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Article

Analyzing Managerial Skills for Employability in Graduate Students in Economics, Administration and Accounting Sciences

by
Patricia Andino-González
1,
Alejandro Vega-Muñoz
2,3,* and
Guido Salazar-Sepúlveda
4,5,*
1
Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Administrativas y Contables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa 11101, Honduras
2
Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Central de Chile, Santiago 8330507, Chile
3
Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales, Universidad Arturo Prat, Iquique 1110939, Chile
4
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción 4090541, Chile
5
Facultad de Ingeniería y Negocios, Universidad de Las Américas, Concepción 4090940, Chile
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2024, 16(16), 6725; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166725
Submission received: 9 July 2024 / Revised: 31 July 2024 / Accepted: 5 August 2024 / Published: 6 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Collection Knowledge Management and Business Education)
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Abstract

:
The study analyzes how graduate students in economics, administration and accounting perceive their managerial skills for employability, with the aim of determining its associated variables to improve the educational processes of future managerial leaders. It focuses on the importance of developing transferable skills that meet current and future job demands. To measure the perception of skills, a structured and duly validated questionnaire (Employability Skills 2000+) was used, answered by 225 graduate students in Economics, Administrative and Accounting Sciences in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The data obtained from the application were analyzed using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) method with the FACTOR software. The CFA generated an adaptation of the original scale with 21 variables. The resulting scale determined three predominant factors: personal management skills, fundamental skills and teamwork skills, which presented good consistency and validity, allowing us to make conclusions regarding employability skills in the context studied. The findings show the existence of a correlation between fundamental skills and variables such as work experience, employment status and gender, as well as a high correlation between teamwork skills, work experience and employability conditions.

1. Introduction

Assessing management skills facilitates planning strategies and programs to develop employability management competencies, benefiting professionals, universities and companies. This is essential in preparing students for citizenship, the world of work, and their academic and personal success [1]. Therefore, it is necessary to implement an accurate assessment tool to measure managerial skills in potential leaders, benefiting the academic and business environment, and fostering the development of managerial competencies for sustainable socioeconomic progress [2]. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the perceptions of employability and determine its related variables in the case of graduate students in economics, administrative and accounting sciences at the main University of Honduras to improve the educational processes of the future managers of this country.

1.1. Employability Skills

Employability skills are key attributes that employers value when hiring and developing managers. These competencies, essential for organizational success, are adaptable, transferable and can be acquired and enhanced [3]. Learned skills are divided into cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Cognitive skills include specific knowledge and critical thinking skills, while non-cognitive skills encompass the ability to relate, manage emotions and make autonomous decisions [4]. Both are essential for personal and social development, which can also be developed and improved [5].
Employability skills, known as soft, fundamental or essential skills, help talented individuals to adapt and be resilient in changing environments, especially in managerial roles [3,6]. They are further classified into hard skills, related to acquired knowledge, and soft skills, which are linked to personality characteristics and are more difficult to develop [7].
The Conference Board of Canada’s Employability Skills Forum and the Business and Education Forum on Science, Technology and Mathematics created the Profile of Employability Skills (PES) to identify the competencies that organizations seek in new employees and develop in current employees [1]. This profile includes three main categories: foundational, personal management and collaborative skills, each with their respective sub-dimensions [8,9,10] (See Table 1).
Soft skills include transversal competencies that enhance employability in a dynamic and uncertain market, helping people to adapt and effectively face professional and daily challenges [11,12].

1.2. Current Labor Market

The current work environments, based on knowledge and technology, require a change in hiring processes, prioritizing the evaluation of personal capabilities in addition to technical skills [13,14]. The labor market seeks to integrate hard and soft skills to ensure adaptability, competence and stability in an increasingly fast-paced and digital environment [15,16].
Labor productivity and business success can be improved through human capital with employability skills [17]. The demand for employees in the labor market will depend on the acquisition of these skills during their training and professional experience [18].
Among the trends in the labor market, the changes brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution should be considered, which implies technological changes, transformation of occupations and job profiles, and changes in the forms of employment [19] and organizational culture; therefore, a suitable environment should be created for managers and employees to adhere to these changes at the organizational level [20].

