Digital Skills in Malaysian Entry-Level Job Advertisements: Implications for Graduate Employability

This study investigates the mention for digital skills in Malaysian entry-level job advertisements to understand the digital competencies expected from fresh graduates in the era of Industry 4.0. The study analysed 8,287 entry-level job postings extracted from the 2024 JobStreet Malaysia dataset sourced from Kaggle. Python-based text processing and rule-based keyword matching techniques were employed to identify and classify digital skills into nine thematic categories, including productivity tools, data analytics, programming, cloud/infrastructure, cybersecurity, automation/AI, digital marketing, finance/ERP/CRM, as well as specialised tools. The findings reveal that Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office remain the most frequently mentioned digital skills. At the same time, specialised competencies such as Git, SQL, SAP, AWS, AutoCAD, and programming languages were also identified in the advertisements. The study also found that multiple digital skills were frequently mentioned together within individual advertisements. Variations in digital skill themes were also observed across job roles, particularly among administrative, finance, and engineering-related positions. These findings suggest that foundational digital literacy is still important in the contemporary workplace. However, there are growing expectations for job-specific digital expertise. The findings indicate that entry-level job advertisements may specify both foundational and specialised digital competencies. The findings provide evidence of digital-skill patterns communicated through entry-level job advertisements and highlight the need for higher education institutions to strengthen the alignment of curricula with labour market demands by embedding digital skills in curricula and offering relevant training to improve graduate employability.

Digital Skills; Graduate Employability; Entry-Level Employment; Job Advertisements; Higher Education; Malaysia

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