Certified Data Management Professional - CDMP™, Data Management Capability Assessment Model (DCAM), Certified Data Steward (CDS), Data Literacy Certification (DLC) for Business Professionals 6,000- 10,000 8 200 - 500 Invest ment Careerjet Data Administrator Hamilton Barnes Associates Sdn. Bhd. 10/1/2023 1. Input, verify, and update various types of data into the company's database systems with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. 2. Review and verify data for inconsistencies or errors and make necessary corrections. 3. Collaborate with team members to identify and resolve datarelated issues. 4. Contribute to the continuous improvement of data entry processes and systems. 5. Play a key part in supporting our sales team 1.English Fluency 2. Desire to learn 3. Attention to detail 4. An interested in data admin/analytics 5. Experience working with data through previous internships, studies or work 3000 - 3333 2 51 - 200 IT / Comp uters - Hard ware & Netwo rking Monster Data Migration SpecialistSAP CRM Michael Page 18/12/2023 1.Manages and properly supports assigned projects and deliverables within assigned area, specifically including support for SAP implementation projects and related tasks 2. Mitigates risks and manages issues related to assigned projects and other assigned deliverables DG Migration managers 3. Owns data migration processes and documentation across assigned data objects Other business stakeholders 4. Manages changes to extraction and transformation processes and tools, including value mapping, data preparation, and data de-duplication 1. 1 -2 years of working experience with SAP CRM (SVC/HCM) area preferred 2.. 1- 2 years of ETL data migration · KNIME experience preferred · International project experience would be an asset 3. Analytically strong with ability to fluently use MS Excel and MS Access (macro, SQL language) 4. Strong communication and presentation skills; required in functional teams and with business partners 5. Structured, detailed working methodology; continuous improvement approach and process oriented 5000- 10000 4 5001 - 10000 manuf acture r Careerjet Data Analyst Michael Page 31/12/2023 1.Collect and compile data from different sources while filtering and cleaning data to ensure accuracy. 2. Analyze data to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies, and 1. Experience in data analysis, business analysis or similar role, with a strong focus on data manipulation and analysis is preferred. 7000 - 10,000 4 5001 - 10000 manuf acture r Careerjet FINDINGS

provide actionable insights to support in various team decisionmaking. 3. Develop and maintain dashboards and reports to track key project performance metrics, including progress and target achievement. 4. Conduct ad-hoc data analysis to address specific project management questions or issues. Assist in the preparation of presentations and reports for project status updates and executive-level reporting. 2. Familiarity with data analysis tools and concepts, with experience in Power BI being a strong advantage. 3. 2-3 years working experience as a Business Intelligence Analyst/Data Analyst or any position that related to data and business analytics with strong statistical background. 4. Preferably with prior experience in the FMCG industry. Technical Data Analyst Michael Page 15/12/2023 1. Utilize data analysis techniques to extract meaningful insights from data sets linked tour organizational needs 2. Collaborate with cross-functional teams and countries to define data requirements and gather relevant data. 3. Analyze and interpret data to provide actionable recommendations and strategies for project improvement. 4. Develop and maintain data models, reports, and dashboards to support decision-making. 5. Define and Design the data management rules 1.Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business, Data Analytics, Computer science or a related field. Master's degree is a plus. 2. Strong business acumen, excellent presentation and communication skills to share your expertise with teams 3. Experience in project management will be a strong plus 4. Good IT technical knowledge 5. Clear understanding of data models, database design development, data mining and segmentation technique 8000- 12000 3 5001 - 10000 manuf acture r Careerjet IT Customer Support HK Market TDCX 19/10/2023 1. Eliminate render-blocking JavaScript in above-the-fold content, eliminate render-blocking CSS in above-the-fold content 2. Provide customer service support with exceptional customer service 3. Troubleshooting for conversion, remarketing, dynamic remarketing, and analytics. 4. maintenance and continual improvement of the ISO9001 and ISO18295-1 Quality Management System of TDCX 1. Candidate must possess at least a bachelor’s degree in any field 2. Excellent communication skills in both English and mandarin 3. Knowledge in HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript 4,500 - 6,500 2 2001 - 5000 Call Center /ITEnabl ed Servic es/BP O Jobstreet Senior Helpdesk Support Cloone Corporation Sdn Bhd 18/10/2023 1. Building data modeling architecture, pipelines and automate data in the BI platform. 2. Provide regular project status reports and updates. 3. Prepare and update documentation for existing software/solutions. 4. Create and maintain comprehensive documentation, knowledge base articles, and best practices for clients and team members 5. Efficiently manage and utilize the ticketing system, providing periodic reports to management. 1. Proficiency in SQL, Managing Huawei Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and AWS. 2. Knowledge of DevOps practices and tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD) is advantageous. 3. Willingness to travel within Malaysia if required. 4. Previous experience in a similar role, providing technical support for cloud-based services and platforms 3,000 - 5,000 1 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Jobstreet IT TECHNICAL SUPPORT EXECUTIVE SPANCO SDN BHD 12/1/2023 1. Assist and ensure the day-to-day operation support of IT infrastructure, network system and end-users issues including implementation, troubleshooting, monitoring & maintenance. 2. Coordinate/Participate in IT Projects, including design and deployment of new IT system. 3. Able to analyze users’ issue and feedback/respond within the timeframe of the incident. 4. To provide troubleshoot of hardware & software by identify problematic areas & implement strategic solution in time. 5. Experience in excel, word & power point for preparing a proposal, IT documents or slide presentation. 1. Candidate must possess at least Diploma/Advanced/Higher/Graduate Diploma, Bachelor's Degree/Post Graduate Diploma/Professional Degree in Engineering (Computer/Telecommunication), Computer Science/Information Technology or equivalent 2. Preferably at least 2 years of working experience in the related field 3. Familiar with ITIL processes. 4. Good understanding on Networking with hand-on experience on 1st level Network support: 2,200 - 2,700 2 101- 1000 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Jobstreet IT Support EBS Systems Sdn Bhd 12/10/2023 1. Providing technical support on hardware and software to the end-users. 2. Working closely with Client related issues, answering calls and supporting our clients for IT technical issues 3. System administration, database administration and maintenance of IT infrastructure and Servers 4. Performing analysis, diagnosis and resolution of incidents reported 1.Diploma in Computer Science/Information Technology/Computer Engineering equivalent 2. 1 year working experience in the related field is required. 3.Analytical, independent, hardworking, fast-learner and team player with ability to multi-task. 3,000 - 4,200 2 51 - 200 Comp uter/In format ion Techn ology (Hard ware) Jobstreet Data Center Network Engineer EXtreme Broadband Sdn Bhd 25/12/2023 1. Monitoring and troubleshooting server, storage, and networking equipment for malfunctions or failures 2. Installing and configuring new servers, storage devices, routers, switches, and other network components 3. Conducting capacity assessments of existing infrastructure to ensure that it can support future growth 4. Maintaining detailed documentation of all server and storage configurations and changes made to them 5. Performing regular backups of data to prevent loss in case of computer failure or theft 1. Bachelor’s degree in electrical, engineering or another related field. Master’s degree in engineering or computer science. 2. Any certifications related to data engineering is a bonus 2,500 - 4,000 1 1 - 50 Datab ase Devel opme nt & Admi nistrat ion Indeed IT Support & Admin Executive Datumstruc t (M) Sdn.Bhd 20/12/2023 1. Maintain and update IT inventory records timely. 2. Take care the server room cleanliness. 3. Review and uphold documentation pertaining to ISO standard and procedures, ensuring that CCTI team practices align with established policies. 4. Assist in preparing tenders and support pre-sales team. 5. Assist in coordinating project-related tasks. 1. Diploma or Bachelor's Degree in IT/ Computer Science/ Electronics Engineering. 2. Fresh graduate in IT is welcomed to apply. 3. Good knowledge in computer hardware, computer/printer troubleshooting, Active directory, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Teams and computer networks. 4. Team spirited, responsible and initiative with positive work attitude. 5. Able to work independently with minimum supervision. 1,800 - 2, 500 1 1 - 50 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Indeed IT Helpdesk Abata Commerce Sdn Bhd 19/12/2023 1.Monitor and respond quickly and effectively to requests received through the IT helpdesk 2.Respond to customer queries by phone and email 3. Provide technical assistance and support for incoming concerns and issues related to the systems. 4. Document internal procedures 5. Maintain daily performance of computer systems 1. Candidate must possess at least Bachelor's Degree/ Post Graduate Diploma/ Professional Degree in Computer Science/ Information Technology or equivalent 2. In-depth knowledge of computer systems and mobile devices 3. Hands on experience with diagnosing and resolving basic technical issues 4. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills 5. Customer-oriented and patient 2,500 - 3,000 1 1 - 50 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Indeed IT Specialist Berjayapak Sdn Bhd 20/10/2023 1. Maintaining system functionality by testing computer components 2. Providing IT assistance to staff and customers. 3. Monitoring hardware, software, and system performance metrics. 4.Updating computer software. as well as upgrading hardware and systems. 5. Maintaining databases and ensuring system security 1. 2+ years of experience in systems roles and very familiar with Linux 2. Experience with data storages (understanding of RAID, ZFS etc) 3. High problem-solving skills, as an IT support specialist 4. Management skills. 4,500 - 5,500 5 201 - 500 manuf acture r Jobstreet Application Support Engineer Tiong Nam Logistics Solutions Sdn Bhd 18/10/2023 1. Providing technical support to internal users and external clients when required 2. Ensuring new users of application have smooth onboarding process 3. Work closely with Solution Architect & Application Development team 4. Identify potential issues 1. Knowledge of Java, MySQL database, Linux OS, Springboot Framework, and Microservices 2. Customer service and relationship management experience 3. Ability to explain complex ideas to user who has limited IT and system knowledge 3,000 - 6,000 3 1001 - 2001 Trans portati on / Logist ics Jobstreet

