Employability and its Influence on Higher Education Enrolment Decisions in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Employability has arisen as an important consideration for prospective college students making enrolment decisions in Tamil Nadu. In a time when the job market is shifting and increasing competition, students and institutions want to ensure the academics are meaningful and linked to prospective employment. This study was conducted to examine how factors of employability influence decisions made by students when enrolling in higher education, including employment opportunities, industry linkages, internship availability, skills attributes, and alumni employment. The data sources employed were self-reported measures of employability factors from fifty quantitative sample students from ten districts in Tamil Nadu, India. The structured questionnaire collected numerical scores of satisfactions with employability factors; population statistic calculations were conformed including frequency, mean square, and correlation coefficients to explain the occupied role of those satisfied employability factors with students' enrolment decisions. The findings demonstrate employability narrows options for prospective students because students are likely to pursue a discipline that has job-related prospects. The article recommends that institutions of higher education develop employability driven decision-making processes that enhance student recruitment and ensure that student employability is satisfied.