Ulaştırma ve Lojistik Kongreleri

A Study On Employability Skills in Shipping and Logistics Industry and Self-Assessment of 3rd and 4th Grade Students

Burak Budak
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, İzmir, Türkiye

Gökçay Balcı
Arş. Gör., Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, İzmir, Türkiye

Shipping and logistics industry has been developing rapidly in Turkey. In parallel, more and more universities establish departments that teach subjects related with shipping and maritime business. This means that the number of graduates in shipping subject has been increasing, which eventually implies that the competition among graduates is likely to escalate. In such an environment, it is critical to investigate what shipping companies demand from graduates. On the other hand, we should also determine the capability of new graduates or students on the requirements of employing companies in shipping related businesses. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to find out employability skills that shipping companies require, and to determine how much capable students perceive they are on the requirements of the companies. First, total 69 job advertisements in Turkey are analyzed to explore most common employability skills and requirements, especially considering the positions and departments of jobs. Then, after revealing variables which are most commonly used in shipping related job ads, a questionnaire is conducted with third and fourth grade students studying at the Department of Maritime Business Administration, DokuzEylul University. An exploratory factor analysis is conducted based on the answers of students. The results indicate total 6 factors that form the characteristics employability skills. The study provides rich descriptive statistics in terms of job advertisements in shipping industry.

Keywords: Shipping Industry, Employability Skills, Job Advertisements