M Abdi Dzil Ikhram W, Tímea Juhász
This study explores how students' soft skills relate to demographic factors such as gender, education, and age, with a specific focus on Indonesia’s labour absorption challenges. Using a survey of more than five hundred respondents, the research identifies patterns in how soft skills are perceived and developed among students from diverse backgrounds. The findings reveal that certain competencies —such as communication, teamwork, empathy, and leadership —show significant variation based on gender and educational level, while most soft skills remain relatively stable across age groups. The analysis also highlights strong interrelationships among specific soft skill components, indicating that they function as an integrated set rather than isolated attributes. These insights suggest that higher education institutions should strengthen curriculum design and learning strategies to equip graduates with the soft skills demanded by the labour market. By emphasising inclusive and targeted development of interpersonal competencies, universities can enhance graduate employability and help address the structural gap between education and workforce readiness. This study offers both theoretical insights and practical implications for soft skill development in emerging economies such as Indonesia. © Authour(s).
Doctoral School of Entrepreneurship, Budapest University of Economics and Business, Budapest, Hungary; Faculty of Economic and Business, Brawijaya University, Indonesia; Department of Social Science Methodology, Budapest University of Economics and Business, Budapest, Hungary
