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EMERALD HESWBL HESWBL621336 250 263 ( The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at www emeraldinsight com2042 3896 htm ) HESWBL 9,3 250 Received 12 March.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-3896.htm HESWBL 9,3 250 Soft skill development for employability A case study of stem graduate students at a Vietnamese transnational university Christina W Yao Received 12 March 2018 Revised 16 May 2018 26 June 2018 Accepted 12 July 2018 University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, and Minerva D Tuliao Department of Educational Administration, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska– Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore graduate students’ perception of how soft skills are developed at a transnational university in Vietnam, and how these soft skills contribute to their perceived employability Design/methodology/approach – This study utilized a qualitative case study method In depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 graduate students at Vietnamese–German University Findings – Findings suggest that faculty utilized classroom-based practices to provide students the opportunity to enhance soft skills that are perceived to contribute to employability, such as skills related to independent work, interpersonal relationships and the ability to work in global contexts In addition, interacting with international faculty played a large part in providing students the opportunity to develop their independent skills, critical thinking, communication and cultural competence Practical implications – Implications include multiple approaches, including faculty training, curriculum development and learner preparation Institutions must consider how their curriculum contributes to the development of soft skills and how international faculty are prepared to engage meaningfully with students, particularly within specific global and political contexts In addition, graduate students must also be prepared to engage in a classroom that promotes group work, class presentations and independent work Originality/value – This study provides insight on how a transnational institution can foster soft skills for employability in graduate students in Vietnam Considering the growth of collaborative transnational institutions in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, findings and implications from this study provide recommendations on how to better prepare graduates for employability within a global economy Keywords Vietnam, STEM, Employability, Graduate education, Soft skills, Transnational universities Paper type Research paper Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning Vol No 3, 2019 pp 250-263 © Emerald Publishing Limited 2042-3896 DOI 10.1108/HESWBL-03-20180027 Higher education has a critical role in the economic and workforce development in Vietnam The World Bank (2013) reported that with the increase of professional and technical jobs in Vietnam, the demand for educated workers with the appropriate training has grown As a result, workers need to have “analytical and interpersonal skills” (The World Bank, 2013, p 42) as a way to contribute to the needs of employers In turn, higher education institutions in Vietnam must reconsider their approaches toward effective teaching methods, soft skill development and support for university students’ transition to the workplace (Tran, 2013) as a way to contribute to overall graduate employability Part of the strategy for increasing educational standards includes an emphasis in producing skilled workers to contribute to the country’s economy as a way to increase graduate skills, particularly in the science, technology, engineering and maths fields (STEM) Currently, skills from recent graduates are not matching the needs of the developing Vietnamese economy (Tran, 2015) In addition, globalization, which is “the increased integration of the world economy,” (Altbach, 2016, p 5), adds increased pressures for Vietnamese institutions to prepare graduates for the increasingly globalized market economy Much of the problem stems from curriculum and instruction being incongruent with work skills, including teaching methods that not encourage active learning or practice skills development (Nguyen, 2011) As Vietnam struggles to meet the needs of a more globalized economy, higher education institutions play a critical role in developing the skills of the future workforce Vietnam’s new market-based, global economy requires workers to not only possess technical skills, but also general skills such as being able to communicate well, understand English, work with a team, think creatively, take initiative and work independently under pressure (Pham, 2008; Tran, 2013, 2015; Trung and Swierczek, 2009) In addition to the challenges in graduate training, the current educational system in Vietnam is unable to meet the rising demands of higher education (Ashwill, 2006) As a result, the Vietnamese Government formed transnational education partnerships as an additional strategy for preparing graduates for the global economy Transnational education is defined as “study programs where learners are located in a country other than the one in which the awarding institutions is based” (Wilkins, 2016, p 3) Benefits of transnational partnerships for sending countries include increased global visibility and economic gain, which are typically foreign institutions from the USA, the UK and Australia Receiving or host countries, which in this case is Vietnam, gain access to what are perceived to be world-class universities as a way to fill the growing demands for higher education (Altbach and Knight, 2007) The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in Vietnam has partnered with several foreign countries and institutions in an effort to address skill development and provide global workforce training for their students, including Germany, France and Japan For example, Vietnamese–German University (VGU), the site for this current study, is a collaborative