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

• H4: Student perception of Quality education positively affects the employability skills of higher education students. The mediating role of quality education (QE) An alarming 2.3 million graduates are jobless in Bangladesh’s higher Education and labour market dynamics. Moreover, 350,000 graduates enter the labour market yearly, yet 200,000 remain unemployed. This has raised the graduate unemployment rate from 32% (2015) to 47% in 2019 [36]. According to [37], the elevated level of graduate unemployment in Bangla- desh can be ascribed to many factors. These factors encompass a diminished demand for grad- uates within the labour market, exacerbated by a surplus of graduates, insufficient professional competencies among graduates, inefficiencies in the educational system, and outdated curric- ula, among others [37]. The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) reports that a concerning trend persists in which approximately 5 out of every ten graduates in Bangladesh find themselves unemployed [7]. In contrast, India and Pakistan face a comparatively lower rate, with 3 out of every five graduates remaining unemployed [38]. Understanding this disparity may help HEIs ensure employability skills for graduate students. The conversation around HE has historically been centred around the employability discus- sion since the primary objective of HE institutions is to produce graduates who possess the necessary skills and qualifications for the workforce [39]. The employability of university grad- uates is a topic of significant interest among scholars, legislators, and curriculum developers

worldwide, owing to its substantial significance over the last decade [40]. The Bologna Process, which rose to prominence due to significant concern regarding the elevated levels of unem- ployment among graduates in certain European nations, emphasises the evaluation of HEIs based on the employability of their graduates on par with the quality of education provided by these HEIs [41]. However, prior literature needs to adopt the Service Quality (SERVQUAL) Instrument, which was adapted from [13], as Quality Education (QE). Moreover, even though evidence suggests that QE may mediate in ensuring employability skills [39–41], prior litera- ture needs to discuss its significance. Thus, the following hypotheses are posited: • H5: Student perception of Quality education and the mediating relationship between physi- cal aspects and employability skills of higher education students. • H6: Student perception of Quality education and the mediating relationship between course structure and employability skills of higher education students. • H7: Student perception of Quality education and the mediating relationship between institu- tional policy and employability skills of higher education students. Fig 1 illustrates the conceptual model for this investigation in accordance with the proposed hypotheses, the SCL Theory, the theoretical discussion, and the empirical findings of prior research. Methodology Ethics statement The study has been approved by the Research Committee at the University of Scholars, Bangla-

desh, as the research is being conducted on human participants, i.e., students of a private uni- versity. Moreover, consent from the participants were taken through Google Forms, wherein participants were informed that every question is entirely voluntary, and that the survey does PLOS ONE Measuring the mediating role of quality education for ensuring employability skills PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310815 October 7, 2024 6 / 18