Application of Planned Behavior Theory on Post-Study Career Intention: The Influence of Internship Experience in Malaysia.

Abstract

According to the Malaysian Economic Monitor in June 2018, unemployment rate among Malaysian youths remain 3 times higher compared to overall unemployment rate. It is also reported that, one-third of the fresh graduates in Malaysia quit their first job within 1 year or less. This implies that career intentions of fresh graduates are still unclear. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influence post-study career choice of graduating students who underwent internship training. Adopting the quantitative approach, and utilizing the non-probability approach, questionnaires distributed to the respondents. By using this, the researchers were able to describe the factors (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control) influencing intention to work and the moderating effects of internship experience on this relationship. Correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis will be used to identify the relationship among the variables and to investigate the influence of the mediating variable towards the proposed area of research. Results indicated that only attitude and perceived behavioural control does influence the dependent variable. When the effect of the moderating variable (internship experience) is investigated, this study fails to prove that internship experience has a significant moderating effect towards post-study career intention.