1.3. Employability

Research on employability and its relationship with skills, higher education and professional development has grown exponentially [21,22,23,24]. This theme is directly linked to Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 8, which address quality education and decent work, respectively [25,26].
Employability can be understood from two perspectives: as the variables that determine a person’s employment situation and as the set of individual skills that make it possible to obtain and maintain employment [21,27,28]. These skills facilitate the satisfaction of professional and personal needs [29,30]. Employability is also closely related to the economic conditions of the environment [10]. In this context, three main actors are identified: employers, employees (human talent) and trainers, which are fundamental to the concept of employability [31,32].

1.4. Education

According to Idkhan et al. [33], higher education is crucial for developing employability knowledge and skills, balancing soft and hard skills that meet the demands of employers and facilitating the employability of graduates. Thus, due to the changes in the labor market and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, higher education must focus on equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to maximize their development and employability [34]. These changes towards a knowledge economy demand new skills among employees and innovation in the work environment and work methods [35].
Therefore, universities seek to improve the employability of their graduates by focusing on transferable skills beyond specific disciplines [36]. However, the lack of professional experience and the mismatch between education and job requirements lead many graduates to face unemployment, underemployment or job instability [12,37]. Consequently, to strengthen human capital, continuous learning is necessary; for this reason, education systems must focus on new knowledge and skills beyond current needs and thus be able to prepare for the technologies brought by Industry 4.0, which in the long term, will lead to an increase in the level of education and the quality of the human talent required [38].
Although there is a significant discrepancy between existing skills and those needed for Industry 4.0 [39,40], the higher education system must adapt by integrating skills such as analytical thinking, decision making, organizational skills, social intelligence, logical reasoning and technical expertise, all crucial for advanced industry [41]. According to Sunardi et al. [1], the main global challenge of higher education is to train professionals with a balance of academic, technical and employability skills.
Consequently, correlational hypotheses to theoretically and statistically evaluate aspects of this problem are proposed [42,43,44]:
H0. 
Latent variables (factors, Fi) are independent, or there is no association with demographic variables (dvj).
Ha. 
Latent variables (factors, Fi) are not independent, or there is an association with demographic variables (dvj).
Accordingly, by extension, the alternative research hypotheses are as follows:
H1.1. 
Perceived personal management skills (F1) are not independent, or there is an association with the gender (dv1).
H1.2. 
Perceived personal management skills (F1) are not independent, or there is an association with the work experience (dv2).
H1.3. 
Perceived personal management skills (F1) are not independent, or there is an association with the employment status (dv3).
H2.1. 
Perceived fundamental skills (F2) are not independent, or there is an association with the gender (dv1).
H2.2. 
Perceived fundamental skills (F2) are not independent, or there is an association with the work experience (dv2).
H2.3. 
Perceived fundamental skills (F2) are not independent, or there is an association with employment status (dv3).
H3.1. 
Perceived teamwork skills (F3) are not independent, or there is an association with the gender (dv1).
H3.2. 
Perceived teamwork skills (F3) are not independent, or there is an association with the work experience (dv2).
H3.3. 
Perceived teamwork skills (F3) are not independent, or there is an association with employment status (dv3).
HT.1. 
Perceived employability skills (FT) are not independent, or there is an association with the gender (dv1).
HT.2. 
Perceived employability skills (FT) are not independent, or there is an association with the work experience (dv2).
HT.3. 
Perceived employability skills (FT) are not independent, or there is an association with employment status (dv3).