transnational institution that is a partnership between Germany and Vietnam Located in Southern Vietnam, VGU attracted students because of English language instruction, student-centered teaching practices and low cost for quality education (Yao and Collins, 2018; Yao and Garcia, 2018) As a result, graduate students reported that their experience at this transnational institution allowed for expanded employment options post-graduation (Yao and Garcia, 2018) Yet in order to gain a full picture of the intersection of transnational education and employability, a deeper understanding of how this transnational institution develops STEM students’ soft skills for employability is needed Utilizing case study methodology, we seek to understand how soft skills are developed in graduate students at VGU, predominantly an engineering and technology transnational university, as related to students’ perceived employability We examined the types of soft skills participants developed and how these skills are perceived to be useful for participation in the global economy Findings from this study emerged from a larger study that questioned, “what are graduate students’ academic experiences at VGU?” The findings from this study contribute to a better understanding of how institutions can meet the employability and soft skills needs in market-driven countries By giving attention to student experiences, we can understand the challenges and opportunities for Vietnamese students, especially related to their professional goals and national priorities in STEM Employability in STEM in Vietnam As of 2015, Vietnam ranks 10th of countries that produced the most engineering, manufacturing and construction graduates in the world (World Economic Forum, 2015) This ranking is reflective of the country’s efforts over the past 25 years to become a more industrialized economy This transition included shifting focus from the agricultural sector to the manufacturing, construction and service sectors In addition, young graduates are increasingly entering professional and technical occupations due to large returns on educational investment and developing these graduates’ skills to support “new,” more skill-intensive and less manual jobs have become priorities (Bodewig et al., 2014) Soft skill development for employability 251 HESWBL 9,3 252 Though employers still consider technical skills important, they equally expected new hires to possess generic, cognitive and behavioral skills, such as being able to solve problems and interact with non-colleagues (Bodewig et al., 2014) Yet not enough graduates possessed such skills to become highly employable after graduation (Tran, 2015) Vietnam’s economic focus requires workers to possess both technical and generic skills in all fields (Pham, 2008; Tran, 2013; Trung and Swierczek, 2009) Generic skills represent non-technical or non-technological characteristics that support any discipline and can be transferred to a range of contexts in higher education or the workplace (Devadason et al., 2010) Generic skills are sometimes referred to as portable, people or transferable skills, or competencies, abilities and capacities (Devadason et al., 2010; Ellis et al., 2014; Tran, 2013) Generic skills may also include personal attributes that ensure sustainable employment such as loyalty, commitment, honesty, integrity, ability to deal with pressure, motivation and adaptability (Devadason et al., 2010) In Vietnam, the term “soft skills” is most often used to refer to a similar concept Tran (2013) found that soft skills were perceived as more important than professional knowledge, and that the development of soft skills in higher education was essential for success at school, work and life Important soft skills in Vietnam’s labor market include teamwork, communication skills, independent working skills, presentation skills, social understanding and decision making (Tran, 2013) Soft skill development in Vietnamese higher education Several studies point to the significance of soft skills in both STEM and STEM-related professions For example, Lau et al (2016) surveyed senior information technology (IT) professionals to identify what skills were important in their field Aside from job-specific skills, a wide range of personal and problem-solving skills were found to be important to their profession at present and in the future, including the ability to manage conflict and work in multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural environments Fluency and communication in more than one language was also highly valued in professions involving information and communications technology (Lau et al., 2016) Similarly, Thang and Wongsurawat (2016) found that English language skills, adaptability and soft skills were crucial to the self-perceived employability of Vietnamese IT graduates The five soft skills in their study (i.e communication, teamwork, professionalism, problem solving and lifelong learning) all strongly and positively impacted self-perceived employability These findings resonate with Duy Nguyen et al.’s (2004) study on engineering construction They found that construction success factors included competent project managers with effective teamwork and communication skills, as well as the ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders through constant clarification and dissemination of information As a result of these employment needs, Vietnam has focused on increasing the skills of the workforce in the transition to a more modern society Skill shortages in Vietnam are reported to be greatest in businesses with international links and among employees expected to complex tasks (Bodewig and Badliani-Magnusson, 2014) Technical skills are still in demand but employers desire broader skill sets that include cognitive, social and behavioral skills (Bodewig and Badliani-Magnusson, 2014) Thus, higher education institutions in Vietnam have prioritized the soft skill development of future workers by promoting effective learning approaches Trung and Swierczek (2009) found that interactive learning approaches, relevant