Empowering students’ employability at ueh: Exploring the synergy of internal and external factors

Abstract

In this digital transformation era, higher education has an important role in preparing students with the skills necessary to compete in the job market. This study looks at the combined effects of digital competence and perceived teacher autonomy support on students' engagement, performance, and employability at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH). The research explores the influences of digital competency on student engagement and performance, whereas teacher autonomy support allows for self-directed learning to enhance academic success. The research also investigates the mediating effects of engagement and performance in linking these two to employability, with particular attention to these academic characteristics of students in preparing them for the labor market. Bridging Social cognitive theory (SCT) and Self-determination theory (SDT) constructs, this study fills a gap in the literature and makes a broad proposition demonstrating how the two dimensions of digital competence and teacher autonomy support relate to student motivation and career readiness. It discusses the survey done on 300 students at UEH, with the collected data analyzed using PLS-SEM on testing the research hypotheses, the measurement model, and the structural model. Thus, the practical implications give recommendations to higher education institutions, especially UEH, on improvements in their teaching methodologies and curricula to be geared towards enhancing digital skills and autonomy to better enable employment outcomes for their graduates. The research, in keeping with the theory, accounts for employability as a developmental path, with concrete recommendations made for educational policy and practice