International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

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Graduate Attributes, Outcomes of Volunteering and Graduate Employability: The Case of Mice Event Volunteers

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Malaysia has produced thousands of university graduates since the introduction of various institutions of higher education providers. Realizing the importance of equipping graduates with specific skills required by the industry, this study aims to examine the relationship between graduate attributes, the outcome of volunteering and graduate employability among university students who have volunteer experience in Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibition (MICE) events. MICE event has emerged as a key sector of the Malaysian Tourism industry, and this has given some impetus to the need for tertiary educated event managers and an evaluation of the educational curriculum. The relationships are measured based on skills possessed by graduates during their volunteering participation in MICE events. The data used in this study is obtained from 1Malaysia Youth Volunteers (iM4U), and 350 questionnaires were returned. The methodology used in the study was questionnaires that were uploaded online and distributed manually. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. This analysis seeks to find the relationships between graduate attributes, the outcome of volunteering and graduate employability. The findings showed that graduate characteristics significantly influenced the graduate employability and there is a significant relationship between the outcome of volunteering and employability among MICE events’ volunteers. The results contributed to practical implications to MICE event industry that the volunteer programs are essential to the event success. The study is crucial as it helps to identify the level of skills developed by graduates during the volunteering experience, the enhancement of the educational experience and graduate’s performance in the job market.
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In-Text Citation: (Wee, Mohamed, Aminudin, & Saidin, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Wee, H., Mohamed, N. A., Aminudin, N., & Saidin, N. (2018). Graduate Attributes, Outcomes of Volunteering and Graduate Employability: The Case of Mice Event Volunteers. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(15), 315–330.