Demands at the workplace are transforming the
kinds of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed
for successful work performance. Evidence from
employer surveys suggested that employers are often more
concerned about soft skills or attitudes rather than technical knowledge or competencies (Stasz, Ramsey, Eden, Melamid, & Kaganoff, 1996). Empirical studies on work found that employers and workers also feel skills such as problem
solving, communication and the ability to work in teams,
are increasingly important for workplace success (Stasz et
al., 1996). Therefore, apart from providing students with
the technical knowledge, universities are entrusted with the
task of grooming students with the generic skills required
to be successful workers. The importance of some of these
skills are documented in the Quality Assurance in Public
Universities of Malaysia: Code of Practice document,
which states that the quality of a university programme is
assessed by the ability of its graduates in carrying out their expected roles with responsibility in society. As stated in the document, among the competencies that students
should demonstrate at the end of the programme are critical
thinking, problem solving, creative decision making and
ability to communicate, apart from mastery of knowledge
in the specific fields (Quality Assurance Division, 2004)