Effects of Creative and Technical Skills on Employability Criteria in the Animation Industry Malaysia

Yousef Khaled, A. Alallan (2024) Effects of Creative and Technical Skills on Employability Criteria in the Animation Industry Malaysia. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

The animation industry in Malaysia is experiencing a significant growth, although research on several employability issues affecting it is still scarce, despite the growing importance of creative industries worldwide. The aim of this thesis was to investigate students‟ and employers‟ perceptions in the Malaysian animation industry regarding employability skills and other labor-related issues, including internships and portfolio building, while taking considerations on the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. This study involved eight (8) senior students from the animation program in the faculty of applied and creative arts in the University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) (Malaysia) who completed their internship in their final year of study, and nine (9) employees working in the animation industry, who were selected based on the criterion of having the ability to make decisions on hiring new employees. A qualitative research methodology was adopted involving semi- structured in-depth interviews with all study participants, which data were processed via a thematic analysis. In the same time, quantitative research with the use of a close-ended questionnaire (survey) was conducted with 223 employees so as to assess the covid-19 impact. Results indicated that employability skills in the animation industry cover a wide range of creative, technical, and soft skills‟ sets, which all converge in a manner that create a complex, dynamic and integrative professional profile. In addition, this study found that internship programs provide for advanced opportunities of acquiring real-world working experience, as well as that portfolio building is crucial for enhancing employability chances. Lastly, this study findings support the idea that the new working modes introduced due to the pandemic may benefit employees in the creative industries in terms of employability skills development. Overall, this study argues that job candidates in the animation industry must by highly skilled, creative and technologically aware in order to pursue a career. The results do suggest that both internships and universities‟ programs should be sufficiently aligned to industry needs and employers‟ expectations. Keywords: Animation industry, employability skills, internships, portfolio building, Covid-19.

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