Measuring the mediating role of quality education for ensuring employability skills: An analysis of higher education student perception in Bangladesh

RESEARCH ARTICLE Measuring the mediating role of quality education for ensuring employability skills: An analysis of higher education student perception in Bangladesh Khandakar Kamrul Hasan1,2☯, Shadia SharminID1,3☯, A. T. M. Fahimul IslamID1☯*, Hissan Khandakar4☯, Abdul Hasib Siddique5☯, Ariful Hoque Shuhan5☯, Mobashwer A. Khandaker6☯ 1 Department of Educational Leadership, Policy and Technology Studies, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States of America, 2 Department of Business Administration, University of Scholars, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3 Faculty of Business Studies, Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 4 Cambridge Assessment International Education A Level, British Council, Nilkhet, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Scholars, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 6 Office of the Registrar, University of Scholars, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh ☯ These authors contributed equally to this work. * fahim.islam619@gmail.com Abstract The present study employs a quantitative approach to measure the student perception of the direct and mediating effect of quality education for ensuring employability skills in higher education students of Bangladesh. The study was conducted on 154 undergraduate and graduate students at a Private University in Bangladesh, through a cross-sectional survey using a structured data questionnaire. The multilevel measurement and structural model, which was based on the constructs of quality education, employability skills of students,

course structure, institutional policy, and physical aspects, was analysed using Partial Least Squares modelling with SmartPLS 4. The aim was to identify the employability skills that are present among higher education students in Bangladesh through student perception and explore the mediating role of quality education in shaping these skills. The findings suggest a significant gap between the skills taught in private universities, and the industry require- ments of Bangladesh, which highlights the urgency for administrators and policy-makers to act fast. physical aspects have a positive influence on quality education and employability skills, but course structure and policy show less direct impact. Moreover, quality education is a crucial mediator for only the factors that match a direct effect. This proves that higher education students in Bangladesh may not have acquired the technical knowledge required by the industry. However, the present study was conducted on undergraduate and graduate students at a single private university, thus acknowledging the need to diversify the popula- tion sample in future studies for enhanced generalizability. The implications of these results extend to educational policymakers, institutions, and stakeholders, therefore emphasizing the need for curriculum enhancement, industry-academia collaboration, and policy reforms. PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310815 October 7, 2024 1 / 18 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Hasan KK, Sharmin S, Islam ATMF,

Khandakar H, Siddique AH, Shuhan AH, et al. (2024) Measuring the mediating role of quality education for ensuring employability skills: An analysis of higher education student perception in Bangladesh. PLoS ONE 19(10): e0310815. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310815 Editor: Sandro Vieira Soares, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, BRAZIL Received: May 29, 2024 Accepted: September 4, 2024 Published: October 7, 2024 Copyright: © 2024 Hasan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting information files. Funding: Internal Grant provided by the University of Scholars, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.