Factors Influencing the Improvement of Students’ Communication Skill: An Industrial Training Intervention

Communication skill has been globally recognized as among required attributes for graduates employability. This situation urges the stakeholders to find ways in preparing students with excellent communication skill. An implementation of iCGPA in public universities is one of recent initiatives taken by Ministry of Education with the aims to produce graduates who are balanced in both academics and non-academics. Undergoingindustrial training also is a good platform for students to improve their communication skillas they being exposed to hands-on-work. Thus, this paper aims to examine students’ communication skill improvement based on industrial training intervention. It also aims to examine the relationship between communication skill improvement and selected factors, and further explore the predictors of this improvement. A quantitative method using pre and post survey was adopted. The survey was conducted among undergraduate students from six different public universities in Malaysia. Overall, findingsof paired sample t-test reveal that students’ communication skill improvement has developed significantly after undergoing industrial training. The improvement were found to be correlated with program of study, motivation, leadership styles and organizational cultures. Using multiple regression analysis;extrinsic motivation, low power distance culture, medium size of organization and laissez-faire leadership style are the best predictor of communication skill improvement.