From Islamic Education to the Workplace: Employability Formation and Graduate Transition at an Indonesian Islamic University

Abstract

Graduate employability in Islamic higher education is often inferred from employment outcomes, while less attention is paid to how curriculum, practice-based learning, professional values, and institutional feedback are connected to workplace transition. This working manuscript examines that connection in an undergraduate Islamic Education programme at an Indonesian Islamic university using an embedded case-study design. The verified evidence base comprises the programme’s 2021 curriculum and 2024 self-evaluation report, including tracer-study and employer-satisfaction data; interview and observation materials supplied for manuscript development are retained only as provisional analytic prompts pending verification against actual field records. Documentary results show a teacher-centred but diversified graduate profile, layered capability development through coursework, microteaching, field practice, MBKM, digital/AI learning, research, and entrepreneurship, and generally favourable transition outcomes: 83.9% of traced graduates obtained first employment within six months and 94.1% entered work with high or moderate field relevance. Employers rated ethics, core competence, teamwork, communication, and information technology highly, while English remained the clearest gap. The study advances a curriculum-to-workplace conversion model linking intended, developed, transition, and recognised employability, while requiring empirical interview verification before submission.