extracurricular activities, proper study facilities and varied teaching methods facilitated the development and delivery of soft skills Employers seek graduates with developed s oft skills, problem solving, learning, interpersonal, information-processing and written communication skills, yet many of these skills were neglected by the university curriculum in Trung and Swierczek’s study Thus, a disconnect between university curriculum and soft skills development existed which contributed to graduate competencies not matching employer needs Universities have attempted to integrate soft skills in the curriculum, but have faced certain setbacks (Tran, 2013) Similar to Trung and Swierczek’s (2009) findings, Tran (2013) found that students and graduates were dissatisfied with their soft skill development at their universities Much of the critique was on ineffective traditional teaching methods, outdated university curricula that not support the skill development of a modern workforce, a heavy focus on knowledge-based exams, weak assessments of learned soft skills and lack of extra-curricular activities, all of which contributed to a lack of support for soft skill development Students in Tran’s study also expected for soft skills to be taught as a separate subject, failing to see the link between being actively engaged in class and soft skill development In developing soft skills of STEM students, there is a strong support for the use of student-centered, active learning approaches For example, critical thinking skills increased among science undergraduates who went through group-based learning and wrote individual reflective reports (Kim et al., 2012) In Hong Kong, critical thinking skills also increased among nursing undergraduates randomly assigned to the problembased group vs the lecture-only group (Tiwari et al., 2006) The problem-based group underwent a variety of student-focused activities including constructing and analyzing cases, and working with a group to generate objectives, synthesize and present information In an increasingly market-driven economy where STEM graduates are expected to possess a wide array of soft skills (Felder et al., 2000), the use of varied teaching and learning strategies for soft skill development of STEM students is more critical than ever before Conceptual framework In this study, perceived employability was utilized as a way to frame participants’ approach to their soft skill development in their coursework As a broad concept, employability is viewed as the individual’s ability to self-sufficiently gain initial quality employment, maintain it and obtain new employment if required (Hillage and Pollard, 1998) Employability also includes “having a set of skills, knowledge, understanding, and personal attributes that make a person more likely to choose and secure occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful” (Knight and Yorke, 2004, p 280) Within the broad concept of employability is the implied subjective perspective of perceived employability (McQuaid and Lindsay, 2005) In an increasingly competitive and turbulent job market, workers who believe they are highly employable and can manage their own careers have a greater sense of security and self-determination because they perceive that there are alternative opportunities available for them (Clarke, 2009; Fugate et al., 2004; Parker et al., 2010) Higher education must not only strive to develop the soft skills and attributes associated with graduate employability, but also nurture the perceived employability and self-assurance of future graduates so they may cope with the turbulent job market ( Jackson and Wilton, 2017) In this particularly study, we seek to understand participants’ soft skill development with regard to their perceived employability priorities Themes related to soft skills or personal, generic attributes were noted if participants perceived them as valuable to their career goals or eventual employment Methodology We utilized case study method (Yin, 2014) at a single site institution Case study research was appropriate for this study because we seek to “understand a real-world case and assume that such an understanding is likely to involve important contextual conditions” (Yin, 2014, p 16) In this embedded single case study, the institution served as the case with Soft skill development for employability 253 HESWBL 9,3 254 each participant as an embedded unit of analysis Analyzing the experiences of the participants (i.e units of analysis) provided a better understanding of how the institution (i.e VGU) contributed to the phenomenon of soft skills development for employability Case description The findings for this paper emerged from a larger study in which we questioned: What are graduate students’ academic experiences at VGU? Founded in 2008, VGU is a public university that resulted from an agreement between the Vietnamese MOET and the Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (HMWK) in 2006 In addition to Hessen, VGU also collaborates with other German states Graduates receive degrees that are conferred by the German partner universities associated with their degree program Currently, VGU issues confirmation certificates of students’ graduation, with future plans of VGU conferring joint degrees in collaboration with German universities Similarly, other transnational institutions include partnerships with France and Japan In addition, all of these transnational institutions emphasize science, technology, engineering and maths as the primary programs of study All instruction and professional communication at VGU is conducted in English, and German “flying faculty” teach most of the coursework The flying faculty travel to Vietnam and teach two-week long courses at a time Students attend intensive two-week long classes on one course topic that is typically taught by the German faculty Although there are currently some permanent faculty who are Vietnamese nationals, the strategic plan for VGU includes employing primarily German-trained Vietnamese faculty Students in a previous study