THE EXPECTED COMPETENCIES OF MANAGEMENT TRAINEES BY BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

The mismatch between the competencies of management graduates and the expected competencies by enterprises for entrylevel management jobs causes management graduate unemployment. Thus, it is essential to generate up-to-date knowledge of the expected competencies for Management Trainee (MT) jobs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to profile the expected competencies of MTs by business organizations in Sri Lanka. We collected data by using 49 MT job advertisements posted in the Sunday Observer newspaper during 2018 and on the internet during the first five months in 2019. Additionally, we conducted 10 interviews with Human Resource Managers and Recruitment Officers. We employed content analysis to analyze data archived from MT job advertisements and qualitative data analysis techniques to analyze the interview data. We identified the top 10 competencies appeared in MT Advertisements: 1)Education qualification, 2) Excellent communication skills, 3) Interpersonal skills, 4) Language ability specifically in three languages English, Sinhala, and Tamil), 5) Computer skills, 6) Positive attitudes, 7) Decision making and problem-solving skills, 8) Knowledge about the field, 9) Team skills and 10) Leadership skills. We profiled the expected competencies into four categories such as knowledge, skills, attitude and other requirements. The findings of this research are of immense utility to the academic programme developers in Management faculties and management undergraduates who seek to secure MT jobs in the immediate future with a set of essential competencies that they need to develop before they enter the job market.