Influence of Competitiveness Factor towards Graduate Competency Level
Intensity to produce a quality human capital is not sufficient by having basic skills for certain field only. The need to have a competitive attitude to enhance their level of competency is much concern for many employers nowadays. Hence, this study is conducted to identify the competitiveness factors that influence the level of competency among graduates, especially who employed in the service sector in Malaysia. This study used survey methods by distributing questionnaires for data collection. The study used stratified purposive sampling by distributing a questionnaire to 450 graduates from 13 services sectors based on a statistic from the Ministry of Higher Education 2016. The finding from the exploratory factor analysis found that seven competitiveness factors were consisting of 47 items that form the competitiveness attitude among graduates. However, based on multiple linear regression analysis, only five models of competitiveness factors have a significant relationship with graduates’ competency which are job competitiveness, organizational management competitiveness, dominant competitiveness, goal competitiveness and self-improvement competitiveness. In fact, aggressive competitiveness and general competitiveness does not influence graduates’ competency level significantly. Thus, the more competitive attitude of graduates such as emotional control, innovation, and competitiveness to be the best is vital for their future marketability. In addition, it is hoped that their level of competence can be enhanced through the development of competitive factors for the advancement of the country's higher education talent.