reported that German faculty used student-centered practices to facilitate learning in the classroom (Yao and Collins, 2018) Faculty would engage students through collaborative learning as a way to maximize engagement with course materials Flipped classrooms and group work were most effective in contributing to graduate students’ learning In particular, “group work was often mentioned as being the most effective way to learn complex course materials” (Yao and Collins, 2018, p 11), which is in direct contrast to traditional rote teaching in Vietnam (Harman and Bich, 2010; Thanh, 2010, Tran, 2012) In addition, findings from this study indicated that the pedagogical efforts of German faculty led to increased understanding of complex course content as well as understanding courses taught completely in English, which was not the primary language of participants Overall, students found that as a result of international education and low cost, studying at a transnational university contributed to their overall preparation to work in the Vietnamese and global economies (Yao and Collins, 2018; Yao and Garcia, 2018) Participants and data collection Participants were recruited by the first author who sent e-mails through gatekeepers at VGU Eligible participants included any graduate student who was enrolled full-time in one of VGU’s six graduate programs After receiving approval from her institution’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), the first author traveled to VGU in Spring of 2015 and conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 24 graduate students, each of whom chose their own pseudonym Nine of the participants identified as women and 18 were first year students in their master’s degree programs At the time of the interviews, VGU offered the following full-time graduate programs: Mechatronics and Sensor Systems Technology, Sustainable Urban Development (SUD), Business Information Systems, Computational Engineering, Traffic and Transport, and Global Production Engineering and Management (GPEM) Prior to the start of each interview, participants signed a consent form that outlined the purpose and procedures for the study In addition, the consent form included information about any potential risks or discomforts (of which none are known related to the topic) and ensured confidentiality of information gathered by the interviewer Finally, before starting the interview, the interviewer reminded all participants that they had the right to stop the interview and/or withdraw from the interview at any time Consent forms and consent procedures were all approved by the first author’s IRB at her institution Each interview lasted approximately 60 in a private conference room and was conducted in English, all of which allowed participants to share their lived experiences (Charmaz, 2001) Interviews were semi-structured, and some examples of questions include, “What you think are the benefits of attending VGU instead of another university in Vietnam?” and “What are outcomes you hope to achieve as a result of getting a graduate degree from VGU?” All participants consented to audio recording of the interviews, which were transcribed in an ongoing basis after the completion of each interview The first author wrote memos and notes after each interview as a way to develop rich descriptions of the participants and their experiences Data analysis A team of four additional researchers conducted coding and analysis after the first author returned to the USA We first made categories that were based on the research questions and conceptual framework from which we interpreted emerging themes (Rossman and Rallis, 2003) We utilized deductive coding, which includes a “start list” (Miles et al., 2014, p 81) based on this study’s interview protocol and conceptual framework We first searched for broad categories and then developed themes that emerged from the interviews Themes were coded by identifying appropriate phrases that related to our themes After concluding first cycle coding, we moved on to second cycle coding by grouping those phrases into a smaller number of themes (Miles et al., 2014) We organized the first cycle codes by clustering them under common themes or patterns that emerged from the interviews We continuously refined the pattern codes until we felt the final codes were representative of the participants’ experiences Using direct data sources and multiple researchers in the coding and analysis process allowed for effective triangulation of data (Merriam, 2009) and reliability of procedures (Creswell, 2007) Reliability included conducting multiple reviews of audio data and transcripts in order to understand and interpret inflection and meaning In doing so, we were able to confirm that our interpretations were representative of participants’ lived experiences Reliability often lies within the researcher who is the primary instrument for data collection As such, the investigators’ positionality was used as a form of reliability (Merriam, 2009) As the researchers, we were aware that reflexivity affected how we made meaning of participants’ worldviews The first author, who traveled to VGU to conduct the interviews, identifies as an US-born first-generation Chinese–American whose primary language is English This author had traveled to Vietnam for a previous study tour while in her doctoral program, and recognizes the privileges and benefits of her US citizenship when conducting this research project Her position as a US-trained researcher provided access and acceptance by her participants and the research site She benefitted from the outsider status as a western scholar, and at the same time, also benefitted as an insider who had prior experience in Vietnam The second author was born and college-educated in the Philippines As a current international doctoral student in the USA, she can relate to the experiences of the participants in this study as a Southeast Asian studying at a university that follows a western-based curriculum Having completed her basic and secondary education in the Fiji Islands, and