Challenges in the Integration of Soft Skills in Teaching Technical Courses: Lecturers’ Perspectives

• Main Authors: Hairuzila Idrus, Hazadiah Mohd. Dahan, Normah Abdullah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: UiTM Publisher 2009-12-01
• Series: Asian Journal of University Education
• Subjects: higher education; soft skills; graduate; employment
• Online Access: https://www.rmc.uitm.edu.my/images/stories/AJUE/vol5-no2/4.pdf
• ISSN: 1823-7797; 1823-7797

In order to transform Malaysia into a fully developed nation, institutions of higher education need to play a vital role in generating the necessary human capital with a first-class mentality. The Ministry of Higher Education has taken some steps to ensure that soft skills be addressed in the curriculum because they are among the essential skills needed by graduates in order to be employable in this global era. The issue of unemployment among graduates is associated with the notion that graduates have not adequately acquired employability skills and soft skills during their studies at university. In Malaysia, many employers have often complained that most Malaysian graduates lack the necessary soft skills vital for work. This has aroused concern among many parties which has led to the development of the Framework on Incorporating Soft Skills in Teaching and Learning in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions. It is one of the efforts undertaken to enhance the employability of university graduates through the inculcation of soft skills in higher education. Malaysian universities have to produce students of certain attributes to make them relevant in the job market. Consequently, it is the job of the educators to assist the students to acquire the skills. For technically based occupations like engineering, soft skills are also very important for the application of technical knowledge at work. Engineering is one of the fields that is important for the development of the country. Thus, this study focuses on engineering students. This paper discusses the challenges faced by the lecturers at a private university in trying to integrate soft skills in their teaching of technical courses. Data derived from open ended questions and an interview was then analyzed according to three main themes which are students’ attitude in the classroom, limited time to cover syllabus and large number of students in the classroom. Pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed.