Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Journal of Industrial Engineering

Volume 2015, Article ID 789362, 10 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/789362

Research Article
A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) Approach in
Determining the Employer’s Selection Criteria

Nora Muda and Noor Sulawati Mat Roji

School of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Correspondence should be addressed to Nora Muda; [email protected]

Received 23 March 2015; Revised 13 August 2015; Accepted 19 August 2015

Academic Editor: Eleonora Bottani

Copyright © 2015 N. Muda and N. S. Mat Roji. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.

The industrial training program is part of the academic curriculum at the tertiary level. It plays an important role in providing
students with the exposure to a real working environment in the industry. Through this program, the higher education institutions
(HEI) could identify the gaps in the curriculum based on the requirements from the industry. In addition, the feedback from the
industry will help the HEI to equip students with relevant skills according to the demands from the industry. Indirectly, it can help
to address the issue of unemployed graduates of which the number seems to increase from time to time. Therefore, this study aims
to obtain the feedback from the employers out there in order to determine the most preferred criteria in selecting students for the
industrial training placement by using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approach. The findings, through the development of
house of quality based on the QFD approach, show that communication skills and students’ participation in sports and cocurricular
activities at their university are the most preferred selection criteria. Therefore, the QFD approach can be used to translate the
employers’ feedback in improving the marketability of the students in the industry.

1. Introduction an effort to develop and produce a first class human capital

which is highly required by the country.
Human capital is an important asset in the process of The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is one of
developing a country. Countries with high-skilled human the higher education institutions providing opportunities for
capital are able to generate economic activities to a more their students to be exposed to the real work situations.
dynamic par with developed countries like the United States Various courses and programs have been taught in the univer-
or Japan. Therefore, various approaches have been initiated, sity as to improve students’ skills and knowledge and apply-
especially in the higher education system, in order to produce ing during their works or during their industrial training.
human capital with high skills and competency by requiring However, the requirements and expectations of the industry
students to undergo the industrial training program before are constantly changing as the Malaysia’s economics and
being awarded with certificates, diplomas, or degrees. industries keep changing. Therefore, it is an obligation to
The industrial training program exposes students to the the university to assess the ability of their students, whether
real working environment and enables them to apply the they meet the demands of the industry, and what criteria and
theoretical and practical knowledge that they have learned skills that the industry needs from UKM graduate students.
by performing the tasks assigned by their current organi- For that reason, the feedback from the employers regarding
zation [1]. The industrial training program is also the best the selection of students to join their organization is very
mechanism for the HEI to evaluate the effectiveness of their important to assist the university in preparing and providing
programs or courses that they have been offering to the a better service in the future.
students. In addition, the program also helps the university In an effort to improve and enhance the quality of
to foster a good relationship with various organizations in service of School of Mathematical Sciences (PPSM), Faculty
the industry. The relationship is beneficial to both parties in of Science and Technology, UKM, in preparing graduates
2 Journal of Industrial Engineering

who are skilled and competent to the industry, the survey Electric. The QFD can be used in various sectors such as ser-
was conducted to get feedbacks from employers to assess the vices, automotive, hospitality, and manufacturing. Neverthe-
effectiveness of the courses offered and the skills acquired less, the first application was in the manufacturing sector by
by PPSM students. Thus, with the approach of Quality Toyota. Having proven its effectiveness by Toyota, the quality
Function Deployment (QFD) analysis, the absolute weights practitioners have expanded the use of QFD in the service
for technical requirement (outcomes of the program) based sector [11–19]. Therefore, Mazur [15] defines the QFD as an
on the development of house of quality from the employer’s approach to satisfy the customers (Quality) by translating
perspective were studied and investigated for identifying the their needs into the design and ensuring all the organizational
program learning outcomes (HPP) and program outcomes units (Function) are working together to identify the design
(OP) which need to be emphasized or improvement in features systematically to have more detailed information that
meeting current industry needs. This allows the PPSM, FST,
can be disclosed and controlled (Deployment). The QFD is a
and UKM to improve the existing programs so that graduates
method of developing a design quality which aims to satisfy
are more competitive and more marketable, thereby reducing
the number of graduates who are unemployed. the customers by translating their demands and designs for
For the final year students of PPSM, FST of session a certain product or service [20]. The QFD can also be used
2010/2011, the industrial training program is a compulsory in education sector by assisting the HEI to form the subjects
since it was stopped and was not compulsory to the students or topics of specific courses for each subject and restructure
on last 1995 session. Therefore, the feedback from the indus- the university curriculum. For example, Mazur [15] and
tries and the students is needed and important as to find out Gonzalez et al. [21] have applied the concept of QFD in
the effect of the IT on the students. The most important is to forming the subject of Total Quality Management (TQM) and
find out the marketability of the PPSM students to be hired International Business based on the feedback from the
by the industries after the IT program. There were various students, university staff, and employers in the industry.
studies on the industrial training that have been done in some Kauffmann et al. [22] have applied QFD to develop
higher institutions, namely, by Goi and Lau [2], Ng et al. [3], decision model to prioritized course contents based on degree
Abdul-Karim [4], Shahrir et al. [5], Omar et al. [6], Lai et al. of impact on program objectives. The model was developed
[7], and Awang [8]. to quantify curricular decisions involved in restructuring a
Human capital that has been equipped with skills such Masters of Engineering Management degree program. Based
as communication skills, ability to work in teams, ability to on QFD model, it provides a practical and quantitative
think creatively, and ability to make decisions and has both methodology for developing faculty consensus in the selec-
good leadership skills and academic excellence will be more tion of curricular topics based on a strategic program focus.
competitive in the industry. According to Madar et al. [9], While Singh et al. [23] used QFD to revamp existing indus-
the ability of employees to handle highly skilled tasks will trial engineering curriculum by reassessing it with outcome-
benefit the company by improving the quality of production based accreditation, based on output from roof matrix in
and becoming more competitive in local and international the house of quality, they identified the overlapping and
markets. Moreover, Rasul et al. [10] found that employers prerequisite relations among courses. Therefore, they can
are more in favour of employees with basic, critical thinking, remove any overlapping courses and identify newly required
resource, and interpersonal skills as well as being knowl- courses. Aytaç and Deniz [24] have applied QFD method to
edgeable in systems and technologies and qualified personnel review curriculum of the Tyre Technology Department at
in improving the marketability in the industry. Therefore, the Kocaeli University Kosekoy Vocational School of Higher
this study was conducted by using the Quality Function Education (KU-KVSHE), Turkey. They have conducted direct
Deployment (QFD) approach to determine the selection interview with the stakeholder of local tyre companies in
criteria of industrial training students at the agencies and, Turkey and get the feedback regarding the expectation from
thus, giving a first-hand overview to the university in dealing the stakeholder on the graduates and the curriculum. The
with the demand from the industry in future. interview was also conducted by the lecturer of that depart-
In this study, the feedback from the employers and the ment so that they can get feedback from both sides, stake-
students who undergo the IT is needed to determine the holders and the school management, and finally proposed
effectiveness and the marketability of the PPSM student new module of IT program which includes the industry
in getting a job. This investigation on the IT program is demand, preparing the students which are skilled as per
important and will be beneficial to the PPSM as it will employers’ demand.
enhance the effectiveness of the IT program and beneficial Quinn et al. [25] studied identifying and evaluating
to the students as it will increase the marketability of the techniques that were used to improve the quality in higher
students in finding the jobs as it was conducted during the education. They examined customer and measured customer
final year after students have completed all the units needed quality perceptions to identify the differences and similarities
before finishing their study and graduated, compared to surrounding quality improvement efforts in each of three
before which was on the second year of study. service areas that were typically found in higher education:
academic, administrative, and auxiliary functions. While
2. Literature Review Singh et al. [23] evaluate the quality of educational institute
based on five identified groups of “dimensions of quality”
The concept of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has and twelve sets of “enablers” in an educational institute, then,
been introduced by Akao and Katsuyo in 1966 at Matsushita they outline a QFD model based on interrelationship and
Journal of Industrial Engineering 3

intrarelationship among the dimensions of quality, enablers,

and customers. Finally, the indices that they developed are
then utilized for quality planning and monitoring in educa-
tional institute. Qureshi et al. [26] also studied the quality
of Higher Educational Institute in Pakistan where, from the Correlation
QFD model, they highlighted the major concerned areas of matrix
quality improvements in teaching and also highlighted some
benchmarks where other institutions are more productive.
All the studies reported using QFD to restructure and Technical requirements
enhance the curriculum for their university program in line
with the current industry demand.
The QFD approach also requires the development of Customers’ Planning
house of quality in integrating customers’ feedback for the Relationship matrix
needs matrix
technical requirements of the organization and analyzing
problems or enhancements that should be given priority in
improving the quality of their services. Akao et al. [27] define
employers as an external client to the university. Feedbacks
from employers are beneficial to the university in helping Technical targets
them to evaluate the effectiveness of the university programs
or courses offered. In addition, this feedback can be used
to enhance the students’ skills in line with the needs of Figure 1: House of quality.
employers and, thus, reduce the unemployment rate among
the graduates.

3. Materials and Methods 3.2. House of Quality. The QFD approach requires the devel-
opment of house of quality in connecting the customers’
A survey has been conducted on the industries which are voice with the specified products or services, technical
involved in the student’s industrial training program of requirements, process of planning control, and manufactur-
PPSM students to investigate the marketability of the PPSM ing operations [28]. In this study, the customer’s voice is
students. The questionnaires that can be referred to in the the voice of employers of the agencies that PPSM students
Appendix were distributed to the employers during the undergo their industrial training. There are six steps in
assessment visit by the PPSM supervisor. The survey on the building a house of quality, namely, the customers’ needs,
employers involved 136 respondents of which 29 were from technical requirements, relationship matrix, planning matrix,
government sectors, 77 were from private sectors, 27 were correlation matrix, and technical targets (see Figure 1).
from government agencies, and 3 from other sectors. There Therefore, in this study, the employers are the external
were 5 parts in the employer questionnaires to be answered. customers of the School of Mathematical Sciences (PPSM).
In order to determine the feedback from the employers The employers’ feedback of satisfaction on student’s skills
regarding their selection of students who undergo industrial and abilities is categorized according to the domain: the
training at their agencies, Likert’s scale ranging from 1 to 5 affective domain, psychomotor domain, cognitive domain,
was also used to measure. The scale range of 1 represents very and psychomotor and cognitive domain, based on course
unimportant while 5 represents very important. A descriptive learning outcomes of STQS3886 (Industrial Training course)
analysis was done to look at respondents’ profiles based on by referring to Malaysian Qualification Agency as guidelines
demographic factors while the hypothesis testing was done to good practices in assessment to students in HEI as shown
to compare the criteria of selection of industrial training in Table 1.
students. The hypothesis that was tested is as follows: In addition, the technical requirements describe the
model of “how” the organization responds to “what” the
𝐻0 : there is no difference between criteria of selection
customer needs for a certain product or service. The selection
of industrial training students from the employers
criteria of industrial training students are the technical
feedback.
requirements which describe the criteria required by employ-
The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to get the ers in selecting students to undergo the training at their
conclusions on the hypothesis stated above. organizations based on the previous research.
The relationship matrix (𝑅𝑖𝑗 ) is the “heart” of the QFD
3.1. Quality Function Deployment for Employer’s Criteria of [29]. The purpose of this communication matrix is to indicate
Selection. In this section, we propose an assessment of PPSM whether the technical requirements are fulfilled. This matrix
student’s skill based on the program and courses that they connects the employee response to the selection criteria of
have taken during their studies in PPSM, FST, and UKM via student by using a specific symbol that reflects the degree
QFD methodology. The voice of employers in agencies was of relationship. The planning matrix is part of the house of
taken as their feedback on how they select the PPSM students quality as a marketing strategy and planning decision. The
to join their agencies to undergo industrial training. QFD team will choose some important information such as
4 Journal of Industrial Engineering

Table 1: Employers’ feedback on the satisfaction level of student skills.

Domain Employer feedback

D4 Willingness to accept responsibility
D5 Interest in the task/project given
D6 Commitment to the tasks/projects assigned
Cognitive D13 Ability to solve problems
D15 Ability to analyze problems
D19 Ability to make decisions
D21 Ability to apply knowledge and skills learnt at UKM
D1 Timely
D9 Compliance with procedures and rules
Psychomotor
D10 Appropriate attire
D11 Ability to understand instructions from the supervisor/employer
D2 Ability to perform tasks/projects
D7 Good relationships with other employees in the organization
Affective D12 Ability to work in a team
D14 Leadership skills
D18 Ability to plan and carry out the tasks given
D3 Having the initiative/willingness to learn
D8 Capability of communication/information delivery
D16 Ability to describe the results of the analysis/project
Psychomotor and cognitive
D17 Ability to think creatively
D20 Ability to express opinions related to the job
D22 Ability to use the latest technology

the important requirement for the employee (𝑠), which is a where 𝑛 is the number of employee’s voices and 𝑘 is the
scale of 1–5, performance of the employee’s voice (𝑡), target of number of indicators of all criteria of selection, 𝑥 is an
employee’s voice (𝑢), and ratio of improvement (V), where absolute weight, 𝑅𝑖𝑗 is a relationship matrix, and 𝑆𝑖 is a “degree
of importance” to customer with value ranges from 3 to 5.
𝑏𝑖
𝑡𝑖 = Normally, information found in the technical target is our
𝑐 priority and benchmark for criteria of selection. Therefore,
(1) the indicator of the criteria of selection which has a high
in which 𝑏 = (∑number of employer at value 𝑖) × 𝑖. absolute weight value should be given a priority in the process
𝑖 of maintaining the services and meeting the employees’
𝑐 is a total number of employees: needs.
𝑢
V𝑖 = 𝑖 , (2) 4. Results and Discussion
𝑡𝑖
𝑢 = target and 𝑡 = performance of employers’ feedback. Based on the survey conducted, there were 149 respondents
Besides that, the point of services/sales (𝑤) and the among the students, of which 45.6% were from Statistics
absolute weight of student’s voice (𝑧) were also considered in program, 44.3% were from Mathematics program, and 10.1%
the house of quality, where were from Actuarial Science program. Among them, 24.2%
𝑧𝑖 = 𝑠𝑖 × V𝑖 × 𝑤𝑖 . (3) were males and 71.1% were females. In terms of organizational
sectors which provided a workplace to the students, there
The correlation matrix is a correlation or “roof” of the were 26.8% from financial sector, followed by 18.8% from
house of quality. This “roof” can be seen in Figure 1 as service sector, and 11.4% were from other sectors as stated
correlation matrix at the top of the figure. This roof shows in Table 4. On the other hand, there were 136 respondents
the relationship of each indicator of criteria of selection by among the employers of which 56.6% were from private
employee. This relationship is used to determine whether the sectors followed by 21.3% from government sectors and
indicators support or hinder each other. The technical target 19.9% were from government agencies; only 2.2% were from
is the last matrix in the house of quality. It is determined other sectors. There were a total of 134 employers that
as an absolute weight of selection criteria indicator (𝑥) and provided feedback on the satisfaction level of students’ skills
calculated by as well as the criteria of selection of industrial trainings’
students. There are four types of organization involved in
𝑥 = ∑ 𝑅𝑖𝑗 𝑆𝑖 ; 𝑖 = 1, 2, . . . , 𝑛; 𝑗 = 1, 2, . . . , 𝑘, (4) the study: 21% from government, 57% from private, 20%
Journal of Industrial Engineering 5

Table 2: Profiles of respondents. developing the house of quality in order to obtain the most
preferred selection criteria by employers in selecting students
Profiles of employers Number %
to undergo the industrial training at their organization.
Type of organization The relationships between the employers’ satisfaction
Government 29 21.3 level on student skills and each selection criteria were
Private 77 56.6 categorized by specific symbols depending on correlation
Government agency 27 19.9 and while the relationships in the “roof” of house of quality
Others 3 2.2 were determined also based on the correlation. The planning
Organization sectors matrix values were produced by (1) to (3), while the level of
Finance 37 27.2 difficulty and targets for each of the criteria were set by the
Manufacturing 13 9.6
PPSM. However, (4) has been used to obtain absolute values
for each criterion. A combination of all information would
Services 24 17.6
then form a house of quality as shown in Figure 2.
Industry 4 2.9
From the development of house of quality, the most
Property development and construction 2 1.5 preferred selection criteria by employers can be determined
Education 14 10.3 based on the high absolute weight value as in the technical
Consultation 5 3.7 target of house of quality. However, the high absolute weight
Transportation 1 0.7 value that should be given priority cannot be determined
Agriculture and food 1 0.7 by its value, because the absolute weight value depends on
Defence and security 1 0.7 the scale that has been used in obtaining feedback from the
Communication and IT 8 5.9 employers and the scale of the relationship in the relationship
Others 25 18.4 matrix.
The greater the interval is, the higher the scale will be
used in absolute weight value for the technical requirements.
Therefore, this study uses a scale of 1–5 in which 1 represents
from government agencies such as MARA, Felda, and 2% “very dissatisfied” and 5 represents “very satisfied” for the
from other organizations. The 12 criteria that were asked preferred criteria being used. To evaluate the relationship in
are communication skills, languages (English, Malay, and the relationship matrix, the scale of 0, 3, and 9 was used in
other languages), working experience, IT duration, academic which the scale of 9 refers to significant at 0.01 level, 3 refers
qualification, the impressive resume, company policy, quota to significant at 0.05 level, and 0 refers to not significant.
of IT, and students involvement in cocurriculum and sports. Based on the findings from the house of quality as shown
Employers who provided their feedback as shown in in Figure 2, the list of preferred selection criteria by the
Table 2 are the field supervisors from various sectors such employers are illustrated in Table 4. From Table 4, we can
as finance, manufacturing, services, industry, real estate conclude that the five most preferred criteria by employers
development and construction, education, consulting, trans- in selecting the students to undergo the industrial training
portation, agriculture and food, defence, and security as well at their organizations are communication skills, students’
as communication and IT. They were asked to give a scale of participation in sports and cocurricular activities, working
whether the twelve items of criteria of selection are important experience, and mastery in English language. All the 5 high-
or not ranging from 1 to 5. Based on the twelve items of est absolute weight values have relationship with academic
criteria of selection, the mean for each item from the scale of 5 qualification. Therefore, the students’ academic qualification
is calculated. We found that the highest mean value according also indirectly became one of the most preferred selection
to the criteria of selection is the criteria of communication criteria for company to select student to undergo industrial
skills (4.5 from scale 5), followed by the criteria of mastery training in their organization. The participation of students
in English and Malay languages (4.29 and 4.13), the criteria in sports and cocurricular activities has been proven by many
of academic qualification (4.07), and the criteria of company previous studies such as Ahmad et al. [30] and Suhana and
policy (4.02). From the feedback of employers regarding the Ahmad [31] which explains that both activities provide a
criteria of selection, the findings show that the overall mean good impact on enhancing job’s skills such as leadership,
is 3.76 from scale 5.0. It has been shown that the employers communication, decision making, competing, interaction
could say that all criteria of selection that have been asked with peers, and thinking creatively. These criteria give an early
are more likely important to them in selecting the students to impression that employers require students to have good job
undergo industrial training at their agencies. employability skills in order to be more competitive in the
Then, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to industry besides being academically excellent.
test whether there are significant differences between the Based on the results obtained, the School of Mathematical
criteria of selection. Any criteria which give a 𝑝 value less Sciences, UKM, would also have a role in providing their stu-
than 0.05 are considered significant. From the ANOVA, dents with skills and criteria as required by the industries. The
there are significant differences according to the criteria of courses offered should include the skills needed by students
selection in the communication skills, mastery in English such as communication skills. Students should be exposed to
and Malay languages, and the duration of industrial training a variety of tasks or skills that enable students to practice their
as shown in Table 3. Therefore, the analysis is extended by communication skills, for example, through presentations of
6 Journal of Industrial Engineering

Table 3: ANOVA results for employers’ selection criteria of industrial training students.

Employer’s selection criteria of students’ LI Mean 𝐹-value 𝑝-value

B4 Communication skills 4.5 5.54 0.00∗
B2 Mastery in English language 4.29 3.98 0.01∗
B1 Mastery in Malay language 4.13 20.81 0∗
B7 Academic qualifications 4.07 2.15 0.09
B9 Company/organization policy 4.02 0.63 0.59
B8 A convincing resume 3.95 0.98 0.40
B6 Duration of LI 3.82 2.83 0.04∗
B10 Amount of students’ intake for LI for a particular period 3.73 0.47 0.71
B11 Students’ involvement in extracurricular activities in university 3.51 1.64 0.18
B12 Students’ involvement in sport activities 3.22 2.22 0.09
B3 Ability to master other languages 3.02 1.63 0.19
B5 Working experience 2.88 0.38 0.77
(∗ significant as 𝑝 value less than 0.05).

