International Journal of Emerging Research in Engineering, Science, and Management
Vol. 5, Issue 4, pp. 48-61, Oct-Dec 2026.
https://doi.org/10.58482/ijeresm.v5i4.4

Received: 18 Aug 2026 | Revised: 30 Oct 2026 | Accepted: 04 Nov 2026 | Published: 13 Nov 2026

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Assessment of Employability-Oriented Technical and Communication Skills among Rural and Urban Students in SPSR Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh

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1N. Hemanth Kumar

2Hemant K. Panda

1Research Scholar, Department of Management Studies, Gandhi Institute for Technology (GIFT), Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

2Pro Vice-Chancellor, ICFAI University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.

Abstract: This study was undertaken with the descriptive-cum-diagnostic aim of assessing the level of employability-oriented technical and communication skills among rural and urban college students in SPSR Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, and examining how these skill dimensions relate to one another and to students’ perceived employability. The employability framework considered in the study comprises eight constructs: technical skills, communication skills, digital literacy skills, soft skills and teamwork, career guidance and counselling, industry exposure/internship, employability self-efficacy, and perceived employability. The findings revealed that all eight constructs were positively and significantly inter-correlated (p < 0.01), with employability self-efficacy exhibiting the strongest association with perceived employability (r = 0.750, p < 0.01). Principal Component Analysis with Varimax rotation extracted eight components. The PLS-SEM measurement-model assessment showed composite reliability values ranging from 0.864 to 0.893 and average variance extracted values ranging from 0.561 to 0.626 across the eight constructs. The structural model indicated a strong positive relationship between Employability Self-Efficacy and Perceived Employability (β = 0.832, p < 0.001). The six antecedent constructs also showed positive and significant relationships with Employability Self-Efficacy, with path coefficients ranging from 0.168 to 0.241 (all p < 0.001). The age-group analysis showed a nominally significant difference in Digital Literacy Skills (p = 0.046), although this finding was not statistically significant after Bonferroni adjustment. The study adopted a descriptive-cum-diagnostic research design using a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. The study collected 454 valid responses from rural and urban undergraduate and postgraduate students in SPSR Nellore District. The 40-item instrument showed high reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.944). The findings may offer insights into the employability-related skill readiness of college students in rural and urban district contexts.

Keywords: Employability skills, technical skills, communication skills, digital literacy, soft skills, employability self-efficacy, perceived employability.

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