Employability of fine arts design undergraduates: mixed-method research

Abstract

This research paper has objectives: To identify the key factors that affect the employment ability of college students majoring in art design and puts forward a set of suggestions for improving the employment ability of college students majoring in art design. The target population is alumni from the art design program, comprising 200 people, whereas the actual responses are 200 respondents who completed the questionnaire, and 12 persons are the key informants who participated in the interview session. The research site is ABC Art University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. Key findings showed that factors affecting employability by order of priority included professional ability; ability to adapt; ability to compete. Recommendations for strengthening the employability of the art design's undergraduate students consisted of the following: schools should pay more attention by developing students' professional ability to be more competitive; schools should improve employment guidance and training, providing students with employment guidance, employment services, career planning consultation, and other programs, schools should carry out more in-depth professional and skill training and provide more valuable opportunities, and schools should reform the teaching methods to be student-centered and results-oriented, promote the sustainable development of students and improve their employability. As a result, improving students' professional and competitive ability improves students' employability, thus improving students' employability.