Business Students’ perception of employability challenges in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This PhD thesis investigates Saudi university students' experiences and perceptions of employability challenges as they prepare to enter the labour market. While most research overwhelmingly focuses on the views of employers and institutions of higher education, this research responds to an urgent need by placing students themselves at the centre of the study and foregrounding their voices and lived experiences. It is essential to understand these perceptions to inform more inclusive and effective graduate employability policies and practices within the Saudi context. With a qualitative research method, the research is based on semi-structured interviews with students at three geographically and institutionally different Saudi universities who complete their compulsory summer training as a requirement before graduation. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach, with Career Capital Theory (CCT) as the primary theoretical framework. This framework consists of three interconnected elements Knowing Why (career identity and motivation), Knowing How (knowledge and skills), and Knowing Whom (professional networks and connections) which collectively frame how individuals accumulate resources to manage their careers. The results illustrate that students' perceptions of employability are shaped through a complex interplay of personal, institutional, and structural factors. The participants expressed difficulties related to skills mismatches, opportunity inequalities, geographical disparities, gendered expectations, and poor professional networks. Importantly, the discussion demonstrates that employability perceptions are not exclusively motivated by individual drive or ability but are influenced by relational and structural inequalities inherent in the education to labour market transition. The thesis provides a novel contribution through the extension of Career Capital Theory to pre-career university students within a non-Western setting, such as in the Saudi context. The thesis illustrates how employability is constructed through the intersection of personal aspirations, learning experiences, and structural constraints. The implications of this study are of considerable significance to higher education institutions, policymakers, and employers seeking to enhance student employability in rapidly changing socio-economic contexts.