IT Field Support Engineer TRT Global Solution Phillipines INC. 28/12/2023 1. Spares management inbound and outbound the warehouse 2. Handle quarterly stock take in Local Warehouse & Service Partner Warehouses 3. Onsite minor break-fix hardware maintenance (Hot swap hard disk replacement, cable reseat, etc) 4. Conduct onsite physical & logical audit for proactive sparing 1.Candidates must possess a College Degree. 2. Must be fluent in English 3. Training and Certification would be an advantage. 4. Preferably have 4 years up of experience in IT spare parts control & warehouse maintenance 5. Willing to be assigned on the stated office location, and to travel to TRT offices globally on as needed basis.1. 5,000 - 10,000 4 1001 - 2001 Trans portati on / Logist ics Indeed Graduate Business Analyst FootfallCa m 31/12/2023 1. Resourceful and a good problem-solver. Able to think critically and logically 2. Able to multitask and prioritize tasks based on urgency 3. Strong analytical skills with systematic and structured approach to business needs 4. Strong troubleshooting/problem solving and critical thinking 1. Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills to liaise with customers/resellers and work with other team members 2. Dynamic, energetic and a team player. Able to work with cross-functional teams 3 Possess at least a Bachelor's Degree in Business or equivalent, major in Computer Science or IT related course is an added advantage 4. Fresh graduate or candidate who has at least 1 year working experience 3,000 – 4,500 1 51 - 200 Busin ess/Sy stems Analy sts Jobstreet SAP Project Manager Agensi Pekerjaan Asia Recruit Sdn Bhd 10/2/2023 1. Develop and execute end-to-end project management activities. 2. Define project scope with key stakeholders and effectively manage milestones and dependencies. 3. Support the management of financial, contractual, and operational commitments. 4. Monitor delivery performance and quality using metrics and status reporting. 5. Mitigate risks as defined in project plan. 1.Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or equivalent expertise with minimum 5 years of experience in Transportation Management System implementation. 2. Proven track record of managing complex SAP System particularly in SD/MM and be able to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. 3. Strong project management skills, including project planning, budgeting, and risk management. 4. Strong leadership and team management skills 5. Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. 15000 - 18000 5 50 - 200 Chemi cals / Petroc hemic als Monster IT Quality Assurance Specialist Cuscapi Berhad 19/10/2023 1. Responsible for test execution and to verify & validate software applications 2. Create/Update test cases to ensure software project delivery compliance with the product requirement. 3. Prepare and maintain test-cases, conduct reviews of test 4. Utilize testing tools in QA functions where applicable 1. Required skill(s): Java, Jira, MySQL, MS SQL 2. Strong Analytical & Problem Solving skills with great attention to details 3. Independent and capable of working under own initiative, under pressure and tight deadline 4,000 - 5,500 3 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Jobstreet IT Manager Destini BERHAD 28/12/2023 1. Oversee the networking infrastructure, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and virtual private networks (VPNs), to ensure secure and efficient communication between different locations. 2. Provide technical guidance, support, and training to employees, ensuring they have the necessary tools and knowledge to utilize IT systems effectively. 3. Collaborate with external vendors and service providers to negotiate contracts, manage relationships, and ensure the delivery of high-quality IT services. 4. Manage the IT department's budget, ensuring optimal allocation of resources and cost-effectiveness in technology investments. 5. Evaluating risk, developing network recovery and backup processes. 1. Preferably 8 years above of working experiences in IT management. 2. Bachelor Degree in information technology or computer science. 3. Deep knowledge of programming languages and operating systems, current equipment and technologies, enterprise backup and recovery procedures, and systems performance monitoring. 4. Expertise in implementing, configuring, and testing IT solutions. 5. Strong creative and analytical thinking and team leadership skills and experience. 9,000 8 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Indeed Head of Information Technology Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia 27/12/2023 1.Develop IT framework / strategy, standards, policies and procedures aligned with Organization's direction in driving operational excellence 2. Lead IT team to manage the end-to-end application management life cycle, including planning, development, deployment, monitoring, maintenance, upgrading and support of organizational IT systems. This will include operating systems, servers, PCs, network, software applications, mobile apps and peripherals. 3. Take the role as systems & solutions architect and ensure applications integration and data integrity across the entire IT landscape 1.Bachelor degree in Computer Science or related fields or related experience, MSc/MA/MBA will be a plus 2. Proven experience as Head of IT or similar role 3. Experienced in analysis, implementation and evaluation of IT systems and their specifications 4. Experienced in managing and integrating multiple web & mobile applications and transforming them into integrated solutions 8,000 - 10,000 15 1001 - 2001 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Indeed Learning Management System cum Web Administrator Joey Yap Research Internationa l 14/12/2023 1. Regularly update and upload new course materials, videos, and resources to the LMS. 2. Edit and format course content for clarity, accessibility, and engagement. 3. Perform routine checks and updates to the LMS to ensure smooth functionality. 4. Assist students and instructors with any LMS-related queries or issues. 5. Ensure all content is accurate, up-to-date, and adheres to educational standards. 1. Bachelor’s degree in Education Technology, Information Systems, or related field. 2. Proven experience with learning management systems. 3. Strong technical proficiency and ability to learn new software quickly. 4. Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills. 5. Strong problem-solving and communication abilities. 3,000 – 4,500 2 51 - 200 Datab ase Devel opme nt & Admi nistrat ion Jobstreet IT General Admin Avows Technologi es Sdn Bhd 28/12/2023 1. Handling financial operations of the IT Department, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and compliance in handling invoices and maintaining effective communication with vendors and internal stakeholders. 2. Handling administration matteReceives invoices from vendors or suppliers, ensuring that all received invoices are transferred to the designated shared folder. 3. Entering invoice details into the Oracle spreadsheet accurately and promptly. 4. Verifying that the goods or services listed on the invoice were received or rendered as per agreements or purchase orders. This step involves checking for discrepancies, confirming approvals from relevant parties,and resolving any issues or discrepancies in a timely manner. 1. Candidate must possess at least a Diploma in Accounting, Business Administration, or related fields. 2. Required language(s): English, Bahasa Malaysia. 3. Confident and excellent communication skills. 4. Good understanding of how to handle people and able to deal with difficult situations. 5. Be passionate about work, self-motivated, good humored and resourceful. 5,000 - 7,000 4 1 - 50 Datab ase Devel opme nt & Admi nistrat ion Indeed IT Executive LiHO TEA 25/12/2023 1.Operate & Optimize Xilnex POS system and LiHo Tea mobile App. 2. Plan & set sales campaign, supply chain management and upkeep menu system in POS system network. 3. Provide technical support to Xilnex POS internal users. 4. Provide technical support to Mobile App customers users. 5. Integration and enhancement of company MIS. 1.Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science/Information Technology or equivalent field. 2.Candidates must have minimum 3 years working experience in related field. 3. Experience in IT Support for POS system will be added advantage. 4. Flexible and capable of working in a dynamic and fast paced environment. 5. Good troubleshooting and analytical skills. 3,500 – 4,500 3 51 - 200 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Jobstreet IT Executive Victor Sports Sdn 26/12/2023 1. Provide technical support to end-users and retails outlets (Point of Sales), e.g. installations, configurations and 1. Candidate must possess at least a Diploma, Advanced/Higher/Graduate Diploma, Computer 3, 300 - 4, 000 1 1 - 50 Help Desk Indeed

Bhd troubleshoot IT related hardware and software applications issues. 2. Oversee organization's computer systems, networks and servers. 3. Administer, monitor and maintain Windows Server, local area network (LAN), virtual private network (VPN), firewall and anti-virus. 4. Upgrade and install hardware and software and perform trouble shooting for problem computers and systems. 5. Liaise with vendors for sourcing best price software and hardware products. Science/Information Technology or equivalent. 2. 1 - 2 years working experience, preferable with working experience in retail industry; fresh graduate is encouraging to apply. 3. Experience in managing network, firewall, anti-virus and Windows Server. 4. Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Excel's formula and reporting. 5. Ability to work in a team and independently when necessary. & IT Suppo rt Junior IT Executive Geohan Sdn Bhd 29/12/2023 1. Troubleshoot computer hardware, software, network and other IT related issues raised by users from project site, HQ office and warehouse. 2. Install and configure computer hardware, software, networks and other IT related systems. 3. Repair and replace computer system spare parts when necessary. 4. Monitor and maintain computers, mail, networks and inventory systems. 5. Perform IT daily/weekly checklist to ensure backup schedule, server room and IT equipment are working fine. 1. Degree in computer science or Information Technology or any related field. 2. Fresh graduates are encouraged to apply. 3. Experience working with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook). 4. Knowledge in Programming Language, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign will be advantageous. 3,000 - 4,500 1 1 - 50 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Indeed IT Trainer - Microsoft Application AGENSI PEKERJA AN JS STAFFING SERVICES SDN BHD 20/10/2023 1. Conduct training and provide consultancy in the respective area of specialization 2. Design, develop and customize course materials to meet the requirements of customers 3. Install software, configure systems, upgrade or troubleshoot equipment, and classroom setup as required 4.Keep current regarding changes in computer technology, introduction of new software products, vendor certifications, and educational methodologies 1.Bachelor's Degree / Master / PHD fresh graduates in computer science, IT or any related study 2. Office / Application Trainer are welcome to apply 3,000 - 6,000 3 1 - 50 Huma n Resou rces Mana gemen t / Consu lting Jobstreet System Analyst - IT LINK CREATIO N SDN. BHD 19/10/2023 1. Perform full software development life cycle, design, coding, testing and implementation 2. Develop and maintain functional documentation of software solutions 3. Carry out unit testing and bug fixing 4. Provide maintenance and support of existing systems. 1. Coding skills for ReactJS/ VueJS or relevant frontend framework, MSSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB 2. Familiar with the RESTful API standard and usage 3. Familiar with the software development management tools such as Jira, Mondays.com 4. Best practice for enterprise system integration such as Azure, AWS 6,000 - 8,400 2 51 - 200 Huma n Resou rces Mana gemen t / Consu lting Jobstreet Senior IT Executive O'Briens Malaysia 29/12/2023 1. Managing and maintaining a company's technological equipment, such as computers, tablets, and smartphones. 2. Ensuring that company devices interconnect with file servers, email servers, and financial systems seamlessly. 3. Installing, upgrading, and managing software and hardware on company devices. 4. Managing all software licensing. 5. Keeping an inventory of all company electronic assets. 1. Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer technology, or a similar field. 2. Expertise in IT tools and concepts, such as operating systems and internet protocol suite 3. Expertise in configuring and managing POS system, Apple iOS and Android devices etc. 4. Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problemsolving skills. 5. Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work with technical and non-technical personnel. 4,000 - 4,500 4 1001 - 2001 Huma n Resou rces Mana gemen t/ Consu lting Indeed Senior IT Executive Pecca Leather Sdn Bhd 28/12/2023 1.Study current systems and propose areas to improve. 2. Review, plan, propose and develop SOPs for systems where required. 3. Setup knowledge base platform and encourage knowledge sharing in every department. 4. To oversee all help desk administration including resolving IT related issues. Ensure IT department is providing prompt IT support to end users. 5. To assist in troubleshooting system (SAP, Autocount, etc), security, network and infra related issues. 1.A bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Information Technology, or an equivalent IT degree. 2. A minimum of 5 years of experience in IT roles that demonstrate strong leadership and problem-solving skills. 3. Demonstrated experience in planning, organizing, and managing IT-related projects from hardware to software, from infrastructure to applications. 4. Experience in implementing and managing IT security and disaster recovery protocols. 5,000 - 6,000 1 1 - 50 Huma n Resou rces Mana gemen t/ Consu lting Indeed ERP System Analyst Smartlink Engineerin g Sdn Bhd 19/12/2023 1. Ensure timely development and ongoing maintenance of Company-wide ERP system completely. 2. Assist projects related to Company’s ERP and product support. 3. Extract data, report creation and analyze system for ERP solutions. 4. Implement ERP process to increase efficiencies. 5.Report writing and query creation in relation to ERP source system data. 1. Must possess at least a diploma in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related field 2. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills: ability to draw insights from data, research, and design practical and scalable solutions. 3. Initiate and drive projects together with product owners and software teams. 4. Self-motivated, good interpersonal and communication with all levels of people 4,000 – 6,000 2 51 - 200 Infor matio n & Com munic ation Techn ology/ Engin eering Jobstreet System Analyst Play More Limited 11/2/2023 1.Develop technical solutions and strategies for mobile/web applications 2. Participate as a technical member of the sales team in promoting the technical features and economic benefits of products and solutions. 3. Drive solution/product assurance at pre-sales and solution/product implementation to ensure a high-quality software release 4. Require engagement with customers during leads generation for determining requirements of solutions needed 5. Plan, design, and communicate solution/product designs and strategies. 1.Education: Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Management Information System, or relevant field experience. 2. Property development and property management relevant experience will be a plus 5000 - 8000 5 11 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Monster ERP Senior Consultant OneAyle Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd 11/2/2023 1.Managing and supporting SAP S4HANA Cloud / SAP Business ByDesign project implementation 2. Implementing supplementary solutions to SAP, such as Boomi or Magic xpi. 3. Managing an initiative to improve business processes. 4. Understanding global customers business processes and collaborating with SAP global team regarding concept design and implementation. 5. Translating business requirements into business solutions as well as process improvements. 1. Diploma or Degree in Computer Science/Information Technology, Finance/Accountancy or equivalent. 2. At least 5 years of experience in any ERP solution. 3. Demonstrated knowledge of all aspects of ERP project lifecycle including design, blueprinting, functional configuration, testing, and cutover to system Go-Live. 4. Excellent understanding of industry best practices as related to Finance Accounting, Procurement, Inventory Management, CRM, Sales, and Distribution. 5. Strong proficiency in the English language with experience in managing multiple stakeholders and their priorities. 10,000 - 13,000 5 50 - 200 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Monster IT Administrator Worldklang Group Developme nt Sdn. Bhd. 17/10/2023 1. Troubleshooting of system hardware / software applications and networking. 2. To assist in Virus monitoring. 3. Manage IT Licenses which includes all software such as Office 365 and other software 4.Analyze and solve the issue that relate to software/ hardware/ internet 1. Knowledge of computer system, printer and network equipment. 2. Knowledge of email account setup and configure user permissions for various applications. 3. Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Active Directory environment 4. Candidates fluent in Mandarin preferred 4,000 - 8,000 2 51 - 200 Proper ty / Real Estate Jobstreet