2. Materials and Methods

This study identified a population of 245 graduate students in Economics, Administrative and Accounting Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), located in the city of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras; the data were collected through a self-administered survey with 92% response rate from the population exceeding the expected acceptable rate of 60% to 80%, which determined a sample of 225 students [45,46,47].
The Conference Board of Canada’s Employability Skills 2000+ structured questionnaire was used as a consultation instrument (Appendix A), which identifies skills with 56 items divided into fundamental skills (skills needed as a base for further development), personal management skills (personal skills, attitudes and behaviors that drive one’s potential for growth), and teamwork skills (skills and attributes needed to contribute productively), measured on a 5-level Likert scale [8,33,36,48]. In addition, there were questions on demographic variables (dvi), which in this case were gender, work experience and employment status. The prior validity of the questionnaire was considered on the basis of the study conducted by Idkhan et al. [33], whose confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) managed to support the three types of skills (fundamental skills, personal management skills and teamwork skills), reporting the following statistical indices: Chi-square/relation of degrees of freedom (χ2/df), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI), non-normed fit index (NNFI) and an acceptable goodness of fit index (GFI) fit (See Table 2).
Adjustments were made to the questionnaire with a translation from English to Spanish, semantically validating the content through expert judgment with the participation of four judges. Specialists in the subject of study evaluated the content according to categories that measure sufficiency or representativeness, clarity, coherence and relevance [52]; it was considered a criterion that 100% of the judges approved the categories for each of the indicators. To analyze the validity of the extracted data, all items whose internal correlations were greater than 0.8 were eliminated to achieve an adequate result in the measure of sampling adequacy (MSA). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed with FACTOR software version 12.01.02 [53]. To measure confidence levels, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (KMO) [54,55] was applied. In addition, Bartlett’s test of sphericity was used to identify items belonging to the three (3) factors (Fi) within the scale, and Hull’s method was used to determine the number of common factors [56], considering a dispersion matrix with polychoric correlations [57], a factor extraction by the robust unweighted least squares (RULS) method and a rotation to achieve the normalized direct Oblimin simplicity factor [58,59].
The results were weighted in the total factor (FT) by the set of eigenvalues, considering the skills of the group of students analyzed [60] (p. 44), making a comparison of each factor and the total factor according to the established demographic variables (dvi): gender, work experience and employment status.
The research produced a data set through the survey (see Table 3), which was then analyzed with cross-tabulations, given the high presence of ordinal or categorical variables. A descriptive and non-parametric statistical analysis using SPSS software version 23, the non-parametric Chi-square correlation coefficient (χ2), whose correlation is significant and statistically demonstrates an effect at a p-value at the 0.05 level (ideally 0.01), was used for the analysis [61,62].

3. Results

The elimination of highly correlated variables (items) limited the study to 21 variables out of 56 (V5, V7, V10, V13, V16, V21, V23, V25, V26, V29, V30, V32, V33, V34, V37, V38, V41, V44, V45, V46, V49), from which the FACTOR software did not identify items to be removed by MSA.
FACTOR was used to obtain a KMO of 0.949 (very good) and Bartlett’s statistic 2488.7 with 210 degrees of freedom and a significance level of 0.00001 for the three-factor Employability Skills 2000+ instrument. The authors achieved a total proportion of variance explained of 71.151%. The results of the robust goodness of fit statistics after LOSEFER correction [63] are presented in Table 4.
The Employability Skills 2000+ questionnaire [64] was adjusted according to its latent variables in three factors. Those factors were weighed by the set of eigenvalues accounting for the employability skills of the group of students analyzed (see Table 5), with a Root Mean Square of Residuals (RMSR) = 0.0509.
The factor names were assigned according to the highest concentration of items compared to the original instrument. Each of these three factors (F1: personal management skills, F2: fundamental Skills, F3: teamwork Skills) and the resulting weighted factor (FT: employability skills) were then compared with gender, work experience and employment status (see Table 6).
As can be seen, the personal management skills factor (F1) is not correlated with the demographic variables, and at the same time, its high weighting on the resulting factor (FT) of 81.53% means that employability skills is not correlated with the demographic variables either. At the level of the fundamental skills factor (F2), a high correlation is identified with work experience (dv2), and there were moderate correlations with gender (dv1) and employment status (dv3). There is also a high correlation between teamwork skills (F3), work experience (dv3) and employment status (dv3) (see Figure 1).
Figure 1a shows the gender differences, to the detriment of the female gender, in the perception of achievement of the fundamental skills. Figure 1b shows that the greater the work experience, the greater the perception of achievement of the fundamental skills; likewise, Figure 1c shows how the perception of achievement of teamwork skills is greater as work experience increases. In relation to the achievement of employability, this increases the perception of achievement of the fundamental skills (Figure 1d) and of teamwork (Figure 1e).

