Extra-Curricular Activities and Employability of Undergraduates in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In the global emerging market today employability has become one of the challenging tasks where most of the companies search not only the traditional qualifications but going beyond that people who can provide something new to their organization. Therefore for candidates who are planning to apply for a job have to have certain level of skills which employers get satisfied. The main question in every candidate is how they can acquire those skills. It cannot be achieved only through formal education. Even though they have double educational qualifications sometimes they are unable to get a better job because they lack those skills. Education itself has widened today adding many areas into it where students have various paths for them to move forward through their career. A graduate has a comparative advantage than a normal candidate when applying for a job but they have to be more qualified to come forward where only the degree will not be helpful. In this research it identifies whether there is a significance of engagement in Extra-curricular activities in determining the employability of undergraduates in Sri Lanka. More clearly it tries to understand whether skills gained through engagement in Extra-curricular activities will actually helpful in building the career of an undergraduate in getting suited for the corporate world.

Keywords: University Graduates, Extra-curricular Activities, Employability

JEL Classification: C80, H50