Arab Educational Information Network

The current study aims at identifying the extent of the required life skills for the labor market among students of the preparatory programs of Al-Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University from the perspective of the teaching staff members. The researcher adopted the descriptive approach, and prepared a questionnaire composed of (30) skills, distributed to all members of the faculty of (98) members, and reached a number of conclusions and recommendations, the most significant of which include the following: 1) development of a list of life skills containing three main dimensions (higher thinking skills, communication and social communication skills, psychological and emotional skills). The list includes 30 indicators of behavior. It was found that the respondents agreed about the availability of the required life skills for the labor market among the students of the preparatory programs in Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, with an average of (1.98 out of 3). The most remarkably available skills are the psychological and emotional ones followed by the communication and social communication skills, and finally the higher order thinking skills, respectively. There are no statistically significant differences among the respondents regarding (qualifications and years of experience). 2) A number of recommendations are suggested including: the development of a preparatory environment; and encouraging the students of the preparatory year through varying the modern methods and strategies that inspire them and develop their personal skills. 3) A number of future studies have been suggested as well, including: drafting a proposal for developing the preparatory year programs in light of the life skills required for the labor market. (Published abstract)