4. Discussion

Our study determines that there is a correlation in gender and (fundamental) skills (H2.1), which accentuates the findings of Ogbonna et al. [65] in terms of teaching through synchronous and asynchronous e-learning, where the results indicate that the gender of students has a slight influence on the acquisition of their (practical) skills. Additionally, the findings of Xu et al. [66], who studied gender differences and their influence on skills, did not find a significant impact. In addition, the analyses conducted by Parra-González et al. [67], who determined that the gender variable does not predict an association with fundamental skills (critical thinking), are confronted. Also, the findings of Irwan et al. [68] show that there is no significant difference in employability skills between men and women. In discordance to this prior knowledge, our results show that employability skills are correlated with the demographic variable of gender.
Regarding work experience and fundamental skills (H2.2), our results determine that they have a high correlation, which coincides with the findings of Idkhan et al. [33] and Qostal et al. [69]. In this order of ideas, the results of Parra-González et al. [67] determine that work experience influences the development of these fundamental critical thinking skills. Additionally, the research of Shiraly et al. [70] and Dyki et al. [71], which indicate that work experience influences communication skills, also point out the importance of these fundamental skills having to be developed through academic training. Concerning fundamental skills being related to decision making and creative thinking, López-Arias and Rodríguez-Esteban [72] find a positive correlation with work experience, unlike our study that does not find a correlation with personal management skills (F1); their results reach statistical significance with social skills, which include the demonstration of positive attitudes and behaviors, as well as adaptability skills. The study by Soares and Mosquera shows similar results [73].
In reference to work experience and teamwork skills (H3.2), on the contrary, the findings of Macanović et al. [74] show that professionals in caring professions with less work experience have higher levels of psychosocial work competence (communication skills, mediation skills, teamwork skills and empathy). Our work confirms the findings of Basir et al. [75], which show that the work experience of students in internships and entrepreneurship courses improves employability, indicating that the more work experience, the more teamwork skills graduate students have.
Also, this research has determined a moderate correlation between employment status and fundamental skills (H2.3), as well as a high correlation with teamwork skills (H3.3), which also occurred in the analysis conducted by Idkhan et al. [33] and Qostal et al. [69], where they show that having skills such as fundamental and teamwork skills have a positive and significant effect on the employability index. But, unlike our study, they show that there is significance in the relationship between employability and personal management skills.
Additionally, regarding the high correlation between employability status and teamwork skills (H3.3) evidenced by our results, our findings coincide with the study by Abdullah et al. [76], whose findings indicate that the development of teamwork skills is among the most desired by employers and help to achieve better employment conditions. Similarly, the results of Soares and Mosquera [73], who consider international exchange experience as a strategy for the development of interpersonal and teamwork skills and the generation of better employability prospects, agree. Our results are also supported by Dyki et al. [71], who indicate that the development of teamwork skills complements disciplinary knowledge and skills to improve their chances of achieving employability conditions. The same occurs with González-Cespón et al. [77], whose study evidences the development of transferable skills, which are directly related to employability; therefore, both investigations are consistent with the results of our study regarding the relationship between fundamental and teamwork skills and employability.
Finally, there is agreement with the studies of Basir et al. [75], Abrantes et al. [78] and Mainga et al. [3], which show the incidence of the development of fundamental skills, personal management and teamwork, as well as their importance in preparing graduates for the labor market, which increases their employability or ability to be self-employed. In addition, it should be noted that research by Mainga et al. [3] reveals that employability is partially affected by labor market demand and external factors that are not related to the knowledge, skills, abilities and attributes of professionals.