IDM PROCUREM ENT EOLANE MALAYSI A SDN BHD 26/12/2023 1. responsible for the continuous price reduction and annual price negotiation of the mass production project for Malaysia factory 2. responsible for the management of system linkage of components in the mass production project for Malaysia factory; 3. Support to resolve the shortage of materials in the mass production project; keep communication with the project team to ensure the continuous and stable supply of materials. 4. Manage suppliers of for mass production projects and improve components supplier performance. 5. Strictly follow the procurement process and business ethics,and maintain a healthy and sound cooperative relationship with suppliers. 1. Education background: Bachelor's degree or above. 2. Work experience at least 5 years of EMS industry related procurement work experience, familiar with electronic material supply channels. Understand MRO procurement (IDM, fixture, spare parts, and equipment, etc.) 3. Mandarin and English listening, speaking and writing ability, skilled use of Word, excel, ERP and other office software. 5,000 – 7,000 5 1,001 - 5,000 Testin g & Qualit y Assur ance Jobstreet Senior IT Executive SH COGENT LOGISTIC S SDN BHD 18/10/2023 1. Directing the selection and installation of ICT resources and the provision 2. Directing ICT operations, analysing workflow, establishing priorities, developing standards 3. Overseeing the security of ICT systems 4. Evaluating the organization’s technology use and needs and recommending improvements 1. Positive attitude, passionate on collaborative teamwork, excel at interpersonal skills. 2. Strong knowledge of applicable system automation, business solution softwares 3. Good problem-solving skills, able to navigate unexpected situations or conditions. 6,000 - 10,000 3 1 - 50 Trans portati on / Logist ics Jobstreet Manager of Information System Audit MBSB Bank Berhad 29/12/2023 1. Assist Head of Information System Audit in preparing Annual Audit Plan. 2. Ensure proper planning, risk assessment, audit programme and checklist is prepared and briefing is done with all team members and Head, prior to audit assignment. 3. Ensure the audit conducted is within the audit scope set and agreed by Head of Information System Audit. 4. To execute and supervise the conduct of audit assignments in assessing the organization’s systems of internal control, risk management and governance processes and to assist the Management in the prevention and early detection of fraud / irregularities, so as to minimize losses 1 .Bachelor’s Degree 2. Professional Certification i.e.Certified Information System Auditor (CISA), Certified Lead Auditor for Information Security Management System (ISMS) 3.Vast experience in IT environment especially in financial service industry. 4.Risk-based audit and internal control framework 8,000 – 10,500 8 1001 - 5000 Banki ng & Finan cial Servic es Jobstreet Net Developer Golden Dynamic Enterprises (M) Sdn Bhd 20/10/2023 1. Design and develop desktop-based applications 2. Work closely with design and content teams to develop and implementing 3. rovide troubleshooting and solution for existing web-based applications. 4.The Programmer will be involved in R&D, plan, design, develop and implementing solutions using Microsoft technology 1.Good database experience in MySQL , MSSQL or any RDBMS 2. 3-5 years development experience in using .Net framework. 3. advantage: AJAX, web services (SOAP / REST), Ecommerce related technology (Payment Gateway, integration), hardware integration 4. Applicants should be Malaysian citizens or hold relevant residence status 6,500 - 8,000 3 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Jobstreet VUE FrontEnd Development Engineer Microplan Tech Sdn Bhd 16/10/2023 1. Independently complete the development of relevant front-end functions of the website,and app. 2. Cooperate with back-end colleagues for functional docking and joint debugging 3. Actively communicate with project-related colleagues on demand issues and technical issues 1. 2 years & above of experience in vue development 2. Proficient in using website front-end languages, such as js, html, css, etc 3. Familiar uniapp, android, ios for development, and relevant practitioners 4. Prefer Mandarin-speaking candidates 6,000 - 11,500 2 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Jobstreet Programmer Canon Machinery (M) Sdn Bhd 26/12/2023 1. Perform coding duties within a specified timeframe 2. Provide assistance with software support and troubleshooting through interaction with the users 3. Maintain proper coding practices and documentations, even under deadlines 4. Perform software quality assurance 5. Collaborate with all IT Team and related departments to produce software designs 1. Ability to commute to Shah Alam 2. Able to speak in English and Mandarin (Required) 4,000 - 5,000 1 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Indeed Software Developer Kube Native Sdn Bhd 20/12/2023 1. Develop, maintain and scale/optimize existing / new web applications, towards better efficiency, performance and user experience 2. Develop, test and deliver new features based on instructions from company/clients 3. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to plan, define and ship new features. 4. Develop/Integration of server-side APIs from/for other web/mobile application 5. Including function flow and MySQL DB planning and implementation. 1. Diploma/Degree in Computer Science/Information Technology or any related 2. Required skill(s): HTML, PHP (Laravel), Javascript, MySQL, Shell scripting, Bash 3. Have experience in Laravel framework & NodeJS are highly desirable 4. At least 2 years and above working experience in the related fields 2,300 - 6,000 2 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Indeed Software Programmer Rockbell Software Sdn Bhd 20/10/2023 1. Developing software applications and conducting backend works 2. Conducting maintenance and upgrading our software 3. Ensuring that our software works as efficiently and smoothly as possible. 4. Identifying issues related to the coding of the programme 1. Has knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript 2. Knowledgeable and has basic or strong proficiency in React and React Native 3. Familiar with Electron, Expo, Node.js, PHP, MySQL & MicrosoftSQL databases 4. Familiar with RESTful APIs, UI/UX Design, version control (Git) and React component library Material-UI 4,000 - 5,500 2 1- 50 Consu lting (IT, Scienc e, Engin eering & Techn ical) Jobstreet Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP Specialist Tecnoviq Consulting & Services Sdn Bhd 14/12/2023 1. Provide technical guidance on solution and system architecture. 2. Analyze and resolve technical issues, including root cause identification and solutions. 3. Collaborate with stakeholders to gather system requirements and communicate them to developers. 4. Coordinate with IT teams, vendors, and stakeholders for successful platform deployment. 5. Manage project budget, timelines, and resources effectively. 1. Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, or a related field (Master’s preferred). 2. Minimum of 5 years of experience in project management, specifically in ERP implementations. 3. Proven expertise in Microsoft Dynamics 365, with a strong understanding of its modules and capabilities. 9,000 – 12,000 5 50 - 200 IT Servic es and IT Consu lting Jobstreet Software Developer cum IT Support PCL INARI TECHNOL OGIES SDN. BHD 20/10/2023 1. Familiar & Lead the design, coding, and testing of technical solutions using C#, JavaScript, Windows Server, SQL Server, Firewall, Anti-Virus, VLAN, Web Applications 2. Maintain and upgrade existing systems and software. 3. Create Business Intelligence (BI) solutions 4. Collaborate with systems analysts, development, and functional teams 1. 2+ years of working experience in software development 2. Able to work under min. supervision & independently. 3. Good spoken and written English and Mandarin 4. Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills 5,000 - 7,000 3 51 - 200 manuf acture r Jobstreet Programmer VISCO TECHNOL OGY Sdn Bhd 20/10/2023 1. Debug existing application system 2. Modify existing application system 3. Create a new system as per user request 1. Experience on IT service and development min 1 years or fresh graduates 2. Strong programming skills VB6, VB.NET, ASP, ASP.NET, C/C++, C# 3. Database server: SQL 2000, SQL 2005 4. Preferable Software: Crystal Report 6/ 10, Microsoft Access/Excel/Words 3,400 - 4,600 0 1001- 2001 manuf acture r Jobstreet

