The Role of 21st Century Skills in Enhancing Workforce Readiness: a Case Study at BLK Wonojati
Keywords:
Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Workforce ReadinessAbstract
Introduction/Main Objectives: This study examines the role of 21st century skills comprising creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration in enhancing workforce readiness among trainees at the Vocational Training Center (BLK) Wonojati. The topic is relevant because industrial transformation and technological advancement require workers to possess not only technical abilities but also adaptive and collaborative competencies to navigate the challenges of the modern labor market.
Background Problems: The main problem addressed in this study is the low level of work readiness among vocational training graduates in Indonesia, primarily due to a gap between technical skills and 21st century competencies. This skills mismatch indicates that while trainees possess practical expertise, they often lack critical thinking, creativity, effective communication, and teamwork skills that are essential for employability.
Novelty: The novelty of this research lies in applying a quantitative associative approach within a nonformal training institution context (BLK Wonojati) to empirically measure the influence of 4C skills on work readiness. Previous studies have mostly focused on vocational high schools and college students, whereas this study expands the scope to community-based training participants.
Research Methods: This research employed a quantitative associative method using a Likert-scale questionnaire distributed to 120 respondents. Data were analyzed through validity, reliability, multiple linear regression, and F-tests using SPSS version 27.
Finding/Results: The results show that all four 21st century skill variables have a positive and significant effect on workforce readiness with an Adjusted R² value of 0.434, meaning that 43.4% of work readiness variation is explained by the 4C skills.
Conclusion: Enhancing creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration has been proven to strengthen work readiness among vocational trainees. Therefore, integrating 21st century skills into training curriculum is a strategic step in preparing adaptive and competitive human resources for the industrial era 4.0.
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