Strategies to enhance the employability skills of quantity surveying graduates in the Sarawak construction industry

As the construction industry embraces the modern era, Quantity Surveying (QS) professionals must broaden their skill sets to consistently thrive. Hence, recent QS graduates need advanced competencies aligned with evolving industry demands to remain competitive. However, many new graduates struggle to meet current expectations, owing to reluctance in adopting emerging technologies and deficiencies in critical soft skills. This study addresses a gap in research by focusing on strategies to enhance the employability of QS graduates in Sarawak, East Malaysia. Through preliminary research findings, a comprehensive literature review identified ten potential strategies to improve graduate employability. The ten findings were then comprehensively justified based on the top three strategies. Additionally, for further comprehensive research findings, the current study shall employ qualitative approach to achieve the research aim and objectives. The potential participants shall have vast industry experience and foundational knowledge that will provide insights through semi-structured interviews, selected through a snowball sampling technique, focussing to Quantity Surveying firms in Sarawak registered with the Board of Quantity Surveying Malaysia (BQSM). The collected data will then be analyzed using content analysis. The comprehensive findings aim to be the guideline for educational institutions and industry stakeholders in implementing measures that better prepare QS graduates for the Sarawak construction industry’s workforce needs.