Study maps the hidden hierarchy behind Malaysian TVET graduates’ job mismatch

Graduates of Technical and Vocational Education and Training programmes in Malaysia often find work that does not match the field they studied, and a new study argues that this employability mismatch is best understood as a complex, interconnected system rather than the product of any single cause. The research, published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, applied Total Interpretive Structural Modelling, or TISM, to identify and interpret hierarchical relationships among the factors contributing to horizontal mismatch, which occurs between graduates’ fields of study and their employment.

The study’s authors, Shahnorbanun Sahran, Mohd Hashim Ashaari and Zulaiha Ali Othman, note that although graduate mismatch has been widely discussed, limited research explains how its determinants interact within the TVET system. To build their factor set, the researchers combined a structured literature review with stakeholder consultation. This process produced 21 factors in total: 17 derived from the literature and 4 context-specific factors drawn from the Malaysian setting. The context-specific additions were the role of educational institutions in supporting career choice, employment status or position, institutional reputation, and industrial training programmes.

Collectively, the 21 factors represented five dimensions: internal, external, interpersonal, institutional and sociodemographic. The researchers then examined the relationships among these factors using a sequence of established modelling tools. They constructed a Structural Self-Interaction Matrix, converted it into an Initial Reachability Matrix and a Final Reachability Matrix, carried out level partitioning, and performed MICMAC analysis, a technique that classifies factors according to their driving and dependence powers.

The level partitioning placed labour market conditions, gender and socioeconomic background at Level 4 of the interpretive hierarchy, a position that reflects their location at the base of the system. Personal interests of graduates occupied Level 3, sitting one tier above the base factors in the interpretive structure.

The MICMAC analysis, however, told a more nuanced story. Using a mean-based threshold of 19, the analysis classified labour market conditions and socioeconomic background as independent or driving factors, consistent with their low hierarchical placement. Gender, despite sharing their base-level position at Level 4, was classified as autonomous rather than as a clear driver. Meanwhile, personal interests of graduates were classified as an independent or driving factor even though they sat at Level 3 of the hierarchy, above the base.

This divergence between the two analytical lenses is a central finding of the study. The authors argue that TISM and MICMAC provide complementary interpretations: TISM explains hierarchical position and directional relationships among factors, while MICMAC indicates relative driving and dependence powers across the system. Reading the two together, they contend, improves conceptual clarity and prevents hierarchical placement from being incorrectly interpreted as direct evidence of high driving power across the entire system. In other words, a factor’s position at the bottom of a hierarchy does not automatically mean it exerts the strongest influence, and the two methods should be interpreted in parallel rather than in isolation.

The practical payoff of the framework, according to the study, is that it supports targeted institutional and policy interventions aimed at improving alignment between TVET graduate preparation and labour market needs. According to the study, the framework supports targeted institutional and policy interventions aimed at improving alignment between TVET graduate preparation and labour market needs.

The authors also position the framework as a foundation for future work. The TISM model presented here is conceptual and interpretive, built from literature-derived and stakeholder-consulted factors rather than from a quantitative test of causal effects, and the study itself flags the need for quantitative validation and predictive modelling as the next step. The authors position the framework as a basis for future quantitative validation and predictive modelling.

For a system in which the mismatch between what graduates study and where they end up working remains a persistent policy concern, the study offers a structured map of the terrain. By showing that labour market conditions and socioeconomic background act as driving factors while gender behaves autonomously, and by demonstrating that hierarchical position and driving power are distinct properties that require separate measurement, the research provides Malaysian TVET stakeholders with a clearer analytical basis for deciding which levers to pull first.

Subject of Research: Factors driving employability mismatch among Malaysian TVET graduates

Article Title: Modeling employability mismatch of TVET graduates in Malaysia: a total interpretive structural modeling approach

Article References: Sahran, S., Ashaari, M. H., & Ali Othman, Z. (2026). Modeling employability mismatch of TVET graduates in Malaysia: a total interpretive structural modeling approach. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-09386-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-026-09386-z

Keywords: TVET, employability mismatch, Malaysia, TISM, MICMAC, labour market, socioeconomic background, vocational education, graduate employment, career alignment, Modeling, employability