5. Conclusions

This article provides a proposal of the construct of managerial skills suitable for employability that corresponds to a practical interest for human talents who assume a managerial role using a properly validated scale that has measured the perception of managerial skills through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Additionally, this study employs the Employability Skills 2000+ research model, which provides a broad focus on management skills, leadership, decision making, problem solving, adaptability, communication and teamwork.
The CFA eliminated 35 items from the original scale, which did not capture enough variability, which generated changes by rearranging the other 21 items into three factors, with good internal consistency and having as a central axis the management skills for employability among them: Personal Management Skills, Fundamental Skills and Teamwork Skills.
Regarding the hypothesis proposed, the findings show the existence of a high correlation between the fundamental skills and the work experience variable (H2.2), as well as a moderate correlation with gender (H2.1) and the employment status (H2.3) variables. Therefore, the hypotheses set 2 (H2.1, H2.2 and H2.3) is fully satisfied. On the other hand, there is a high correlation between teamwork skills and work experience (H3.2) and employability conditions (H3.3). However, no significant relationship was found between personal management skills and demographic variables (H1.1, H1.2, H1.3).
As for the limitations of this study, only graduate students from the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) are considered and not from the entire university system, although all universities in this country are monitored by the UNAH. Another limitation is due to the local scope of the study, which is limited to a specific country.
Finally, this research has important implications for organizations and educational institutions and raises new lines of research for other researchers, since the general scale of this study can be applied to new studies with different social and organizational contexts as a tool for the selection and evaluation of human talent in the public and private sector, as well as for the identification of the training needs or training processes at the managerial level, including the analysis of the curriculum and the most appropriate educational methods for the development of employability skills, and to balance the differences resulting from gender and work experience that this study has identified.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/su16166725/s1, Table S1: MSkillsv01.csv.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, P.A.-G. and A.V.-M.; methodology, A.V.-M.; software, A.V.-M.; validation, G.S.-S.; formal analysis, P.A.-G., G.S.-S. and A.V.-M.; data curation, A.V.-M. and G.S.-S.; writing—original draft preparation, P.A.-G., G.S.-S. and A.V.-M.; writing—review and editing, P.A.-G., G.S.-S. and A.V.-M.; visualization, G.S.-S.; supervision, A.V.-M.; project administration, P.A.-G.; funding acquisition, A.V.-M. and G.S.-S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed the receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: the Article Processing Charge (APC) was partially funded by Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (Code: APC2024). Additionally, the publication fee (APC) was partially financed through the Publication Incentive Fund, 2024, by the Universidad Arturo Prat (Code: APC2024) and Universidad de Las Americas (Code: APC2024).

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, approved by the Ethics Committee of the Doctoral Program in Business Management of POSFACE—UNAH (protocol code N. 100407, on 19 August 2022). All respondents have signed an informed consent form, and the data presented are completely anonymized.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Data are available in the Supplementary Materials.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Graduate Unit of the Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Administrativas y Contables (POSFACE), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Appendix A