working in multinational corporations prior to pursuing doctoral studies, she is also aware that her background may frame her perspectives and biases about international education Findings Participants reported that their institution and program helped develop their skills related to interpersonal relationships and independent skills In addition, participants found that their Soft skill development for employability 255 HESWBL 9,3 256 soft skills development improved in building work relationships, global competency and career-specific training In fact, several participants stated that soft skill development was more important than technical knowledge, which are highlighted in the subsequent findings Findings from this study are organized into the following categories: soft skill development for independent skills and soft skill development for interpersonal relationships We utilized the voices from the participants to illuminate the findings related to soft skills for employability We then conclude with some findings related to the importance of soft skill development for perceived employability within the global market Soft skill development for independent skills One emergent theme pointed to the importance of having independent skills for employability Many participants discussed the importance of working independently, life skills, critical thinking and research skills Anna, a second-year master’s degree student in the Traffic and Transport program, shared that VGU helped her gain technical knowledge in addition to soft skills Anna stated that VGU helped with developing “another skill, I think like life skill Now I’m getting better my life much more than before And I can work for less stress […] more than before.” Although some participants shared their life skills development, most participants emphasized the importance of critical thinking skills For example, Steve, a first-year master’s student in Mechatronics and Sensors Technology (MST), recalled an experience in the classroom, sharing, “I think more critically than before ‘Don’t believe what teacher say or said,’ that German professor teacher told me And I have some democratic thought and […] I am very confident to learn.” Here, classroom experiences opened the opportunity for Steve to confidently exercise critical thinking Similarly, by interacting with German professors in the SUD program, Melissa appreciated the diversity in thought that exercises logical and critical thinking: They have the broad knowledge that one problem [can be] seen in different ways […] logical thinking, something critical thinking Because when you work, when I work, many problems will happen So how you solve the problem? How you deal with? Melissa later shared that soft skills development is the reason she attended a transnational university, stating that if she had chosen to attend a Vietnamese university, there would not have been as much critical thinking development Many participants credited their German faculty for fostering their independent working and research skills Most participants shared that their independent skills were developed through assigned work accomplished outside of the classroom Harry described how faculty in the MST program would provide study materials, including outside websites and sources for reference In doing so, Harry and his peers were able to go beyond the lectures to learn more about the course content Harry elaborated by stating: We have the source to know where to start studying instead of just reviewing our lecture in the morning, but besides that, we also finished reviewing our lecture at night, when we have more time to doing our own research, our own studying and working And we can also prepare some questions when the next morning, we come to class and ask him, “so how does that work” and “what does it mean?” Fat Ray, a second-year in the GPEM program, shared a similar experience with his faculty When asked about effective teaching practices, he shared that his German professors would two things: lecture in class and then assign exercises or projects after class He stated that his homework or out-of-class projects often included independent research Fat Ray found value in conducting out-of-class work which was often done using the internet, stating that his faculty would often say “Google is your friend.” Thus, Fat Ray was able to gain additional content knowledge while at the same time develops independent working skills Steve also found the faculty supportive of independent as well as group work His faculty would often divide them into groups which he said was “so much fun.” Yet after group work, each student had to return to individually doing their own work because “everybody has to study on his own.” A self-proclaimed private person, Steve found value in studying as a group yet at the same time, he also enjoyed staying in his room to his own independent studying Thus, Steve’s experience is an example of effective group work learning that would also foster independent working skills Soft skill development for interpersonal relationships Several findings centered on the development of soft skills for building relationships with others These included skills in interpersonal communication, negotiation, cooperation, working in teams and understanding others from different cultures Students recognized the importance of communication and negotiation in order to build relationships at work These working relationships span across job levels: working with supervisors, co-workers, groups, customers and suppliers When asked about his decision to attend VGU, Joshua, a first-year in GPEM, shared that part of the reason for choosing VGU was so he could develop soft skills Joshua explained his belief in the importance of soft skills, stating: It’s very difficult to get the cooperation from people and of the managers It ’s better to manage people to get the cooperation between them, and also we can convince them not only to make their work, but also make them feel something like persuasive or something like that When negotiating or communicating