Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs the survey research met...

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Main Author: Nauffal, Diane (author)
Other Authors: Skulte-Ouaiss, Jennifer (author)
Format: article
Published: 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10725/16498
https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2017-0072
http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/articles.php
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/et-05-2017-0072/full/html
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author Nauffal, Diane
author2 Skulte-Ouaiss, Jennifer
author2_role author
author_facet Nauffal, Diane
Skulte-Ouaiss, Jennifer
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Nauffal, Diane
Skulte-Ouaiss, Jennifer
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2018
2018-10-08
2025-02-03T14:13:53Z
2025-02-03T14:13:53Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 0040-0912
http://hdl.handle.net/10725/16498
https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2017-0072
Nauffal, D., & Skulte-Ouaiss, J. (2018). Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East. Education+ Training, 60(9), 1057-1069.
http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/articles.php
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/et-05-2017-0072/full/html
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Education + Training
dc.rights.*.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
description Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs the survey research method using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to understand the labour market dynamics in Lebanon and explore factors that correlate positively with gainful employment with a special focus on the graduates of an institution that emphasises the liberal arts and soft skills training. Findings The paper finds that quality higher education – particularly with a focus on soft skills and internships – boosts the potential of graduates to secure their first jobs after graduation. Research limitations/implications Reliable data on higher education, employability and youth are scarce in Lebanon and the region. The paper is based on one labour market study in Lebanon while seeking to extrapolate to Lebanese youth as a whole as well as reflect on employability and youth in the Middle East region. Practical implications The paper demonstrates support for improving quality in higher education as well as making soft skills training and the liberal arts critical components for increased employability of youth in Lebanon and the Middle East. Originality/value The paper is innovative in its reliance on primary data from a labour market survey as such data are scarce in Lebanon. In addition, advocacy for soft skills training and the liberal arts in the midst of focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other professional education at the university level is rare in the Middle East.
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
format article
id LAURepo_c4e84e039bfd1940a7bd04fb80c33060
identifier_str_mv 0040-0912
Nauffal, D., & Skulte-Ouaiss, J. (2018). Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East. Education+ Training, 60(9), 1057-1069.
language_invalid_str_mv en
network_acronym_str LAURepo
network_name_str Lebanese American University repository
oai_identifier_str oai:laur.lau.edu.lb:10725/16498
publishDate 2018
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spelling Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle EastNauffal, DianeSkulte-Ouaiss, JenniferPurpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs the survey research method using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to understand the labour market dynamics in Lebanon and explore factors that correlate positively with gainful employment with a special focus on the graduates of an institution that emphasises the liberal arts and soft skills training. Findings The paper finds that quality higher education – particularly with a focus on soft skills and internships – boosts the potential of graduates to secure their first jobs after graduation. Research limitations/implications Reliable data on higher education, employability and youth are scarce in Lebanon and the region. The paper is based on one labour market study in Lebanon while seeking to extrapolate to Lebanese youth as a whole as well as reflect on employability and youth in the Middle East region. Practical implications The paper demonstrates support for improving quality in higher education as well as making soft skills training and the liberal arts critical components for increased employability of youth in Lebanon and the Middle East. Originality/value The paper is innovative in its reliance on primary data from a labour market survey as such data are scarce in Lebanon. In addition, advocacy for soft skills training and the liberal arts in the midst of focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other professional education at the university level is rare in the Middle East.Published2025-02-03T14:13:53Z2025-02-03T14:13:53Z20182018-10-08Articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/article0040-0912http://hdl.handle.net/10725/16498https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2017-0072Nauffal, D., & Skulte-Ouaiss, J. (2018). Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East. Education+ Training, 60(9), 1057-1069.http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/articles.phphttps://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/et-05-2017-0072/full/htmlenEducation + Traininginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:laur.lau.edu.lb:10725/164982025-02-03T14:13:53Z
spellingShingle Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
Nauffal, Diane
status_str publishedVersion
title Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
title_full Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
title_fullStr Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
title_full_unstemmed Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
title_short Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
title_sort Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East
url http://hdl.handle.net/10725/16498
https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2017-0072
http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/articles.php
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/et-05-2017-0072/full/html