Satisfaction/criteria B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 s t u v w z

D1 3.00 4.77 5.00 1.05 1.50 4.71
D2 4.00 4.45 5.00 1.12 1.20 5.39
D3 3.00 4.60 5.00 1.09 1.50 4.89
D4 3.00 4.60 5.00 1.09 1.50 4.89
D5 4.00 4.44 5.00 1.13 1.20 5.40
D6 3.00 4.60 5.00 1.09 1.50 4.90
D7 3.00 4.57 5.00 1.10 1.50 4.93
D8 4.00 4.26 5.00 1.17 1.20 5.64
D9 3.00 4.66 5.00 1.07 1.50 4.83
D10 3.00 4.63 5.00 1.08 1.50 4.86
D11 3.00 4.51 5.00 1.11 1.50 4.98
D12 4.00 4.46 5.00 1.12 1.20 5.38
D13 3.00 4.20 5.00 1.19 1.20 4.29
D14 5.00 3.87 5.00 1.29 1.00 6.46
D15 4.00 4.08 5.00 1.23 1.20 5.88
D16 4.00 4.04 5.00 1.24 1.20 5.95
D17 4.00 4.10 5.00 1.22 1.20 5.85
D18 4.00 4.32 5.00 1.16 1.20 5.56
D19 4.00 4.02 5.00 1.24 1.20 5.97
D20 4.00 4.13 5.00 1.21 1.20 5.81
D21 4.00 4.10 5.00 1.22 1.20 5.85
D22 4.00 4.32 5.00 1.16 1.20 5.55
Current performance 4.29 4.13 3.02 4.50 2.88 3.82 4.07 3.95 4.02 3.73 3.51 3.22
Target 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Absolute weight 63 222 0 375 246 42 183 36 36 39 336 366

Significant at 0.01: 9 Not significant: 0

Significant at 0.05: 3 Having relationship

Figure 2: House of quality of employers’ selection criteria.

Journal of Industrial Engineering 7

Table 4: Criteria that should be given priority. Appendix

Preferred selection criteria A. Questionnaires
B4 Communication skills
B12 Participation in sports activities A.1. Part A: Employer’s Background Information
B11 Participation cocurricular activities
B5 Working experience
(A1) Organization name:
B2 Mastery in English language (A2) Organization address:
(A3) Size of organization:

student assignment, visits to industry for an interview, which ◻ Less than 50 employees
directly emphasizes and strengths their English language. ◻ 51–150 employees
Besides that, encouraging students to actively participate in ◻ More than 150 employees
cocurricular activities and sports is a must. All the necessary
criteria should also be taken into account by the university (A4) Organization is a:
in order to prepare all their graduates that can fulfill the
industries demand. ◻ Head office
This QFD method which was applied in this study ◻ Branch
assessed the customer satisfaction, the industries (customer) ◻ Not applicable
on the UKM students performance during their industrial
training. The criteria of selection that we get are the voice (A5) Organization’s type:
of customer (employers) that should be translated by the
UKM to produce graduates that have skills as what industries ◻ Government
demand. This is important to enhance the marketability of the ◻ Private
UKM students.
◻ Government agency
◻ Others. Please state
5. Conclusion
(A6) Organization’s sector:
This study has applied QFD approach in translating the
employer’s voice in the industrial training program through
◻ Financial
the formation of house of quality. The program is used to
evaluate the effectiveness of the programs or courses offered ◻ Manufacturing
by the university. Thus, through the formation of the house of ◻ Services
quality, the most preferred selection criteria from the house ◻ Industrial
of quality enable PPSM to identify the necessary skills that ◻ Property and development
students should have in order for employers to select them to ◻ Education
undergo industrial training at their organizations. The most
◻ Consultation
preferred criteria by employers are communication skills,
◻ Transportation
students’ participation in sports and cocurricular activities,
working experience, mastery in English language, and aca- ◻ Food and agriculture
demic qualification. Therefore, a thorough and systematic ◻ Security and defense
planning should be done by PPSM to ensure that these skills ◻ IT and communication
are developed and integrated into the curriculum of teaching ◻ Others. Please state:
and learning.
The findings of this study may indirectly improve the (A7) How many students per intake for industrial training
existing courses in UKM by ensuring that the courses offered purposes for a particular period in your organization?
can provide students with good communication skills and
enhance the English language skills among students. In
addition, they will enhance the interests of the students to
participate more in extracurricular activities and sports at the A.2. Part B: Student’s Selection Criteria for Industrial Training.
university. The feedbacks from the industry are their voice See Table 5.
that needs UKM students, PPSM students to have criteria
that they need to become their employees. These findings A.3. Part C: Tasks Delegation to Industrial Training Students.
are really useful as it will help university to prepare their See Table 6.
students with skills needed by the industries and increase
the marketability of the UKM students in finding job after A.4. Part D: Satisfaction Level on Students’ Skills and Ability.
graduation. See Table 7.
8 Journal of Industrial Engineering