with the supplier, the soft skill also very important Bong, a first-year student in Traffic and Transport, shared Joshua’s belief in the importance of communication skills Bong’s philosophy for necessary interpersonal skills was influenced by how he perceived supervisor and employee relationships When discussing his relationship with future supervisors, Bong stated that he would likely work in an international company and it is imperative to work well with supervisors from different cultural backgrounds His choice in attending VGU was influenced by his future employment plans, as he felt Vietnamese universities were ineffective at training students in soft skills Bong stated that his relationship with his future supervisor may not always be positive; thus, it was imperative for him to learn to navigate the interpersonal dimensions of his work Thus, developing strong interpersonal skills were extremely important to him so he will be able to maintain a collegial working relationship with his supervisor As Bong mentioned, studying at a western-based university was critical in his future employability Harry, in the MST program, agreed, emphasizing the importance of English language development in enhancing his communication skills for future employability Interestingly, he felt that the challenges of using English in class with German professors contributed to developing his communication skills Harry shared that “the communication skill is also one of the thing I have developed a lot because before, most discussion is not very effective because when I try to explain my question, the professor cannot understand it.” Harry received his bachelor’s degree at VGU, and as a result, he was able to communicate more effectively in English In fact, he would often help his Vietnamese classmates by “helping them to explain it in Vietnamese to me and I rephrase it into English and translate it to English and our professor can understand.” As a result of his sustained immersion in English, he felt he was “more effective in communication” because his professors’ “style of the presentation is sometimes really fast, but if they slow down it is very good And I try to copy it in my bachelor thesis defense, and during that, I tried to mirror the style of presentation.” As a result, Harry credited his presentation skills to the German faculty at VGU Soft skill development for employability 257 HESWBL 9,3 258 Several other participants recounted multiple stories about how VGU faculty have encouraged them to develop interpersonal skills, all of which will benefit them in their future employment Participants described largely classroom-based and independent study methods to develop selected soft skills For example, Mushroom, a second-year student in SUD, shared that prior to attending VGU, she would “learn by heart” on an individual level When asked if it was difficult to shift to more discussion-based learning, Mushroom shared that learning in groups assisted in her development as a student because “I can learn from” classmates who have “a different technique.” Similarly, Simon found value in group work in his classes As someone who does not like to work in groups, Simon realized the benefits of collaborative work, stating he could “practice my skill in group because it’s very important when I get a job at a company And presentation skills are also very important skills.” As a student in the GPEM program, he has now “realize it is very important and I want to improve.” As a result of group work and presentations in class, students have improved their communication skills Cat elaborated on her improvement in communication skills, stating: Around 40 to 50% I improved the skill of talking with a friend or pupil and the working style When I’m working with professor from Germany, I have to work very exact and fast It makes me feel like new person Overall, participants found significant value in gaining soft skills in interpersonal skills while at VGU They valued soft skill development as a precursor for employability in the global labor market in Vietnam Jenny, a first-year student in GPEM, illustrated this by stating: I think the soft skills are very important for any job because when you work at a job, you not only focus on that job, but on communication between you and other colleagues And the soft skills will help you improve the communication and negotiation Perceived employability in global contexts Interestingly, students contributed the importance of soft skills to employability within the current global economy in Vietnam Specifically, communication and cultural competence were important especially for students who will eventually seek careers with an international component Communicating with faculty and classmates from varied international backgrounds gave participants the confidence and cultural understanding to work in international settings Preparation to work with different cultures was highlighted by Cat, a student in the Traffic and Transport program She stated: We have a chance to study soft skills in presenters in class and in projects management subjects We have to study about the different cultures between Germany and Vietnam so it can improve our soft skills if we have a chance to work with a professor or expert from Germany Similarly, Joshua also found value in the learning about cultural differences from foreign faculty, specifically as a way to prepare for his future work He shared that VGU has prepared him for the cross-cultural aspects of his future employment Joshua elaborated by stating: I have a chance to learn with many professors around the world so it ’s better for me to get this experience from professors from many countries so it’s going to be better for me when I go to work Because when I go to work in an international company, I can manage many people from different countries, so it makes me to learn not only the technical knowledge but also the culture In addition to cultural competence development, many participants cited the need for strong communication skills for perceived employability in the