Cybersecurity Specialist Consultants Sdn Bhd 29/12/2023 1.Monitor security alerts and events to identify potential threats and incidents. 2. Investigate and respond to security incidents promptly, following incident response procedures. 3. Collaborate with the incident response team to contain and mitigate security breaches. 4. Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. 5. Identify and prioritize vulnerabilities, working with IT teams to remediate them. 1.Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or a related field (or equivalent work experience). 2. Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) may be preferred. 3. Proven experience in information security, with a focus on security operations and incident response. 4. Strong understanding of networking, operating systems, and cybersecurity principles. 6,500 - 7,500 1 1 - 50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Indeed Cybersecurity Sales Consultant Xair Communic ation Sdn Bhd 18/12/2023 1. Developing effective sales plans using sales methodology; 2. Providing technical advice to customers on all aspects of the installation and use of computer systems and networks, both before and after the sale; 3. Handling hardware or software problems and faults and referring on to specialist technical colleagues; 4. Responding to tender documents, writing proposals, reports and supporting literature; 1. Bachelor’s degree, preferably in business, computer science, marketing, MIS, or engineering 2. 5+ years of experience in information or operational technology cybersecurity 3. Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills 4. Strong analytical and organizational skills with the ability to multitask and take initiative) 5,000 – 7,500 5 11-50 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Jobstreet System Administrator Anima Vitae Point Sdn Bhd 18/10/2023 1. Experience with or knowledge of programming languages and operating systems 2. Fluency with management of DNS, NFS, configuration management and SSH/SSL 3. Ensuring data is stored securely and backed up regularly 4. Monitoring and maintaining network servers such as file servers, VPN gateways 5. Installing, configuring and maintain servers and networks 1. 2+ years of experience in systems roles and very familiar with Linux 2. Experience with data storages (understanding of RAID, ZFS etc) 3. Experience with administrative scripting languages (Bash [priority], Python, Perl, etc) 4. Keen interest in Linux and FOSS 3,500 - 6,500 4 51 - 200 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Jobstreet System Administrator TC ITECH Sdn Bhd 28/12/2023 1. Provide system administration for on premise and cloud servers 2. Respond to and resolve requests or issues assigned through the ticketing system and ensure SLA is met 3. Proactively monitor the performance, manage and maintain server, storage, backup and system security 4. Define and document SOP, best practices, detailed system infrastructure designs, configurations and other related documentations 5. Ensure the security of the system infrastructure by implementing industry best practices regarding privacy, security, and regulatory compliance that in line with IT security policy 1. Bachelor's Degree in computer science or any IT related field 2. At least 3 years of working experience in a similar role 3. Experience with server administration and cloud technology are preferred 4. Able to implement, administer, and troubleshoot Windows, Linux, Server Virtualization, DNS, Backup, Storage, End Point Security Suite and etc 5. Enthusiasm for continual learning, as well as able to contribute well in a team 6. Good written and verbal communication skills 7. Ability to think through problems and visualize solutions 2,800 - 5,500 3 1 - 50 Datab ase Devel opme nt & Admi nistrat ion Indeed System and Database Administrator Renesas Semicondu ctor (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 13/10/2023 1. Setup, Manage and Support of System & Database Infrastructure 2. Server & DB Resource Optimization, Capacity Planning 3. Responsible for Operating System, Database, Application Upgrade, Cloning and Patches Management 4.Establish and Maintain Backup & Recovery Systems for Databases and related systems. 1. Min 3 years experiences in System and Database Administration 2. Knowledge in Linux / Window Operating System, Oracle Database is preferred 4,000 - 6,000 3 1001 - 2001 Electri cal & Electr onics Jobstreet IT Application System Administrator RESMED ASIA PTE. LTD. 19/10/2023 1. Building data modeling architecture, pipelines and automate data in the BI platform. 2. Provide end-user administration support 3. Proactively work with ResMed Security and Compliance officer to audit user management’s compliance. 4. Ability to perform Oracle E-Business Suite (on-prem & cloud) system administration 1. Development skills (in writing SQL query, Web development tools) 2. ITIL foundation qualifications or applied knowledge. 3. Linux Scripting skills 2,500 - 3,500 2 501 - 1000 Health care / Medic al Jobstreet Network Operations Engineer IY Staffing Group 29/12/2023 1. Be the first point of contact for our customers to assist them in troubleshooting complex web and networking issues 24/7 and provide technical solutions to customers 2. Work closely with cross-functional teams to coordinate problem resolution 3. Manage the status of resolution for all support cases, ensuring issues are resolved accurately and in a timely manner 4. Evaluate customer needs to suggest upgrades or additional features 5. Record and maintain knowledge collected from each issue in a central location 1. Possession of a Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Internet Security or related discipline 2. Domain experiences desired: Linux/UNIX, Internet Technologies (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, HTTP Header, SSL/TLS), Cloud/Internet Security, Media Delivery Solutions and Hosting Infrastructure. 3. Experience in a customer-facing role within a Cloud, Broadcast/Digital Media Delivery Industry or Internet services industry will be advantageous, ideally with direct exposure to troubleshooting technical issues 4. Able to speak in Mandarin & English 4,000 - 8,000 1 1001 - 2001 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Indeed Solution Engineer/Spec ialist Bright Nexus (M) Sdn Bhd 29/12/2023 1. Serve as the first point of contact for security solutions’ technical support. 2. Primary responsibility for technical execution / delivery of security solutions to customers. 3. Provide deployment, documentation, support of project-wide information security solution, practices and policies. 4. Technical research to meet customer requirements. 5. Contribute to building security knowledge base and sharing it across the organization 1. Must possess a Bachelor's Degree in IT or related field (must indicate GPA in CV). 2. Strong communication skills in oral and written English. 3. Strong will to develop skills in cyber security and to learn new technologies. 4. Highly organized, self-motivated, have good time management and able to work under minimum supervision. 5. Pleasant personalities and able to work as team player. 3,000 - 8,000 3 1 - 50 Help Desk & IT Suppo rt Indeed System Support Engineer - JAVA/J2EE Agensi Pekerjaan Asia Recruit Sdn Bhd 12/2/2023 1. Responsible to design and develop software solutions for manual and automated warehousing operations in support of the company's complete products portfolio. 2. Undertake the delivery of a defined part of a project, including design, implementation, testing, integration (in-house and onsite) and documentation. 3. Ensuring quality of work through QA and thorough testing. 4. Recognize, identify cause of bug and able to apply fixes to resolve it. 5. Ensure that the project is implemented successfully within schedule. 1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Information Technology or equivalent. 2. At least 2 years experiences in software development environment. 3. Working knowledge and experience in J2EE, EJB 3.0, Servlets Java Script, JSF and JPA. 4. Understanding of real time programming, relational database concepts and architecture. 5. Prior work experience in Warehousing / ERP is an added advantage. 5000 - 7000 2 50 - 200 Comp uter/ Infor matio n Techn ology (Soft ware) Monster System Analyst cum QA Lead IX TELECOM SDN. BHD. 20/10/2023 1. Create detailed requirement documentation, use cases, flowcharts, and other relevant artifacts 2. Contribute to the planning and construction of system architecture. 3. Assess and mitigate risks associated with system design, implementation, and maintenance. 1. Proficiency in system analysis and design tools (e.g., UML, DFD, ERD) 2. Basic understanding of programming and software development. 3. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 4. Ability to adapt to evolving technology and business requirements. 3,500 - 4,500 2 1 - 50 Telec ommu nicati on Jobstreet QA Tester Wiseyes Solutions Sdn Bhd 28/12/2023 1. Convert the requirements and design documents into a set of testing cases. 2. Involved in hands-on tests and executing testing plans. 3. Analyses software test results and recommends a course of action, if necessary, to ensure that performance standards 1. Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology or a related field 2.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills 3. Knowledge of software development methodologies and processes 3,000 - 4,500 1 1 - 50 Testin g & Qualit y Assur Indeed

demanded by the organization are maintained. 4. Define and distribute a series of daily status reports / progressive reports for the test result to test lead. 5. Documenting the testing procedure, testing progress and results. 4. Familiarity with various testing tools and techniques 5. Excellent communication and collaboration skills ance

Figure 2: Sum of Average Salary and Sum of Experience Required by Position Name (Information Technology) ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT SOURCEOFINFORMATIONFROMFINDINGS Figure 1: Sum of Average Salary by Company Name and Position Name (Senior)

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT SOURCEOFINFORMATIONFROMFINDINGS Figure 3: Sum of Experience Required by Position Name (System) Figure 4: Sum of Lowest Salary by Position Name (Information Technology)

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT SOURCEOFINFORMATIONFROMFINDINGS Figure 5: Sum of Size by Company Name in Database Industry Figure 6: Sum of Average Salary by Job Requirements (Database)

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT SOURCEOFINFORMATIONFROMFINDINGS Figure 7: Sum of Experience Required by Position Name (System) and Company Name Figure 8: Sum of Average Salary by Position Name (Admin) and Job Requirements (Degree)

RECOMMENDATION Considering the fast pace of change in the Information Systems (IS) corporate affairs, it is imperative that ambitious professionals, educational institutions, and companies work together to create a mutually beneficial partnership. In order to be successful, professionals need to cultivate a skill set that includes a mix of technical expertise, analytical abilities, and the ability to communicate effectively. Due to the fact that technology breakthroughs are always evolving, it is essential to have an attitude of continual learning. In order for graduates to maintain their relevance and adaptability in the always shifting environment of information systems (IS), they need possess a balanced technical expertise, analytical acumen, and good communication skills. IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT The moment it comes to defining the future of Information Systems (IS) professionals, educational institutions play a significant role by developing programmes and curriculum that are in line with the requirements of professional organisations. Consequently, graduates will be prepared with the latest technologies, procedures, and technology for their careers. By placing an emphasis on experiential learning, practical applications, and industry partnerships, graduates are better prepared to face the problems that they will face in the real world. In order to produce graduates who are able to effortlessly integrate into the everchanging world of information systems, educational institutions cultivate a desire for learning.

RECOMMENDATION Employers are strongly urged to make investments in developing advances in order to close the skills gap that exists between trainees and the demands of the business. This proactive strategy not only improves the abilities of the workers who are already working for the company, but it also gives fresh graduates the opportunity to develop specialised knowledge. Upskilling should be prioritised because it helps nurture a workforce that is wellequipped for present needs, predicts and adapts to future technology advances, and ensures a personnel that is wellempowered for the future. IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT professionals, educational institutionplay a significant role by developing programmes and curriculum that are in line with the requirements of professional organisations. Consequently, graduates will be prepared with the latest technologies, procedures, and technology for their careers. By placing an emphasis on experiential learning, practical applications, and industry partnerships, graduates are better prepared to face the problems that they will face in the real world. In order to produce graduates who are able to effortlessly integrate into the everchanging world of information systems, educational institutions cultivate a desire for learning. An all-encompassing strategy that includes aspiring professionals, educational institutions, employers, and policymakers is outlined in the Information Systems career navigation. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to strike a balance between hard and soft skills, to match educational programmes with the requirements of the business, to invest in upgrading their skills, and to cultivate collaborative ecosystems. The implementation of this strategy supports the employability and success of professionals working in information systems in a digital environment that is always evolving, hence maintaining a healthy ecosystem that is conducive to continued advancement and creativity. When it comes to the creation of a comprehensive ecosystem that promotes the employability of information systems professionals, collaboration between academic institutions, private business, and government is very necessary. By working together, this triad collaboration guarantees that educational programmes continue to be relevant, that the requirements of the sector are recognised, and that regulations adapt to the demands of the digital age. These stakeholders, by cooperating with one another, establish a framework that tackles the issues that are now being faced in the field of information systems professions and predicts the challenges that will be faced in the future. This ecosystem ensures the continued employability and success of information systems professionals in the alwaysevolving digital world. The moment it comes to defining the future of Information Systems (IS)

IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT In conclusion, Information Systems (IS) are an essential component of contemporary enterprises because they provide efficient data administration, decision-making, and strategic initiatives. experts in information systems create, build, and manage information technology systems. These experts provide a variety of career options, including those in the fields of cybersecurity, database administration, and systems analysis. In the area of information systems (IS), professionals are presented with both obstacles and new chances to contribute to the digital environment as technology continues to advance. This demonstrates the wide range of options that are accessible in the technology business. In cases where it comes to successful jobs in information technology, the literature review emphasises the significance of possessing technical skills, analytical talents, and the ability to communicate effectively. For graduates to be employable, it is essential that they have a healthy mix of both hard and soft abilities. The fast evolution of information and communications technology (ICT), tight recruiting standards, and employers' unwillingness to engage in strengthening are all challenges. In spite of the need, there is a gap between the skills required by the business and the abilities of graduates, which has resulted in a crisis of graduate unemployment in the information technology sector. A comprehensive strategy is advised to guarantee the success of Information Systems (IS) experts. Professionals need to cultivate a wide-ranging repertoire of abilities, including technical, analytical, and communication proficiencies. Educational institutions must to synchronise their programmes with the requirements of the business, placing emphasis on hands-on learning and ongoing education. Employers have to allocate resources towards upskilling efforts in order to reduce the disparity in skills and equip the workforce for forthcoming requirements. Effective cooperation among professionals, educational institutions, employers, and legislators is essential in establishing an environment that fosters the employability and achievement of information systems professionals in the digital realm. This approach promotes a well-rounded enhancement of both technical and interpersonal abilities, alignment with industry standards, investment in improving skills, and fostering collaborative environments. CONCLUSION

IMS 656 MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT REFERENCES Analysing the impact of sustainable human resource management practices and industry 4.0 technologies adoption on employability skills | Emerald Insight. (2021). International Journal of Manpower, 43(2), 463–485. https://doi.org/10.1108//IJM Leading towards the students’ career development and career intentions through using multidimensional soft skills in the digital age | Emerald Insight. (2019). Education + Training, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), -. https://doi.org/10.1108//ET Sustainable relevancy in the changing library job market in Kuwait | Emerald Insight. (2021). Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, 71(8/9), 800–836. https://doi.org/10.1108//GKMC Kamble, P. (2021). Improving Employability Skills among Engineering Students. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3777059 Tushar, H., & Nanta Sooraksa. (2023). Global employability skills in the 21st century workplace: A semi-systematic literature review. Heliyon, 9(11), e21023–e21023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21023 Gupta, P., Datta, A., & Kothe, S. (2023). Developing employability skills in vulnerable youth: Designing logic model framework and outcome evaluation using quasi-experiment. World Development Sustainability, 2, 100045–100045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2023.100045 Roksana Jahan Tumpa, Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, Samer Skaik, & Ham, M. (2023). Enhancing project management graduates’ employability through group assessment innovations: An empirical study. Project Leadership and Society, 4, 100084–100084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plas.2023.100084 Ohei, K. N., Brink, R., & Also. (2019, November 22). INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) GRADUATES AND CHALLENGES OF EMPLOYABILITY: A CONCEPTUALUnknown. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337472111_INFORMATION_AND_COMMUNICATIO N_TECHNOLOGY_ICT_GRADUATES_AND_CHALLENGES_OF_EMPLOYABILITY_A_CONC EPTUAL_FRAMEWORK_FOR_ENHANCING_EMPLOYMENT_OPPORTUNITIES_IN_SOUTH _AFRICA Ohei, K. N., & Brink, R. (2021). Employability Distress: Factors Affecting ICT Graduates’ Employability and Work Integration in the Workspace. Research in World Economy, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.5430/rwe.v12n1p138 Mushi, R. M. (2020). Assessment of the needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs: A VFT approach. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 29(1), 84–97. https://doi.org/10.58729/1941-6679.1348

