THE ROLE OF WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AMONG GRADUATES IN KAZAKHSTAN

Work-integrated learning has been identified as an important experience that promotes employability skills development and prepares students for employment. However, research on internships, as part of the work-integrated learning in general, and on the role of pedagogical internships in the development of employability skills and preparation for employment among university graduates in Kazakhstan remains scarce. This study aims to fill this gap by examining pedagogical university graduates’ experiences of undertaking internships and their employability skills development. Concerning the growing attention on the development of the pedagogical sphere in our country, this research applies a case study design and identifies the experience of teaching specialization graduates from one national higher education institution in the south of Kazakhstan. Drawing on individual semi-structured interviews with fifteen university graduates and two university administrators, this study explores the role of work-integrated learning, specifically internship programs, in developing employability skills and preparation for employment. In addition, the research identifies the benefits and challenges of internships and provides recommendations for their improvement. This study argues that participation in internships is beneficial for individuals’ employability skills development and preparation for future jobs. However, the findings demonstrate that the top-down management approach at some internship sites remains the main barrier to experiencing effective internships within the workplace. Among the employability skills that participants developed more are communication, responsibility, organizational skills, and adaptability. This study may be beneficial to several stakeholders, such as students, internship coordinators, university practitioners, and policymakers. In addition, this study may promote awareness about the importance of work-integrated learning in the development of employability skills in general. Furthermore, considering the scarcity of research on the importance of work-integrated learning to employability skills development in the post-Soviet space, this study may contribute to the expansion of global research on the importance and challenges in implementing work-integrated learning practice from within a non-western context. Keywords: employability skills, work-integrated learning, internships, higher education institutions, university graduates, Kazakhsta