The appendix contains the questionnaire applied.
Respondent Items (English)Respondent Items (Spanish)
Fundamental SkillsHabilidades Fundamentales
CommunicateComunicación
1. Read and understand information presented in a variety of forms (e.g., words, graphs, charts, diagrams)1. Leer y comprender información presentada en una variedad de formas (p. ej., palabras, gráficos, cuadros, diagramas)
2. Write and speak so others pay attention and understand2. Al escribir y hablar, logro que los demás presten atención y comprendan
3. Listen and ask questions to understand and appreciate the points of view of others3. Escucho y hago preguntas para comprender y apreciar los puntos de vista de los demás
4. Share information using a range of information and communications technologies (e.g., voice, e-mail, computers)4. Comparto información utilizando una variedad de tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones (p. ej., mensajes de voz, correo electrónico, computadoras)
5. Use relevant scientific, technological and mathematical knowledge and skills to explain or clarify ideas5. Utilizo conocimientos, destrezas, información científica, habilidades tecnológicas y matemáticas pertinentes para explicar o aclarar ideas
Manage InformationGestión de Información
6. Locate, gather and organize information using appropriate technology and information systems6. Localizo, recopilo y organizo información utilizando la tecnología adecuada y sistemas de información
7. Access, analyze and apply knowledge and skills from various disciplines (e.g., the arts, languages, science, technology, mathematics, social sciences, and the humanities)7. Accedo, analizo y aplico conocimientos y habilidades de diversas disciplinas (p. ej., las artes, los idiomas, la ciencia, la tecnología, las matemáticas, las 4 y las humanidades)
Use NumbersUso de Números
8. Decide what needs to be measured or calculated8. Al usar números, decido qué debe medirse o calcularse
9. Observe and record data using appropriate methods, tools and technology9. Observo y registro datos usando métodos, herramientas y tecnología apropiados
10. Make estimates and verify calculations10. Hago estimaciones, pronósticos y verifico los cálculos
Think & Solve ProblemsPensar y Resolver Problemas
11. Assess situations and identify problems11. Evalúo situaciones e identifico problemas
12. Seek different points of view and evaluate them based on facts12. Busco diferentes puntos de vista y evalúo con base en hechos
13. Recognize the human, interpersonal, technical, scientific and mathematical dimensions of a problem13. Reconozco las dimensiones humanas, interpersonales, técnicas, científicas y matemáticas de un problema
14. Identify the root cause of a problem14. Identifico la causa raíz de un problema
15. Be creative and innovative in exploring possible solutions15. Soy creativo e innovador al explorar posibles soluciones
16. Readily use science, technology and mathematics as ways to think, gain and share knowledge, solve problems and make decisions16. Utilizo fácilmente la ciencia, la tecnología y las matemáticas como formas de pensar, obtener y compartir conocimientos, resolver problemas y tomar decisiones
17. Evaluate solutions to make recommendations or decisions17. Evalúo soluciones para hacer recomendaciones que mejoren la toma de decisiones respecto a problemas y situaciones
18. Implement solutions18. Soy capaz de implementar soluciones
19. Check to see if a solution works, and act on opportunities for improvement19. Compruebo si una solución funciona y actúo sobre las oportunidades de mejora
Personal Management SkillsHabilidades de Gestión Personal
Demonstrate Positive Attitudes & BehaviorsDemuestra Actitud y Comportamientos Positivos
20. Feel good about yourself and be confident20. Me siento bien conmigo mismo y tengo confianza
21. Deal with people, problems and situations with honesty, integrity and personal ethics21. Soy capaz de tratar con personas, problemas y situaciones con honestidad, integridad y ética personal
22. Recognize your own and other people’s good efforts22. Reconozco los buenos esfuerzos propios y de otras personas
23. Take care of your personal health23. Cuido la salud personal
24. Show interest, initiative and effort24. Muestro interés, iniciativa y esfuerzo por el trabajo y los resultados
Be ResponsibleResponsabilidad
25. Set goals and priorities balancing work and personal life25. Puedo establecer metas y prioridades equilibrando el trabajo y la vida personal
26. Plan and manage time, money and other resources to achieve goals26. Puedo planificar y administrar el tiempo, el dinero y otros recursos para alcanzar las metas