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Journal of International Technology and Information Management Volume 29 Issue 1 Article 4 2020 Assessment of the needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs: A VFT approach Renatus Michael Mushi The Institute of Finance Management, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/jitim Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Computer and Systems Architecture Commons, Digital Communications and Networking Commons, Information Literacy Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Operational Research Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, and the Technology and Innovation Commons Recommended Citation Mushi, Renatus Michael (2020) "Assessment of the needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs: A VFT approach," Journal of International Technology and Information Management: Vol. 29: Iss. 1, Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58729/1941-6679.1348 Available at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/jitim/vol29/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of International Technology and Information Management by an authorized editor of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 84 Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs: A VFT Approach Renatus Michael Mushi (The Institute of Finance Management) ABSTRACT The globalised economy comes with the extra demand for ICT skills among the graduates. This is due to the demand if ICT technicalities in performing several basic activities in the workplaces. Majority of studies which concentrate on ICT skills on employability deals with technical enterprises. In non-technical companies such as construction, manufacturing and agriculture, ICT is studied as among the basic skill-set of graduates. However, recently, there has been a special demand for graduates with basic ICT knowledge of recruitment processes. This indicates the growing demand for basic ICT skills among a broad range of professions. However, the type of basic ICT skills required for work is not clear. This study aims to explore and understand the type of ICT skill needed, the significance of each ICT skills on employability and the way of identifying the best graduate based on ICT. This study uses Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) to understand and identifying the possible ways of managing ICT skills on employability. VFT uses in-depth interviews will be conducted to identify the fundamental and intermediate concerns regarding ICT skills on the employability of graduates. This study explored five main fundamental issues which have to be handled effectively by the stakeholders to make sure that ICT graduates are more employable within the SMEs. Keywords: Employability, graduates, ICT skills, VFT, HEIs and SMEs. INTRODUCTION Unemployment is among the greatest challenges in the current world. The rate of increase in the number of job seekers seems to surpass the demand of the same in the employers’ side. This provides more challenge for employers to select competent staffs from the pool of graduates. In these situations, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), graduates and SMEs have roles to play to make sure that they satisfy the needs and expectations of graduates as far as employability is concerned. Employability of graduates encompasses several skills for them to be able to work in the SMEs. Employability can be attributed to a broad range of skill-sets of graduates there a broad range of skills which are needed (Andrews & Higson, 2008; Fulgence 2016). But the growing level of sophistication in the current world, the need of ICT skills among graduated is becoming significant. The graduates are left with questions on which ICT skills should they have to be considered as among be among the most employable groups when it comes to

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 85 employability. To answer these questions, this study uses a Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) to articulate the needs of ICT on the employability of graduates. The outcome of this research will propose guidelines to the SMEs, graduates and HEIs through objectives which should be achieved. Tanzania is among the countries which fall into among the least developed countries. The ICT skills are among the needs that are required and assessed in interviews. However, linkage of the specific sets of ICT skills with the expected job performance is among the challenging issue worldwide. This study covers this gap by assessing the ICT skill needs from the SMEs perspective, students and the HEIs. The rest of this paper is organized as follows: Section two introduces the concept of employability and section three discusses the role played by ICT on the employability of graduates. Section four discusses the value-focused thinking while section five presents the decision problems which have been solved by VFT. The methodology which was used to collect and analyse data in this study is discussed in section six followed by the analysis of results in section seven. The rigour of this study is discussed in section eight before the conclusion in section nine. EMPLOYABILITY The central focus of this study is to improve the talents of graduate so that to increase their chances for employment. According to Knight and Yorke (2004), employability refers to the ability of graduates to adapt and use their skills on personal and academic perspectives. At individual levels of graduates, the factors which influence unemployment or its delay include individual’s class of degree, profession studied, prior class performances and background of social class (Kroft, 2016). Previous studies shows also that in UK up to two-third of the employment vacancies can be covered by any discipline within organisations (Raybould & Sheedy, 2005). In the existing dynamic and competitive industry, employers working staff who have broader skills and can manage labour market flexibility (Pfeifer, 2005). Employability, therefore, comprises of a broad range of skills. A recent study of Fulgence (2016) grouped the employability skills into five categories: personal qualities, core skills, process skills, initiative and enterprise skills and positive attitudes. In each of the skill category, there is a broad range of related competencies. This suggests that the skills required by graduates for employability can be regarded as infinite and only sounding ones are being reported and discussed. Among the previous studies which discussed employability and their methodologies include Andrews and Higson (2008). They employed semi-structured interview involving fifty people in which graduate was asked on their experiences of shifting from education to employment whereas employer was asked concerning graduate recruitment issues and formal graduate employment schemes. Also, Jusoh et al (2011) analysed the expectation gap by conducting a survey to the fresh graduates who are working. This survey focused on five variables; organisational culture, leadership, communication, decision making, team working, motivation, and development. The results were used to suggest the expectation gaps within the fresh graduates using t-tests.

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 86 Felstead et al (2013) conducted a survey to analyse the skills at work in Britain in 2012. Their survey targeted working adults in England, Scotland and Wales accounting up to 3200 respondents. The use of skills was captured using job skills (broad or generic skills). The indicators for broad skills were education, prior training, and initial post-entry learning while Factor analysis was used to produce ten types of generic skills (Felstead et al., 2013). ICT SKILLS ON EMPLOYABILITY The current globalised world looks at ICT at a slightly different angle. The demand for ICT skills is increasing in the job market. The job market nowadays considers ICT skills as essential in recruitment processes for most of better jobs (Garrido et al 2011). ICT skills are considered an important asset which promotes competitiveness and improves business productivity. The importance of ICT skills is becoming more significant in sectors such as agriculture, construction, education and in the service industry (Garrido 2011). Majority of studies in ICT4D which addressed ICT skills in detail in employability concentrates in the ICT companies such as software industry and economic opportunities associated with business process outsource (Picatoste et al., 2018). This poses a need for more research on basic ICT skills for intermediate or normal users on employability. The level of sophistication of activities has become significant in many sectors to-date. This poses more demand for graduates with basic ICT skills. But the existing challenge is to identify what category of the type of basic ICT skills is essentially required by graduates applying for SMEs? To answer this question, there is a need to understand the common or basic ICT-work related tasks within the SMEs. In that regard, each piece of ICT skill has to have a basis for its demand in the working environment. The best method of acquiring such information is to ask respondents to explain the importance of each of the basic skills. This research aims to act as a platform for SMEs in identifying the basic ICT skills they may need from the upcoming graduates as well as the way they might utilise such skills. VALUE-FOCUSED THINKING In Value-Focused Thinking (VFT), values are fundamental to achieving any decision. VFT involve conducting in-depth interviews with stakeholders of a decision context after which their desires will guide the selection of the best alternative to solve their problems (Keeney, 1992). If the solution can’t be achieved by selecting the existing alternatives, VFT can also be used to create an alternative to solve a decision problem (R. L. Keeney, 1996). In VFT, instead of alternatives, values are treated as the primary focus in deciding to solve a particular problem. Keeney (1994) asserts that alternatives are relevant only as a way of finding the values. Values are fundamental to all that we do; and thus, values should be the driving force for our decisionmaking. An opposite concept of VFT is an Alternative Focused Thinking (AFT). In AFT, decision problems are cantered towards the actions of others such as customers, competitors, government, and stakeholders or by circumstances such as recessions and natural disasters(R. L. Keeney, 1996).

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 87 Thus, In AFT, decisions are normally starting from the alternatives followed by addressing the criteria to evaluate them(R. L. Keeney, 1996). Principally, alternatives are relevant only because they are the means to achieve your values. Therefore, the best option is to explore the values followed by selecting of creating an alternative to achieve them (Keeney, 1996). This is what is in the VFT. Obtaining clear objectives requires creativity in discussions with decision-makers and individuals concerned about the decision(Keeney, 1996). According to Keeney (1992), an objective is a statement of something that is desired to be achieved by someone. On the other hand, values are principles which are used for the evaluation. According to Keeney (1992), these values of concern are explicitly identified by first identifying the objectives. The objectives in VFT are grouped into means objectives and fundamental objectives. Means objectives are the intermediary ones which lead to the fundamental objectives (Keeney, 1996). The fundamental objectives are the ones which highlight the consequences of the decision and key to driving decision-making (Keeney, 1994). DECISION PROBLEMS SOLVED BY VFT VFT was applied to explore the values of mobile technology in education. Such values were, eventually, used as guidelines for effective implementation and usage of mobile technology in learning environments (Sheng et al., 2010). Also, VFT was used to explore the strategic implications mobile technology have in a publishing company (Sheng et al., 2010). In environmental management, VFT was used to develop the objectives for decisions regarding climate change of the American government (Keeney & McDaniels, 2001). Another application of VFT was in the decision context of tourism management in which the fundamental and means objectives for the vitality of rural areas was shown (Kajanus, 2004). The fact that VFT has been used in various decision contexts means that it can help to identify objectives (including the previously unknown ones) as well as providing the relationship between them with logical and consistent manner (Morais et al. 2013). Another strength of VFT in comparison with the AFT in the context of decision analysis shows it is more superior. The structure of objectives which were generated using VFT was found to be more extensive and hierarchical structure than that which was generated using AFT in all the qualities judged (Leon, 1999). METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION The methodology of this study follows the principles of VFT in decision making. The VFT steps pass through three stages as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1. Procedures of Value-Focused Thinking (adopted from (Keeney, 1992) Develop initial list of objectives and convert them into common form Structuring objectives into fundamental objectives versus means objectives Build means-ends objective network

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 88 The first step is to develop an initial list of objectives followed by converting them into a common form. The proposed techniques which can help to identify possible objectives include wish-list, alternatives, problems, shortcomings and consequences (Keeney, 1992). By assuming that HEIs, SMEs and graduates have a clue about the operations of the others, the probing questions to identify values will be around wish-list, benefits and problems, limitations and challenges (Keeney, 1994; Sheng et al., 2010). In some cases, alternatives can also be used in case the response requires producing some. These probing questions aim to identify values in respect to the existing challenges, realised benefits, problems faced and limiting factors. The second step is to structure the identified objectives into fundamental objectives versus means objectives. Fundamental objectives are 'the ends that decision-makers value in a specific context' while means objectives refer to the ‘methods to achieve ends’(Keeney, 1992). Separating means objectives from fundamental objectives is done by asking “Why is that important (WITI)?” in each of the identified means objectives from the respondent. Asking WITI questions helps to force respondents to think critically about the relationships between objectives (Reynolds & Gutman, 1988; Sheng et al., 2010). Asking WITI results in two main outputs: (1) this objective is among the essential reasons for interest in the situation and is fundamental for decision making and (2) this objective will help understand implications for other objectives (this is called means objective) (Sheng, Nah, & Siau, 2005). Therefore, the fundamental objective will be achieved if the WITI approaches do not help to generate any more means objective. The third step of VFT is to build the means-ends objective hierarchical network. This network shows the interrelationship between the identified means objectives and the way they influence fundamental objectives. This process is also called Means-Ends Chain theory (MEC) (Reynolds & Gutman, 1988). Question Set for HLIs (lecturers, curriculum developers, managements) on the decision context “Grooming the best possible talents”. Due to the creativity needs in acquiring information from interviewees in VFT, a discussion document is used instead of a questionnaire. The questions or statements are presented according to the techniques (such as challenges, benefits, wish-lists and problems) which are used to identify the objectives according to Keeney (1994). The issues which will, therefore, need to be discussed with graduate and SME managers/supervisors include: 1. What is important to you in ICT skills on employability? This discussion aims to identify the needs or goals as well as determining the reasons for requiring graduate to have ICT skills for them to fit in work. 2. What should be done to raise the level of basic ICT skills needed for work? This aim to identify wish-lists and alternatives. These two are important in identifying values that lead to objectives. 3. What are your current concerns regarding the level of ICT skills of graduates in comparison to the requirements? The response from this question helps to identify the problems and/or shortcomings which will help to identify the values in such e.g. A concern like “employees fail to use computer software effectively” indicates that they need to have basic knowledge of the current computer software.