Table 5
Number Item Scale
B1 English proficiency 1 2 3 4 5
B2 Malay proficiency 1 2 3 4 5
B3 Proficiency in other languages 1 2 3 4 5
B4 Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5
B5 Working experience 1 2 3 4 5
B6 Duration of industrial training 1 2 3 4 5
B7 Academic qualifications 1 2 3 4 5
B8 Impressive resume 1 2 3 4 5
B9 Company/organisation policy 1 2 3 4 5
B10 Amount of students’ intake for industrial training for a particular period 1 2 3 4 5
B11 Students’ involvement in extracurricular activities in university 1 2 3 4 5
B12 Students’ involvement in sport activities 1 2 3 4 5
Circle your answer based on the scale given.
1 = very unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 = not sure, 4 = important, and 5 = very important.

Table 6
Number Item Scale
C1 Tasks given are suitable for the students’ academic background 1 2 3 4 5
C2 Students are exposed to the real working environment 1 2 3 4 5
C3 Students are exposed to the organization’s work ethics 1 2 3 4 5
Circle your answer based on the scale given.
1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = not sure, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree.

Table 7
Number Item Scale
D1 Punctuality 1 2 3 4 5
D2 Ability to perform task/project 1 2 3 4 5
D3 Initiative/willingness to learn 1 2 3 4 5
D4 Willingness to accept responsibility 1 2 3 4 5
D5 Interest towards task/project given 1 2 3 4 5
D6 Commitment towards task/project given 1 2 3 4 5
D7 Good relationship with other personnel in your organization 1 2 3 4 5
D8 Ability to communicate/convey information 1 2 3 4 5
D9 Follow rules and regulation 1 2 3 4 5
D10 Properly dressed and neat 1 2 3 4 5
D11 Ability to understand instruction from supervisor/employer 1 2 3 4 5
D12 Ability to work in group 1 2 3 4 5
D13 Ability to solve problems 1 2 3 4 5
D14 Ability to lead 1 2 3 4 5
D15 Ability to analyse problems 1 2 3 4 5
D16 Ability to interpret analysis/project result 1 2 3 4 5
D17 Ability to think creatively 1 2 3 4 5
D18 Ability to plan and execute task given 1 2 3 4 5
D19 Ability to make decision 1 2 3 4 5
D20 Ability to give opinion related to the task 1 2 3 4 5
D21 Ability to apply knowledge and skills learned in UKM 1 2 3 4 5
D22 Ability to use the latest technologies 1 2 3 4 5
Circle your answer based on the scale given.
1 = very unsatisfied, 2 = unsatisfied, 3 = not sure, 4 = satisfied, and 5 = very satisfied.
Journal of Industrial Engineering 9

A.5. Part E: Additional Information. Would you be interested [11] J. W. Cadogan, A. Diamantopoulos, and C. Pahud De Mor-
in offering the student a permanent position? tanges, “A measure of export market orientation: scale devel-
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niture case in developing countries,” Quality Engineering, vol.
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests 16, no. 1, pp. 45–56, 2003.
regarding the publication of this paper.
[13] M. E. González, G. Quesada, R. MacK, and I. Urrutia, “Building
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