global market Matthew, a GPEM student, shared that he chose VGU specifically to prepare him to work with non- Vietnamese business people He said that they “do practice so we know how to handle things and they teach us presentation skill and soft skills.” This was a valuable result of their training as “we are very confident when talking with foreigners, and when we are practicing our presentation we are very confident.” Central to communication skills was the ability to comfortably converse in English All participants stated that the English language, which they called the operating language of global business, was a necessary skill for perceived employability in the international businesses in Vietnam In fact, central to the majority of the participants’ career goals – and one of the main reasons for studying at a transnational university like VGU – was the ability to proficiently communicate in English Fat Ray confirmed this by sharing “English must be the language you communicate Like the Taiwanese company working for German Adidas at Vietnam You must use English to communicate, otherwise no one can understand you.” Thanh, a student who recently graduated from the Traffic and Transport master’s program, agreed In her opinion, she thinks: It’s very important because many traffic project in Vietnam we have to recruit our reach out from foreign people who work in traffic and transport field So how can I communicate with somebody in Vietnamese? I have to learn at least the most popular foreign language, which is English English as the operating global language meant that the participants had to have strong communication skills As Steve asserted, English language skills were necessary “because technology world is mostly in English The world now is mostly English based ” He emphasized the technical need for English language in both written and verbal forms because “if you take any instruction, you will find English somewhere even if it’s in Vietnam or China anywhere Especially in technology when you have to configure something with parameters, it is always in English.” As indicated by participants, communication skills, especially in English, were essential to employability post-graduation Tony, a second-year master’s student in Computational Engineering, summarized his beliefs in the necessity of English communication skills by saying that “especially in Vietnam, if I try to find a job in Vietnam” because “company from US or European, they have bosses that speak English.” Tony was confident that companies preferred employees who were comfortable with English because of his prior experience working as a tester engineer He shared that in his role, he had to work with other employees from Canada and Russia, and as a result, “we have to know English to communicate with the designer.” Therefore, due to the increasingly international contexts of business in Vietnam, participants strongly believed in the need for strong soft skill development in communication skills Discussion and implications This study highlights the importance and significance of soft skills development for the perceived employability of STEM graduate students at a transnational university through international faculty interaction and English language instruction Specifically, students described classroom-based strategies (i.e group work, case studies, managing projects and class presentations) that developed their soft skills (i.e communication, negotiation, critical thinking, English proficiency and cultural competency) For example, Simon and Cat both found value in classroom-based learning as it contributed to their overall soft skill development, all of which contributed to their self-proclaimed overall improvement as a student and future employee As shared by Matthew and Thanh, the development of their independent skills as well as interpersonal communication is perceived to contribute greatly to their future employability in the Vietnamese global economy The findings of this study resonate with previous studies about the urgency and significance of soft skills in the employability of university graduates in Vietnam (Tran, 2012, 2013) and the ways soft skills are being developed at the university level (Thanh, 2011; Trung and Swierczek, 2009) Yet the findings in this study are unique in that they provide insights on the important role of transnational universities for graduate Soft skill development for employability 259 HESWBL 9,3 260 employability in Vietnam In particular, participants in this study claimed that soft skills were developed well by the German faculty, and as a result, they are better prepared for global employment, which echoes Tran’s (2013) findings of soft skills sometimes being even more important than professional knowledge Thus, participants indicated that beyond necessary technical skill development, soft skills are crucial for their perceived employability In particular, participants in this study were very aware of how critical soft skills are for their employability in the modern Vietnamese economy, much of which is engaged in foreign business and international partnerships Thus, transnational universities can be important sites for contributing to students’ soft skill development for employability In addition, many participants shared that there were benefits to learning from German faculty because they assisted in the development of soft skills such as independent learning and communication skills This finding contrasts with another study that found soft skills development was neglected by university curriculum (Trung and Swierczek, 2009) Participants in this study felt that their educational training at VGU contributed to their perceived employability Findings indicated that German faculty at VGU used a variety of student-focused teaching approaches that fostered soft skill development in STEM classrooms, such as group-based and problem-based learning These experiences are similar to findings from previous studies conducted by Kim et al (2012) and Tiwari et al (2006) As a result of the findings, we provide three