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 89 4. What can be done to ensure that the ICT skill-set of graduates suits SMEs? Here the aim is to identify aspects which can be solved now e.g. Issues like curriculum, lifestyles etc. 5. What are limitations facing grooming ICT skills into potential graduates? Here the issues which pull back the efforts of stakeholders are raised. 6. If you have to evaluate the required ICT skills for a graduate in recruitment. How would you do it and what will indicate ICT suitability of a candidate? Aim of this question is to identify any possible alternatives. This interview approach has been previously used by Nah et al (2005) and Drevin et al (2007). In a study of Drevin, an assessment of ICT security in the educational institution was explored by interviewing key personnel, one at a time. In studies like this, the total number of interviewees is normally known after a 'saturation point' has been reached. The saturation point is when there is no additional data which is found by the researcher for a specific category in a study (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Drevin et al (2007), example, stopped when 10 respondents were interviewed and Nah et al (2005) stopped with seven respondents. This study involved aimed to interview at least 20 respondents but the researcher stopped when interviewing the 12th respondent after noticing that the responses were starting to repeat (logically). This indicated that the saturation point for this study was reached. The characteristics of respondents were holding at least a bachelor degree (in any field) for graduates and HEI representatives and the supervisors of SMEs, and having experience of 4 working years for the SMEs supervisors/managers. This study covered SMEs which belong to travel industry, restaurants, entertainments, retail shops and bars. In this study, a flowchart was developed to assist an interviewer of the key items as well as steps in coming up with concerns and the identification of which ones tends to influence the others after asking a series of WITI questions. As seen in fig 2, the first step is to select a starting category out of benefits, challenge, limitation and wish list. Once a respondent selects a category, will be prompted to mention any concern followed by being asked again to explain why is the said concern important to him or her. The response will then be checked whether can be explained more to resulting in another concern or not. This sequence of step repeats until all the concerns within a single category are over and all categories are over. The five fundamental objectives which are seen on the right hand side of Figure 2 were deduced by compiling the issues which were more appealing from the responses of the interviews in the means-objectives seen on the left-hand side.

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 90 Figure 2. Steps in performing Laddering technique for this study Start Ask for a concern Note down a concern Ask WITI. Does another concern comes up? EXIT Any more corncern in that category? NO YES Choose a Category of a concern (Challenge, Benefit, Wish-list, Limitation) Any other category of concern left? NO NO YES YES

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 91 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The results of this study are represented in Table 1, in the form of a means-ends objective network. This table show results in two main sides. The left side shows the key concerns concerning ICT needs in employment and the way they influence each other. The arrow between the concerns (means-ends objectives) shows how they influence the next ones. On the righthand side, the logical grouping of means objectives results in fundamental objectives of the context of this study. The fundamental objectives represent all the means objectives at a high level. The fundamental objectives which were compiled from this study are explained in detailed form in the following sections. A. Ensuring Specialisations in Training and Employments This study has identified cases where ICT student graduates without knowing what they know better in their profession. In these circumstances, these graduates are not aware of which ICT task they can perform better than others. Situations like these are dangerous because, in normal circumstances, it is unlikely that a student can perform better in all aspects of ICT. Therefore, this study suggests students think, in their earlier stages, of the best career of ICT they are good at and concentrate on the modules which will make them much better. However, this could be achieved if the colleges will expose to the students all possible ICT based careers so that they can assess themselves based on their interests and existing motivations. The specialisation is also identified in an angle of employments. This is due to a fact that a broad-minded graduate might get an excuse of underperforming in employment when the job role is not specific enough. This study proposes treating specialisation as a sort of contract between a graduate and an SME upon which an employee can be evaluated. Therefore, curriculum developers in the colleges have to make industrial visit and research periodically in attempting to identify any adjustments in the job markets and incorporate them as soon as possible. By doing that, ICT graduates will be aligned with job demands. Ensuring Competence of Lecturers and ICT Learning Environments. B. Results have shown that the best ICT graduates are moulded by the best lecturers. Results have shown that the best ICT graduates are moulded by the best lecturers. Some of the respondents have mentioned poor lecturers as among the problems for their incompetence. This is among the critical problem as far as their employability is concerned. The lecturing staffs in Tanzanian colleges do not pass into professional teaching courses. Instead, there is a minimum cut-off academic qualification which needs to be attained in the undergraduate degree program of specialisation. Therefore, teaching skills which relate to the methodology are normally lacking to most of the lecturers. The National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) and the Tanzania Commission of Universities (TCU) have set regulations which demand academic staff to pursue further training which can equip them with such methodological aspects. However, the competence of ICT lecturers requires extra skills which come along with the advancement of technology itself. For example, the approach of delivering materials for modules such as computer programming and software engineering needs to be adjusted with the variations on the ICT usage within the society. This is due to the emergence of more advanced technologies which provide more options for using technology within the society.

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 92 C. Results have shown that the best ICT graduates are moulded by the best lecturers. Some of the respondents have mentioned poor lecturers as among the problems for their incompetence. This is among the critical problem as far as their employability is concerned. The lecturing staffs in Tanzanian colleges do not pass into professional teaching courses. Instead, there is a minimum cut-off academic qualification which needs to be attained in the undergraduate degree program of specialisation. Therefore, teaching skills which relate to the methodology are normally lacking to most of the lecturers. The National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) and the Tanzania Commission of Universities (TCU) have set regulations which demand academic staff to pursue further training which can equip them with such methodological aspects. However, the competence of ICT lecturers requires extra skills which come along with the advancement of technology itself. For example, the approach of delivering materials for modules such as computer programming and software engineering needs to be adjusted with the variations on the ICT usage within the society. This is due to the emergence of more advanced technologies which provide more options for using technology within the society. D. Improving ICT learning Environments The nature of ICT demands continual investments in learning environments. This is a challenging issue in the developing economies where the funds are not enough to fit for the purpose. Most of the ICT infrastructures in the colleges come from the aids from the government or NGOs. In some circumstances, administering the ICT systems in the learning environments needs proper management and funds. For example, one lecturer in public in Tanzanian public college expressed dissatisfactions on the way ICT systems in the computer laboratories are managed. Among the areas which are mismanaged include poor accounts management and network speeds (in server-based thin client platforms), overcrowding and few opportunities for the student to use computer labs and unavailability of teaching software packages in the computer laboratories. This study asks the management in the HLIs to treat ICT in its speciality because innovation demands special attention in terms of financial and organisational perspectives. Table 1: Means-ends objectives of ICT on employability in SMEs Improving programming skills Example: Improve awareness of key programming languages Ability to apply programming concepts in performing ICT tasks Improve specialisation in Businesses Examples: Demonstrate how ICT is used to accomplish specific tasks Improve ability to select ICT skills used to accomplish various key tasks Enhancing Practical Training Example: Providing a chance for ICT students to apply class lessons in solving real-world problems Assessing the practical aspects of ICT Ensure clarity of careers to Students Example: Specifying possible key careers ahead of graduates of ICT Enabling students to select careers based on their ICT interests Maximising Task Completeness in Jobs Example: Ensuring that employees complete given tasks Improve the ability to work independently Maximise learning of new techniques Example: Encouraging ICT students to keep on learning new concepts

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 93 E. Improving Creativity in ICT usage Among the challenges facing SMEs concerning the graduates include lack of creativity. It is claimed that only a few of them can be able to solve ICT based problems on their own. Creativity is important because the majority of problems which need to be solved new, thereby, need confidence and skills for solving them. The initiatives which are in place in Tanzanian include twisting the curriculums in some of the colleges from Knowledge-based Education Training (KBET) to Competence-based Educational Training (CBET). However, this transformation adjusts only the methodological aspect of teaching, leaving the professional-based contents unchanged. Therefore, the remaining approach could be to ensure that there are added contents in the syllabuses and assessment parts which will be specifically assessing the creative aspect of all the ICT modules. F. Ensuring Provision of up-to-date Materials Unlike modules such as law, history and geography, ICT related modules are always changing as days pass by. Eventually, the contents of the modules need to be adjusted frequently to meet the market demand and trend movement. By doing so, they will increase their chances of being employable to the SMEs. However, this will demand to keep lecturers, students and colleges up-to-date. While keeping lecturers up-to-date might be achieved by providing them with ongoing training and providing them access to the current sources of information such as Acquisition of up-do-date knowledge Example: Keeping trend with technological advancements Ability to solve problems with up-to-date tools and techniques Ensuring effective use of ICT in companies Example: Discovering the possible areas to be improved by ICT in the firms Ensuring that the ICT budgets are used effectively Improve awareness of ICT in early-stage education levels Example: Enabling graduates to understand the fundamentals of ICT Providing the opportunity of studying ICT for longer time Maximise supervision of practical training Example: Ensuring that the practical aspects are well understood in parallel with theoretical knowledge Improve the ability of students to practice their theoretical knowledge effectively Introduction of ICT specialisations in Colleges Example: Introducing specific key specialized roles within working environments Providing examples of how ICT is applied to solve realworld problems Improve Problem Solving Skills Example: Promoting space for students to solve several business problems using ICT Introducing Entrepreneurial skills in schools Example: Providing areas which ICT can play the part on start-ups Elaborate to students how ICT can be an investment Ensuring the acquisition of Suitable ICT candidates Example: Ensuring that the ICT students have an interest in the profession Providing screening exams to students who want to pursue ICT courses Maximise creativity Example: Introducing courses which improves creativity among students Demonstrate how ICT requires creative thinking Maximise practical Interviews Example: Ensuring that ICT is interviewed by practical activities rather than theory Imposing demonstration or set-ups of equipment as part of interviews Maximise Competence of Lecturers Example: Ensuring that Lecturers have enough backgrounds to give students up-to-date materials Improve ICT learning Environments Example: Ensuring that the colleges have a conducive and reliable ICT learning environment

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy 94 libraries and training, the case of colleges might be difficult. This is because there will be the needs to phase out some of the computers, software and network equipment after some time, which is difficult due to insufficient financial capabilities. Figure 3. Means-ends Objective Network (MEC) Diagram for Employability of ICT graduates in SMEs Impose Practical Interviews Improve Entrepreneur ship Skills Maximise Competence of Lecturers Improve ICT learning Infrastructures Maximise Creativity Acquisition of Current Knowledge Improve Specialisation of Business Enhancing Effective use of ICT in Companies Maximise Acquisition of Quality ICT candidates Maximise Supervision of Practical Projects Improve Clarity of Careers for Graduates Ensuring Competence of Lecturers and ICT Learning Environments Improving Creativity on ICT Overall Objective: Improving ICT skills and Maximising Graduates’ Employability in SMEs Fundamental Objectives: Improve Hardwork for Graduates Improve Problem Solving Skills Enhancing Practical Trainings Introduce ICT specialisations in Colleges Improve Programming Skills Improve Early Awareness of ICT in Secondary Schools Maximise Practical Training, Assessment and Interviews Ensuring Specialisation in Training and Employment Ensuring Provision of up-to-date Materials Ensuring Clarity on Job Descriptions Acquisition of Perfect Candidate for a ICT Posts Maximise Task Completeness in Jobs