27. Assess, weigh and manage risk27. Puedo evaluar, sopesar y gestionar el riesgo
28. Be accountable for your actions and the actions of your group28. Puedo ser responsable de mis acciones y las acciones de mi grupo
29. Be socially responsible and contribute to your community29. Soy socialmente responsable y contribuyo a mi comunidad
Be AdaptableAdaptabilidad
30. Work independently or as a part of a team30. Soy capaz de trabajar de forma independiente y como parte de un equipo
31. Carry out multiple tasks or projects31. Puedo llevar a cabo múltiples tareas o proyectos
32. Be innovative and resourceful: identify and suggest alternative ways to achieve goals and get the job done32. Soy innovador e ingenioso: identifico y sugiero formas alternativas para alcanzar las metas y hacer el trabajo
33. Be open and respond constructively to change33. Estoy abierto y respondo constructivamente al cambio
34. Learn from your mistakes and accept feedback34. Aprendo de mis errores y acepto comentarios
35. Cope with uncertainty35. Soy capaz de afrontar condiciones de incertidumbre
Learn ContinuouslyAprendizaje Continuo
36. Be willing to continuously learn and grow36. Estoy dispuesto a aprender y crecer continuamente
37. Assess personal strengths and areas for development37. Soy capaz de evaluar las fortalezas personales y mis áreas de desarrollo
38. Set your own learning goals38. Puedo establecer mis propios objetivos de aprendizaje
39. Identify and access learning sources and opportunities39. Soy capaz de identificar y de acceder a fuentes y oportunidades de aprendizaje
40. Plan for and achieve your learning goals40. Puedo planificar y lograr mis objetivos de aprendizaje
Work SafelyTrabajar de Manera Segura
41. Be aware of personal and group health and safety practices and procedures, and act in accordance with these41. Puedo trabajar de forma segura, estoy al tanto de las prácticas, procedimientos de salud y seguridad personal, grupal, y actúo en conformidad a estos
Teamwork SkillsHabilidades de Trabajo en Equipo
Work with OthersTrabajar con otros
42. Understand and work within the dynamics of a group42. Entiendo las necesidades de los miembros del equipo y se me facilita el trabajo dentro de la dinámica de un grupo
43. Ensure that a team’s purpose and objectives are clear43. Me aseguro de que el propósito y los objetivos de mi equipo sean claros
44. Be flexible: respect, be open to and supportive of the thoughts, opinions and contributions of others in a group44. Soy flexible: soy respetuoso, abierto y también apoyo los pensamientos, opiniones y contribuciones de los demás en un grupo
45. Recognize and respect people’s diversity, individual differences and perspectives45. Reconozco y respeto la diversidad de las personas, las diferencias individuales y las perspectivas
46. Accept and provide feedback in a constructive and considerate manner46. Acepto y proporciono comentarios de manera constructiva y considerada
47. Contribute to a team by sharing information and expertise47. Puedo contribuir a un equipo compartiendo información y experiencia
48. Lead or support when appropriate, motivating a group for high performance48. Soy capaz de liderar o apoyar cuando sea apropiado, motivando a un grupo para un alto desempeño
49. Understand the role of conflict in a group to reach solutions49. Comprendo cómo gestionar el conflicto en un grupo para lograr soluciones
50. Manage and resolve conflict when appropriate50. Soy capaz de manejar y resolver conflictos cuando sea apropiado
Participate in Projects & TasksParticipar en Proyectos y Tareas
51. Plan, design or carry out a project or task from start to finish with well-defined objectives and outcomes51. Puedo planificar, diseñar o llevar a cabo un proyecto o tarea de principio a fin con objetivos y resultados bien definidos
52. Develop a plan, seek feedback, test, revise and implement52. Puedo desarrollar un plan, buscar retroalimentación, probar, revisar e implementar
53. Work to agreed quality standards and specifications53. Puedo trabajar según los estándares y especificaciones de calidad acordados
54. Select and use appropriate tools and technology for a task or project54. Soy capaz de seleccionar y utilizar las herramientas y la tecnología apropiadas para una tarea o proyecto
55. Adapt to changing requirements and information55. Puedo adaptarme a los requisitos y a información cambiante
56. Continuously monitor the success of a project or task and identify ways to improve56. Puedo monitorear continuamente el éxito de un proyecto o tarea e identificar formas de mejorar

