Managerial skills required for Agricultural Graduates for current job market - A study in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The eight agricultural faculties in eight Universities in Sri Lanka compete to produce agricultural graduates whose training meets employers expectations that change wit(i time. Tailoring curricula to meet these expectations could improve trainees credibility because employers especially in the private sector hire graduates whose qualifications, training and experience they consider to be satisfactory. This survey of 30 randomly selected Sri Lankan employers in the private sector found that they seek agricultural professionals who possess the following qualities, listed in the descending order of importance: (1) Knowledge and skills of the job (2) Job commitment (3) Good working knowtedge in the English Language (4) Knowledge in Information Technology (IT) (5) Ability to meet deadlines for assigned tasks (6) Punctuality (7) Maturity to handle responsibilities (8) Ability to use available resources effectively (9) Ability to work well with minimum supervision (10) Honesty (11) General intelligence (12) Ability and willingness to work hard.