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 95 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy RIGOUR OF THE STUDY The methodology which was used to guide the data collection and analysis is based on VFT, which is a well-recognised for exploring values based on decisions of respondents in a specific contextual environment. Recordings of the interviews were transcribed manually by the author. The discussions and was supported by the opinions of interviewees and on the concerns as guided by the laddering technique (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). Laddering involves in-depth, one-to-one interviews to develop an understanding of how consumers translate the attributes of products into their personal values (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). The sample size was achieved when no more new objectives from respondents, which was a saturation point (Guest et al, 2006). The saturation was reached after the 12th respondent was interviewed. CONCLUSION This article has explored the wishes, problems and concerns of SMEs concerning employability of graduates from the Tanzanian colleges. The methodology used was grounded to Value-Focused Thinking. This methodology guided the process of data collection and analysis. The deliverables of this research is a set of means-ends objectives which point out key issues which are important to the ICT graduates to work well within SMEs. This research compiled the means-ends objectives into five fundamental objectives that address the main areas which, when solved, will improve the employability of ICT students. The future studies could perform a quantitative measure of the extent to which the fundamental objectives influence the employability of graduates in the SMEs. Another study could be performed to assess the employability of ICT graduates but in a specific industrial sector such as telecom or marketing. REFERENCES Andrews, J., & Higson, H. (2008). Graduate Employability, ‘Soft Skills’ Versus ‘Hard’ Business Knowledge: A European Study. Higher Education in Europe, 33(4), 411–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/03797720802522627

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 96 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy Drevin, L., Kruger, H. A., & Steyn, T. (2007). Value-focused assessment of ICT security awareness in an academic environment. Computers & Security, 26(1), 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2006.10.006 Felstead, A., Gallie, D., Green, F., & Inanc, H. (2013). Skills at work in Britain: First findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2012 [Monograph]. Retrieved 20 May 2017, from http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/ses2012/[hidden]resources/1.%20Skills%2 0at%20Work%20in%20Britain%20-%20mini-report.pdf Fulgence, K. (2016). Employability of Higher Education Institution Graduates: Exploring the influence of Entrepreneurship Education and Employability Skills Development Programmes activities in Tanzania. Retrieved from http://repository.udsm.ac.tz:8080/xmlui/handle/20.500.11810/4476 Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. 1967. Weidenfield & Nicolson, London, 1–19. Jusoh, M., Simun, M., & Chong, S. C. (2011). Expectation gaps, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of fresh graduates. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maimun_Simun/publication/2416743 46_Expectation_gaps_job_satisfaction_and_organizational_commitment_ of_fresh_graduates__Roles_of_graduates_higher_learning_institutions_an d_employers/links/548fc3f70cf2d1800d862a82.pdf Kajanus, M., Kangas, J., & Kurttila, M. (2004). The use of value-focused thinking and the A'WOT hybrid method in tourism management. Tourism Management, 25(4), 499–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261- 5177(03)00120-1 Keeney (1992). Value-focused Thinking. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Keeney, R. L. (1994). Creativity in decision making with value-focused thinking. Sloan Management Review, 35, 33–33. Keeney, R. L. (1996). Value-focused thinking: Identifying decision opportunities and creating alternatives. European Journal of Operational Research, 92(3), 537–549.

Assessment of the Needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs JITIM Volume 29, Number 1 Mushi ©International Information Management Association, Inc. 2020 97 ISSN: 1941-6679-On-line Copy Keeney, R. L., & McDaniels, T. L. (2001). A framework to guide thinking and analysis regarding climate change policies. Risk Analysis, 21(6), 989–1000. Leon, O. G. (1999). Value-focused thinking versus alternative-focused thinking: Effects on the generation of objectives. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 80(3), 213–227. Morais, D. C., Alencar, L. H., Costa, A. P. C. S., & Keeney, R. L. (2013). Using value-focused thinking in Brazil. Pesquisa Operacional, 33(1), 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-74382013000100005 Nah, F. F.-H., Siau, K., & Sheng, H. (2005). the value of Mobile Applications: A Utility Company Study. COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM, 48(2), 85. Pfeifer, C. (2005). Flexibility, dual labour markets, and temporary employment. Empirical evidence from German establishment data. Management Revue, 404–422. Raybould, J., & Sheedy, V. (2005). Are graduates equipped with the right skills in the employability stakes? Industrial and Commercial Training, 37(5), 259– 263. Reynolds, & Gutman. (1988). laddering theory, method, analysis, and interpretation. Retrieved 11 March 2016, from https://www.google.ie/webhp?sourceid=chromeinstant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF8#q=Reynolds+%26+Gutman%2C+1988 Schware, R. (2009). Give for-profit rural business centres a chance to diversify into service-led employment and village BPOs. Journal of Information Technology and International Development: Special Issue on ICT and Employability, 5(2). Retrieved from http://share4dev.info/telecentreskb/documents/4621.pdf Sheng, H., Nah, F. F.-H., & Siau, K. (2005). Strategic implications of mobile technology: A case study using value-focused thinking. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 14(3), 269–290. Sheng, H., Siau, K., & Nah, F. F.-H. (2010). Understanding the values of mobile technology in education: a value-focused thinking approach. ACM SIGMIS Database, 41(2), 25–44.

http://rwe.sciedupress.com Research in World Economy Vol. 12, No. 1, Special Issue; 2021 Published by Sciedu Press 138 ISSN 1923-3981 E-ISSN 1923-399X Employability Distress: Factors Affecting ICT Graduates’ Employability and Work Integration in the Workspace Kenneth Nwanua Ohei1 & Roelien Brink1 1 Department of Applied Information Systems, School of Consumer Intelligence & Information Systems, University of Johannesburg, Bunting Campus, South Africa Correspondence: Kenneth Nwanua Ohei, Department of Applied Information Systems, School of Consumer Intelligence & Information Systems, University of Johannesburg, Bunting Campus, South Africa. Received: May 22, 2020 Accepted: July 13, 2020 Online Published: January 6, 2021 doi:10.5430/rwe.v12n1p138 URL: https://doi.org/10.5430/rwe.v12n1p138 Abstract There has been an ongoing debate on the subject of graduate unemployability in South Africa and the extent to which it has affected academic graduates. The growing consensus regarding intensifying levels of graduate employability distress today is explicitly supported theoretically in a number of research studies. This is despite the considerable efforts that have historically been made concerning the graduate labour force and their probable ramifications in the context of South Africa’s far-reaching labour market issues. A number of scholars both in the past and the present have identified several issues emerging from the heterogeneity of the quality of education, graduates’ capabilities and skills competencies, higher education institutions’ involvement in the industries and employers’ requirements for employment. This study aimed to explore the views that graduates conceive about employability and stress, reason for their unemployment and identify the factor that causes them to be unemployed and decisively suggest way to address these challenges. A quantitative approach and a questionnaire were used. A total of 195 questionnaires from graduates/students in the College of Business and Economics were recovered and usable. The findings reveal a paradox in the increased level of ICT graduate unemployment and skills mismatch and shortages. This has been attributed mostly to organisational changes which may have given rise to misalignment between the skills that graduates currently have and those that employers seek from graduates. Findings suggest that the kind of education obtained, graduates’ incapability to apply the skills received and work experience are factors hindering employability. Keywords: graduates, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), employability skills, Higher Education Institution (HEI), skills mismatch, skills shortage and unemployment 1. Introduction Graduate unemployment is often characterised as an economic crisis which poses complications for human self-worth (Van Broekhuizen, 2016; Cloete, 2015). Mokwena and Morojele (2014) are of the opinion that graduates’ unemployability challenges are interrelated with other problems facing society. Cloete (2015) further states that the issue of employability remains the biggest theft of hope among graduates and young people in South Africa. This is in line with Du Plessis and Smith (2007), who affirm that graduate employability has decreased due to the increase in demand for highly skilled labour, which in turn suggests a decline in the demand for unskilled labour with the initiative to expand global competitive advantage. According to Tripathy (2018), organizations are constantly and speedily expanding their business operations to different dimension. Gone are those eras when only graduates’ ability and capabilities that were reckoned. Recently, organizations have discovered that the significant aspect of realising added and accomplishing success in the workspace is when graduates of various skills are teamed-up to work as collectives. This capability to function as collective in a team is regarded amongst the fundamental skill that a graduated ought to bring to the workspace. Thus, business organizations keening to employ graduates who can not only deliver their individual thoughts but again, who will be able to generate and mature projects and strategies jointly with capable graduates (Tripathy, 2018). In South Africa, there is a dispute about whether graduate employability is a significant and growing problem (Rogan & Reynolds, 2016; Mncayi & Dunga, 2016; Kraak, 2010; Pauw, Oosthuizen & Van der Westhuizen, 2008). The overall view remainsthat, in spite of a skills gap in the labour market, there is apparently a mismatch between the skills expected by employers/industries and the training offered by universities to information and communication

http://rwe.sciedupress.com Research in World Economy Vol. 12, No. 1, Special Issue; 2021 Published by Sciedu Press 139 ISSN 1923-3981 E-ISSN 1923-399X technology (ICT) graduates. Notably, Rogan and Reynolds (2016) believe that the problem of graduate unemployment in South Africa has been over-exaggerated despite the many unresolved questions arising from the heterogeneity of the quality of education received, graduates’ capabilities and skills competencies, the engagement of higher education institutions (HEIs) with industry and employers’ criteria imposed on graduates for employment. The focal point of this paper is ICT graduates as they are the biggest cohort of new job seekers and possibly the most vulnerable group likely to be exposed to the struggle of employability in the industry (Ohei & Brink, 2019). Lee, Pitesa, Pillutla and Thau (2018), Saad and Majid (2014) argue that it appears that graduates with degrees in the hard sciences such as chemistry or even in, for instance, engineering, applied information systems (AIS), information technology management (ITM), ICT and computer science (CS) have the likelihood of obtaining employment based on physical attractiveness. Those graduates in the humanities or social sciences are more likely to encounter unemployment challenges or experience longer job searches (Mncayi & Dunga, 2016; Spaull, 2013). This is not to say that the humanities do not hold a place in the labour market, but the accessibility of jobs outweighs the annual number of university graduates. Mncayi (2016) adds that not all graduates will enjoy better job openings mostly because of varied circumstances and job mismatches in the labour market. In summary, graduates from the different disciplines, both skilled and unskilled, are not exempt from unemployment challenges in South Africa (Cloete, 2015). This paper probed the employability distress that graduates of ICT are encountering when seeking for employment in the labour market and coupled with challenging factors that limits their chances of employability. The rationale for this investigation, is for the fact that most ICT graduates are unable to secure employment when through with their respective qualification. As bad as it may seem, those who secured jobs, are perhaps not employed in their desired line of career profession. The investigation becomes relevant given the context of the occurrences surrounding the increasing rate of unemployment crisis in South African. Conceivably, graduate unemployment is one of the main prevalent problem facing South Africa today. The magnitude of this joblessness within the countries’ economy can be well understood from the fact that the scale of unemployment rate is gradually increasing year after year and now the issue with COVID-19. Given the unprecedented outbreak that has gripped the country’ economy, the issue of graduate unemployment will continue to rise globally, due to the problematic nature and impact of the COVID-19. Therefore, graduates’ employability distress is not only problematic, however, it poses severe economic burden, wasteful scarce human capital, and societal consequences wherefore a graduate of a country is disengaged in the service of the country. 1.1 Research Questions The following are the emerging research questions. 1) What are the views of ICT graduates concerning unemployment and employability stress? 2) Why do most ICT graduates struggle to secure employment? 3) What are the factors that affect ICT graduates’ employability? 4) How can these issues of ICT graduate employability be addressed? 2. Literature Context The need to prevent the undesirable effects of graduate unemployment has made unemployment issues to feature prominently in the development plans of many emerging countries (Hamilton, Carbone, Gonsalvez & Jollands, 2015). The ability of ICT graduates to mature and become accustomed to repackaging their capabilities is a fundamental aspect in employability (Ohei & Brink, 2019). Academic literature was reviewed to offer meaningful insight and understanding of employable skills required in the workspace. This uncovered the factors contributing to ICT graduate unemployment and challenges confronted with when seeking employment workspace. This section starts with a brief discussion HEI context and followed the nature of graduate unemployment rate in the country. HEIs are considered a crucial asset supporting, promoting and enabling graduates/students to mature their employability skills and preparing them for desirable skilled occupation (Abel & Deitz, 2016). Traditionally, those who have invested in pursuing a career qualification ought to benefit substantially from economic aspects and continue to benefit from them over their lifetime. Moreover, with the advent of the pronounced recession and the inactive labour market that has resulted, there have been reports of university graduates struggling to secure jobs in their chosen profession (Ohei & Brink, 2019). Those who are able to secure employment are often limited to low-wage positions. This poses disturbing questions about whether a university qualification degree still offers avenues for graduates to find well-paying jobs (Ohei, Brink, Abiodun, 2019; Abel & Deitz, 2016). Research evidenced (Ohei et al., 2019, Ohei & Brink, 2019; Van Broekhuizen, 2016) has progressively highlighted

