Repositioning Graduate’s Employability Through Innovative Binary Skill in Selected Nigerian States

Abstract

The innovative binary skills involved in this study are social intelligence (SI) and emotional intelligence (EI). It explored repositioning graduates’ employability in public and private establishments in selected Nigerian states. The study specifically aims to ascertain the implication of SI quotient as a soft skill (SS) on Nigerian graduates’ employability and determine the consequence of emotional intelligence quotient as an SS on their employability. The employed research design is descriptive. The study’s population (human resource personnel (HRP)) is 99. The selected states were considered for this study due to the high concentration and availability of agro-allied-based firms. A mixed approach of sampling techniques (multi-stage and total enumeration) was used to sample the HRP of the identified agroallied firms, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.74. The collected data were analyzed descriptively (frequency count and valid percentage)using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 23. The results reveal that the ability to navigate social settings and maintain relationships tends to increase staff earnings. The test of EI as an SS (the ability to control oneself from disappointment) has given them an added advantage, culminating in monthly earnings and active engagement. The study concluded that for a contemporary human to fit into this fourth industrial revolution, characterized by dimensions and unrestricted disruptions occurring in the employability of Nigerian graduates, possession of SSs is paramount to staying relevant. Additionally, for a functional, socially engaged, result-driven, and complete Nigerian youth, possessing SI and EI skills is of utmost importance. Based on these findings, the study recommends that parents and guardiansem phasize the acquisition of SSs early in their children’s lives. Furthermore, human resource managers should prioritize the possession of relevant skills when appointing employees to the managerial cadre, due to the sensitivity of such positions.

Received: 29 July 2024 | Revised: 3 July 2025 | Accepted: 25 August 2025

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest in this work.

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Author Contribution Statement

Tomisin James ARULEBA: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.