Hearing the Voice of the Sector and Graduates and Transferring into the Curriculum

Abstract

Purpose: The economic and social developments ofcountries are strictly dependent on the qualifiedgraduates/workforce that they have. The aim of thisstudy was to determine the quality and skill aspectsof graduates and their satisfaction level of laboursupply and demand in higher education.Research Methods: In this study, the data related tothe Foreign Trade Program were collected by thefocus group (composed of program graduates andemployers) interview technique as one of thequalitative research methods. The data obtained fromthe interviews were subjected to content analysis andfindings were obtained on the areas of quality andskill mismatch between supply and demand throughcoding and identification of themes.Findings: The findings showed that employers have expectations in the field of supply chainknowledge, Excel knowledge, mastery of management information systems, ERP knowledge,warehouse management, port operations, logistics knowledge, and basic export operations.However, employers stated that these qualifications were insufficient in graduates and manyhad to be taught by them on the job. Graduates, on the other hand, have stated that when theythink about the difficulties they have experienced in the business world, they realize theirshortcomings only when they start working.Implications for Research and Practice: According to the findings, it is consideredappropriate to carry out such research with a participant profile in other fields of highereducation, including representatives of the relevant business world, academic representativesand representatives of the central authority. The connection between the labour market andthe education system can be established in a healthy way by carrying out the work in differenthigher education programs