Pengaruh Soft Skill Terhadap Kesiapan Kerja dengan Self Efficacy Sebagai Variabel Mediasi pada Mahasiswa Program Studi S1 Manajemen Universitas Negeri Padang

Berlian Oktavia Hutauruk, Okki Trianda

Abstract


Work readiness is a key indicator of the quality of university graduates, yet some final-year students still report that they are not fully prepared to take on workplace responsibilities, to observe professional ethics, and to apply their academic knowledge. This study examines the effect of soft skills on work readiness and tests the mediating role of self-efficacy among final-year undergraduate students of the Management Study Program at Universitas Negeri Padang. A quantitative associative design was used. Data were collected from 150 students of the 2020–2023 cohorts using a five-point Likert questionnaire and were analysed with descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The measurement model satisfied the requirements of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability. Soft skills had a positive and significant effect on self-efficacy (β = 0.734) and on work readiness (β = 0.418), and self-efficacy had a positive and significant effect on work readiness (β = 0.458). Self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of soft skills on work readiness (β = 0.336). The model explained 66.5% of the variance in work readiness. Study programs are therefore advised to develop students’ soft skills together with their self-efficacy through project-based learning, work simulations, and professional communication training.

Keywords


Final-Year Students, PLS-SEM, Self-Efficacy, Soft Skills, Work Readiness

Full Text:

PDF

References


Arfandi, A., Musdalifah, M., Sudjani, S., & Setiawan, A. H. (2026). The interplay of soft skills, digital literacy, and self-efficacy in shaping work readiness: A structural equation modeling study of vocational high school students. International Journal of Environment, Engineering and Education, 8(2), 341–359. https://doi.org/10.55151/ijeedu.v8i2.418

Armansyah, A., Syafnur, M., Suniyarti, S., & Mutafin, M. (2025). Hubungan antara soft skill dan kesiapan kerja mahasiswa di STIE Pembangunan Tanjungpinang. Pahlawan Jurnal Pendidikan-Sosial-Budaya, 21(1), 153–158. https://doi.org/10.57216/pah.v21i1.970

Baiti, R. D., Abdullah, S. M., & Rochwidowati, N. S. (2017). Career self-efficacy dan kesiapan kerja pada mahasiswa semester akhir. Jurnal Psikologi Integratif, 5(2), 128–141.

Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117–148.

Beno, A., Hasanudin, & Jaya, A. (2025). The influence of internship experience and soft skills on work readiness mediated by self efficacy. International Journal of Asian Business and Management, 4(3), 547–566. https://doi.org/10.55927/ijabm.v4i3.324

Boere, N. A., de Jong, B., Jansen in de Wal, J., & Cornelissen, F. (2023). Does training content matter? Differences between soft- and hard-skill trainings in transfer motivation. Journal of Workplace Learning, 35(9), 274–290. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-03-2023-0046

Butar-butar, R., & Wijaya, T. (2025). The influence of hard skills and soft skills on work readiness through self-efficacy as an intervening variable in students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews, 2(3), 44–57. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijhs.v2i3.445

Caballero, C. L., & Walker, A. (2010). Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 1(1), 13–25.

Febriyana, N., Indrawati, H., & Makhdalena, M. (2023). The influence of emotional intelligence, industrial work practices, soft skills, and self-efficacy on students’ work readiness. Journal of Educational Sciences, 7(3), 499–517. https://doi.org/10.31258/jes.7.3.p.499-517

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.

Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

Ibrahim, R., Boerhannoeddin, A., & Bakare, K. K. (2017). The effect of soft skills and training methodology on employee performance. European Journal of Training and Development, 41(4), 388–406. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-08-2016-0066

Lie, N. L. C., & Darmasetiawan, N. K. (2018). Pengaruh soft skill terhadap kesiapan kerja menghadapi masyarakat ekonomi ASEAN pada mahasiswa S1 Fakultas Bisnis dan Ekonomika Universitas Surabaya. Calyptra, 6(2), 1496–1514.

Marin-Zapata, S. I., Román-Calderón, J. P., Robledo-Ardila, C., & Jaramillo-Serna, M. A. (2022). Soft skills, do we know what we are talking about? Review of Managerial Science, 16(4), 969–1000.

Maulidiyah, R., & Ubaidillah, H. (2024). Pengaruh soft skill, hard skill dan motivasi pada kesiapan kerja mahasiswa sebagai Generasi Z dalam menghadapi era digital. COSTING: Journal of Economic, Business and Accounting, 7(3), 4875–4889. https://doi.org/10.31539/costing.v7i3.7993

Prakoso, I. P., & Cahayani, A. (2021). Analisis hard skill dan soft skill room attendant Hotel Ibis Gading Serpong. Transaksi, 13(1), 49–63.

Riyanti, S., & Kasyadi, S. (2021). Motivasi dan pengalaman praktek kerja industri mempengaruhi kesiapan kerja siswa: Studi pada SMK swasta di Kabupaten Bogor. Herodotus: Jurnal Pendidikan IPS, 4(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.30998/herodotus.v4i1.8815

Sagita, M. P., Hami, A. E., & Hinduan, Z. R. (2020). Development of Indonesian work readiness scale on fresh graduate in Indonesia. Jurnal Psikologi, 19(3), 297–314.

Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital. The American Economic Review, 51(1), 1–17.

Setiarini, H., Prabowo, H., Sutrisno, S., & Gultom, H. C. (2022). Pengaruh soft skill dan pengalaman magang kerja terhadap kesiapan kerja mahasiswa melalui motivasi kerja sebagai variabel intervening (Studi kasus pada mahasiswa FEB Universitas PGRI Semarang). EKOBIS: Jurnal Ilmu Manajemen dan Akuntansi, 10(2), 195–204.

Suniyarti, S., Armansyah, A., Yani, A., & Mu’azamsyah, M. (2025). Pengaruh soft skill dan motivasi kerja terhadap kesiapan kerja mahasiswa STIE Pembangunan Tanjungpinang. Surplus Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 3(2), 352–357. https://doi.org/10.71456/sur.v3i2.1158

Utami, Y. G. D. (2013). Self efficacy dengan kesiapan kerja siswa sekolah menengah kejuruan. Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi Terapan, 1(1), 40–52.

Violinda, Q., Wahyuningsih, S., & Meiriyanti, R. (2023). Pengaruh career planning, self efficacy dan adversity quotient terhadap kesiapan kerja mahasiswa S1 di Semarang. Jurnal Aplikasi Bisnis dan Manajemen, 9(2), 639. https://doi.org/10.17358/jabm.9.2.639




DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/ijdb.v6i1.107092

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI)

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

Indonesian Journal of Digital Business is published by Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI)
and managed by Department of Digital Business
Jl. Dr. Setiabudi No.229, Kota Bandung, Indonesia - 40154
View My Stats