http://rwe.sciedupress.com Research in World Economy Vol. 12, No. 1, Special Issue; 2021 Published by Sciedu Press 140 ISSN 1923-3981 E-ISSN 1923-399X that the relative labour market interests of HEIs in South Africa may largely be deteriorating. The decrease in graduate labour market productivity in South Africa is time and again attributed to a combination of the HEIs’ lack of responsiveness to structural changesin the domestic economy since 1994. In an analysis of the South African discourse on joblessness among people with the highest level of educational qualifications, Kraak (2010) contendsthat this skills mismatch has intensified South Africa’s prevailing skills shortage and adversely affected graduate employability and subsequent labour market prospects of graduate individuals to a larger extent (Saad & Majid, 2014). 2.1 The Nature of the Graduate Unemployment Rate in SA Unemployment is a situation in which a graduate or an individual is optimistic, willing and has a positive attitude to work but cannot find a job (Ohei & Brink, 2019; Baldry, 2016), yet such an individual may have gone to university or perhaps obtained relevant training to enable that individual become employable. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey of Statistics SA is often regarded as a household-based survey. Stats SA (2018) revealed that as at 2013, unemployment was at 25.5%. Thereafter, the general unemployment rate increased by 1.2%, bringing the rate to 26.7% in the first quarter of 2017, which was about 6.2 million people who were unemployed (Taljaard & Van der Walt, 2018). The South African working-age population increased by 153 000 or 0.4% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. The unemployment rate at 26.7% persisted in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 (Stats SA, 2018), and the cause for concern isthat currently the unemployment rate in SA is 29% (Stats SA, 2019). While high unemployment among graduates has gained significant attention from decision makers and society as well, there are rising concerns that new graduates are finding themselves underemployed. Unemployable graduates have resulted in university graduates becoming underemployed, i.e. working in jobs that do not require a university qualification, for example as bartenders or retail clerks. In this instance, a university graduate is described as a student with at least a bachelor’s degree, approximately between 22 and 27 years of age (Abel & Deitz, 2016). The recent joblessness and unemployability of graduates signify a bizarre and huge waste of resources and an increasing level of anguish among graduates. This hasled to rising social segregation, intensifying disparity among and within nations and a host of societal problems (Livingstone, 2018). This is consequently both ethically intolerable and economically irrational. Brink (2014) maintains that HEIs are under an immense burden to enhance their graduates for industry. This can be achieved by incorporating the component of work integration learning/work-integrated learning (WIL) to adhere to criteria set out by employers. Research evidence suggests that students would benefit massively as a result of WIL in their academic studies, as this will increase their learning abilities, improve problem-solving skills and serve as motivation for learning. 2.2 Work Integration Learning (WIL) In this paper, the terms “work integration learning” or “work-integrated learning” are used interchangeably. WIL is broadly referred to as an instrument used to prepare young graduates with the relevant and desired employability abilities both in hard and soft skills, allowing the graduates to function proficiently in the work environment. The essence of WIL is nothing but improving skills development. It entails the process of what, how and from whom students acquire essential skills during work placement (Jackson, 2015). Brink (2014) and Ohei and Brink (2019) explains that WIL is a programme that is precisely directed at students where learning in the classroom alternates with learning in the labour force and that allows room for the competencies, proficiencies and capabilities ofstudents to be built, nurtured and developed by educators (Brink, 2014). WIL proposes better opportunities for studentsto absorb extensive knowledge and be sure ofsupport from different role players at the university and in industry. The processes of WIL work hand-in-hand with information management (IM) theory, where each individual involved has a dynamic and fundamental role to play effectually and appropriately in the exact situation. Brauns (2013) emphasises that graduates lack the central skills and knowledge needed in the workforce, and industry is seeking graduates who possess all the relevant skills to do the job required, as well as the ability to combine those skills proficiently in the workplace. Cooper, Orrell and Bowden (2010) maintain that the distribution of knowledge, experience, concepts and contents form the basis for an ideal WIL process. This process is explained in the WIL procedural model of Brink (2014).

http://rwe.sciedupress.com Research in World Economy Vol. 12, No. 1, Special Issue; 2021 Published by Sciedu Press 141 ISSN 1923-3981 E-ISSN 1923-399X Abstract conceptualization Student Active, collaborative, reflective; critical thinking, and collective learning Application Teaching method Practical Practical Experience Experience Pedagogical environment Educator Reflective Application Subject matter Abstract conceptualization Figure 1. Procedural approach to WIL (Brink, 2014) 2.3 Graduates’ Perceptions of Employment, Unemployment and Their Effects South African graduates in society refer to or rather perceive employment as the most crucial aspect of human existence. Questions such as: what you would like to become one day or what kind of work would you like to be employed in, indicate that at some point in life, graduate employability is essential to social status and lifestyle (Cloete, 2015 & Saad & Majid, 2014). According to some theorists, an individual’s worth is classified or categorised through their earning from being employed (Cloete, 2015; Claassens, 2011). Employment serves countless collective and interpersonal purposes and allows individuals the prospect of satisfying their psychological desires. These theorists maintain that employment offers social security, restoration of dignity, recognition and much more. A job can produce a sense of value and worth and form a person’s personality and self-esteem. So many South African graduates really want to work as it would offer greater opportunities. However, not many graduates are employable. The issue of unemployment has prevented most graduates from entering the South African labour force. Unemployment in South Africa is perceived by graduates as placing their psychological or mental well-being in jeopardy. Most unemployed individuals show a continuous decrease in satisfaction with life, mental health and self-assurance, and signs ofsadness and depression. Most of these individuals have been unemployed for a long period. In addition, unemployment issometimes the root cause ofsocial problems such as crime (Ohei & Brink, 2019 & Cloete, 2015). This highlights the negative psychological implications of a graduate who has remained unemployed, which include nervousness, low self-esteem, cynicism, despair, increased alcoholism, laziness, suicide and other stress-induced illnesses such as pains, stomach ulcers, heart diseases and many more (Cloete, 2015). 2.4 Graduates’ Employability Skills Needed in the Industries Lowden, Hall, Elliot and Lewin (2011) and Ohei and Brink (2019) define employability as a set of qualities, skills, knowledge and experience that a person who wishes to participate in the labour market should possess to guarantee that the person has the competence to be productive in the workplace. This will benefit not only them, but also their employer and the broader economy. Ohei et al. (2019) define employability as a set of talents, experiences, thoughtfulness and personal characteristics that distinguish an individual, or make that individual more likely to choose and secure jobs in which they can be fulfilled and successful (Ohei & Brink, 2019). For companies, finding the right candidate or graduate to take up employment simply implies recognising a specific person who has the right skills and quality traits and is capable of fulfilling the duties and ultimately adding value to the organisation’s growth (Ohei et al., 2019; Ohei & Brink, 2019; Rosenberg, Heimler & Morote, 2012). Graduates may have the desired educational qualifications and hard skills to be capable of fulfilling the job description, but without a combination of soft skills as well as other related quality traits, employers are more likely to be less motivated to

http://rwe.sciedupress.com Research in World Economy Vol. 12, No. 1, Special Issue; 2021 Published by Sciedu Press 142 ISSN 1923-3981 E-ISSN 1923-399X employ them. The notion that graduates are expected to absorb and possess certain general qualities and possible academic traits absorbed through their educational learning process and experiences has been widely debated (Ohei & Brink, 2019). While a graduate’s education through teaching, learning and experience is pivotal in making them more eligible to apply for a job, to be part of the labour market, graduates may be required to have a combination ofskills, referred to as employability skills. Thus, in order for graduatesto gain access to the labour market, they should acquire certain employability skills such as self-confidence and independence, as well as professional skills. Ohei et al. (2019), Ohei and brink (2019) and Saad and Majid (2014) suggest that graduates need to be well prepared and are expected to have certain generic or self-attributed qualities. Further points out a misalignment between theory and application through practical work in almost all programmes at universities. University courses have been based primarily on theory and have overlooked the technical to prepare their students for the workplace. Several studies, such as those by Ohei et al. (2019), Ohei and Brink (2019), McKenzie, Coldwell-Neilson and Palmer (2017), Mncayi (2016) and Griesel and Parker (2009), contend that there might be a misalignment between unrealistic requirements of companies and what graduates actually bring to the workspace. Meanwhile, graduates often have high expectations that their first employment will be a highly paid and desirable position in line with their profession, only to discover that many entry-level jobs do not even come close to what they have anticipated or expected (Ohei & Brink, 2019). 2.4.1 Intellectual Ability and Competence Among the skills that a graduate is required to have are sound intellectual capability and experience to meet the workplace demands and fulfil opportunities. This includes the ability to define assumptions, build a reasonable argument, engage in simple enquiry, apply research skills, be interested and have a desire to improve (McKenzie et al., 2017; Saad & Majid, 2014; Griesel & Parker, 2009). Regrettably, it is apparent that many graduates do not possess these skills. There is a gap between employers’ unrealistic criteria and expectations and the quality of graduates’ traits. This leads to the argument concerning the disparity between the kind of education received from universities and the employers’ criteria or standards for employability. Workplace skills are also regarded as fundamental, since graduates must move away from the state of being theoretically inclined to the practical aspects of employment. This type of skill allows the transition from theory based to practicality, giving graduates the ability to cultivate a widespread approach to problem-solving, the capability to plan, initiate and execute tasks self-sufficiently and many more. Griesel and Parker (2009) and Saad and Majid (2014) emphasise that the requirements of employers are not fully adhered to, which justifies the reasons for graduates not being employable or unable to secure employment. 2.4.2 Hard and Soft Skills In terms of hard and soft skills, these are transferable skills or central competencies (Bridgstock, 2009). Ohei and Brink (2019), for instance, soft skills entail reliability, intellectual ability, collaboration and teamwork skills, logic and problem-solving skills, generic communication skills and an appreciation for the workplace so that the graduate can function proficiently. Other related quality traits and basic skills are computer knowledge, verbal demonstration skills, practical capability, expertise in the academic field of study and the ability to find and access information (Ohei et al., 2019 & Brink, 2019), which are important aspects of a graduate’s basic skills and understanding (Pramudia, Ardiwinata, Sudiapermana & Hilmi, 2019; Griesel & Parker, 2009). 2.5 Factors Contributing to Employability Distress Mismatches can be classified into two groups: skills mismatches and qualification mismatches. Ohei & Brink (2019) reveals that a skills mismatch occurs when the higher education system is ineffective in producing the quality of graduates who have the skills needed in the country and supported by (Graham, Williams & Chisoro, 2019). A skill mismatch also occurs when an employee has a higher or lower skill level than expected to function adequately in their job (Farooq, 2011). A qualification mismatch arises when the qualifications that a graduate has are either higher or lower than those expected by employers. A career pathway is also an attribute that needs to be considered in the context of skills mismatches. It is repeatedly supposed that a career pathway in the areas of engineering, CS, ICT, AIS and ITM meansthat graduates definitely have the employability skills required by employers. This suggests that a qualification obtained in any of these career paths or any other ICT-related field influences graduates’ opportunities of securing a desirable job that is best in line with their profession (Ohei & Brink, 2019). This is why the quality of a graduate is often reliant on the level of education that the HEI has to offer (Rogan & Reynolds, 2016).