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Sustainability 16 06725 g001
Figure 1. Relation between demographic variables and latent variables: (a) gender and fundamental skills (H2.1), (b) work experience and fundamental skills (H2.2), (c) work experience and teamwork skills (H3.2), (d) employment status and fundamental skills (H2.3) and (e) employment status and teamwork skills (H3.3).
Figure 1. Relation between demographic variables and latent variables: (a) gender and fundamental skills (H2.1), (b) work experience and fundamental skills (H2.2), (c) work experience and teamwork skills (H3.2), (d) employment status and fundamental skills (H2.3) and (e) employment status and teamwork skills (H3.3).
Sustainability 16 06725 g001
Table 1. Types of management skills for employability.
Table 1. Types of management skills for employability.
Fundamental SkillsPersonal Management SkillsTeamwork Skills
  • Communication
  • Information Management
  • Use of Numbers
  • Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Positive Attitude and Behavior
  • Responsibility
  • Adaptability
  • Continuous Learning
  • Working safely
  • Working with Others
  • Participate in Projects and Tasks
Table 2. Properties of the Employability Skills 2000+ scale.
Table 2. Properties of the Employability Skills 2000+ scale.
AuthorsCountrySampleχ2/dfRMSEAGFICFINNFI
Idkhan et al. [33]Indonesia5280.943 **0.006 **0.912 *0.974 **0.972 **
** Good fit and * acceptable fit, according to the parameters evaluated in Andino-González et al. [49], based on Schermelleh-Engel et al. [50] and Kalkan and Kelecioğlu [51].
Table 3. Characterization of sample.
Table 3. Characterization of sample.
VariableCategoryFrequency%
GenderMale12153.8
Female10446.2
Total225100
Work ExperienceLess than 1 year3716.4
Between 1 and 10 years10144.9
More than 10 years8738.7
Total225100
Employment StatusNo Employability8437.3
Employability14162.7
Total225100
Table 4. Results of proposed model.
Table 4. Results of proposed model.
ModelsCountrySampleχ2/dfRMSEAGFICFINNFI
Idkhan et al. [33]Indonesia5280.9430.0060.9120.9740.972
Proposed ModelHonduras2251.226 10.0320.9930.9860.997
1 LOSEFER empirical correction [63].
Table 5. Rotated loading matrix and explained variance based on eigenvalues.
Table 5. Rotated loading matrix and explained variance based on eigenvalues.
VariableF1F2F3
V300.661
V320.593
V330.567
V340.869
V370.798
V380.438
V5 0.854
V7 0.714
V10 0.871
V13 0.681
V16 0.533
V21 0.481
V29 0.637
V41 0.778
V23 0.466
V25 0.860
V26 0.571
V44 0.581
V45 0.687
V46 0.616
V49 0.568
Eigenvalue12.1821.5331.226
Proportion of
variance		58.01%7.30%5.84%
Fraction of 71.15%.81.53%10.26%8.21%
Table 6. Chi-square tests.
Table 6. Chi-square tests.
Demographic Variables (dvj)ParametersF1:
Personal
Management
Skills		F2:
Fundamental
Skills		F3:
Teamwork
Skills		FT:
Employability
Skills
GenderValue5.30712.1338.2245.307
Asymptotic significance
(bilateral)		0.2570.016 *0.0840.257
Work
Experience		Value5.05025.38330.7275.050
Asymptotic significance
(bilateral)		0.7520.001 **0.000 **0.752
Employment StatusValue0.90212.44018.1460.902
Asymptotic significance
(bilateral)		0.9240.014 *0.001 **0.924
** Good fit and * acceptable fit.
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Andino-González, P.; Vega-Muñoz, A.; Salazar-Sepúlveda, G. Analyzing Managerial Skills for Employability in Graduate Students in Economics, Administration and Accounting Sciences. Sustainability 2024, 16, 6725. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166725

AMA Style

Andino-González P, Vega-Muñoz A, Salazar-Sepúlveda G. Analyzing Managerial Skills for Employability in Graduate Students in Economics, Administration and Accounting Sciences. Sustainability. 2024; 16(16):6725. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166725

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andino-González, Patricia, Alejandro Vega-Muñoz, and Guido Salazar-Sepúlveda. 2024. "Analyzing Managerial Skills for Employability in Graduate Students in Economics, Administration and Accounting Sciences" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 6725. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166725

APA Style

Andino-González, P., Vega-Muñoz, A., & Salazar-Sepúlveda, G. (2024). Analyzing Managerial Skills for Employability in Graduate Students in Economics, Administration and Accounting Sciences. Sustainability, 16(16), 6725. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166725

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