recommendations for future research and practice First, findings demonstrate that interacting with international faculty played a large part in providing students the opportunity to develop their independent skills, critical thinking, communication and cultural competence This has implications for transnational universities and the international faculty who teach in universities like VGU Specifically, how are the faculty trained to provide soft skill development to graduate students at a transnational university? This is a question that must include multiple approaches, including faculty training, curriculum development and learner preparation Institutions must consider how their curriculum contributes to the development of soft skills and how faculty, particularly international faculty who are on campus for only two weeks, are prepared to engage meaningfully in the engagement and development of student outcomes, especially within specific global and political contexts Finally, students must also be prepared to engage in a classroom that promotes group work, class presentations and independent work Second, students spoke of largely faculty-initiated, classroom-based strategies to develop soft skills for perceived employability One must consider additional methods for promoting students’ learning and building soft skills to enhance students’ perceptions of their own employability ( Jackson and Wilton, 2017) From an individual perspective, the ability to “learn how to learn” is a soft skill desired by the modern economy (Carnevale and Smith, 2013) From a contextual perspective, it has been suggested that multiple stakeholders influence the employability of graduates, including universities, governments, employers and the graduates themselves (Crossman and Clarke, 2010) Though the students and graduates themselves are assumed to take primary responsibility in enhancing their own employability, the support and cooperation of both universities and employers can help strengthen graduate job-readiness and employability (Chapple and Tolley, 2000; Harvey, 2005; McQuaid and Lindsay, 2005; Van Buren, 2003) In the effort to close the soft skill gap among university graduates and workplace demands, universities and employers must work together in the development of soft skills (Bodewig et al., 2014; Tran, 2015), but how exactly can this be done? Future research can explore individual and context-based perspectives in soft skill development, as well as how these connect to classroom-based strategies at the university level Finally, future research can explore the concept of perceived employability in more longitudinal studies From a theoretical perspective, employability has been conceptualized as the ability to secure and maintain employment (Hillage and Pollard, 1998), as well as possessing certain skills and attributes that lead toward more successful occupations (Knight and Yorke, 2004) Since HERA was issued in 2005, there has been some progress in examining the university students’ perceived importance of soft skills in the job market (Tran, 2012, 2013, 2015), as well as the importance of soft skills among graduates working at the job itself (Duy Nguyen et al., 2004; Lau et al., 2016; Thang and Wongsurawat, 2016) Continued research in this area can include longitudinal studies that track what soft skill development looks like in the transition of STEM students from university to maintaining careers For students who have graduated, how have soft skills developed or evolved over time in their respective STEM fields? How have perceptions of employability changed since acquiring employment? The above mentioned longitudinal studies can provide information for both universities and employers in offering opportunities for soft skill development as individuals transition from students to new hires, and then to successful professionals in STEM fields Conclusion This study is significant in higher education because of the increased emphasis in global knowledge exchange and need for better-trained graduates In attempting to reach global higher education standards, Vietnam is focused on strategies in producing skilled workers through higher education This meant designing “advanced curricula,” which includes English-delivered content, teaching methods, and processes of training, organization and management based on the practices of prestigious universities around the world (Harman and Bich, 2010) As indicated by participants’ experiences, soft skills for employability are critical in the growing international emphasis in the Vietnamese economy Although this particular study examines student experiences at one specific transnational university in Vietnam, the implications span beyond Vietnamese borders Transnational education is growing significantly, particularly in Southeast Asia which has emerged as a major hub (Altbach and Knight, 2007) The findings from this study can be applied to multiple countries and regions as long as attention is given to differences based on historical, societal, economic and cultural contexts As a result, the findings from this study may contribute to understanding how transnational institutions can nurture the perceived employability and self-assurance of future graduates in navigating an increasingly complex job market as a way to address the soft skills needs of the workforce in countries such as Vietnam By giving attention to graduate student experiences, we can understand the challenges and opportunities for students at transnational universities, especially related to their professional goals and national priorities 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for International Research in Education, Vol No 2, pp 22-38 Yin, R.K (2014), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 5th ed., Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA Corresponding author Christina W Yao can be contacted at: cyao@unl.edu For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website: www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com Soft skill development for employability 263