Dilli Raj Sharma

Higher education institutions are vital for preparing future professionals and integrating education with the job market. Nevertheless, the limited opportunities for career-orientated education in Nepal continue to pose a significant challenge to the employability of youths. This study examines the impact of the higher education institutional environment and career development learnings on the employability of Nepalese youth. It also examines how career development learning influences the connection between the higher education environment and employment preparedness. The study employs a descriptive and causal methodology, using data from a survey of 411 respondents aged 21–35 actively pursuing work and engaging in career-preparatory courses in Nepal. It employed structural equation modeling to analyze the data and assess the proposed hypotheses. The results suggest that the higher education institution environment does not significantly improve employability (β = 0.038, p > 0.05). Career development learning influences this association (β = 0.803, p < 0.05), underscoring its essential function in converting educational experiences into competencies and preparedness for the job market. The paper stresses the importance of self-determination theory, illustrating how autonomy, competence, and interpersonal interactions contribute to personal development and motivation. Despite the specific cultural and economic context, the outcomes highlight the importance of higher education institutions in fostering career-oriented learning opportunities, advancing employability, and promoting broader developmental goals.

Graduate unemployment poses a significant challenge in Nepal, necessitating a comprehensive examination of the psychological factors that influence job search behavior. This study examines the influence of motivation, self-efficacy, goal-setting, and self-regulation on job search behavior among college graduates, specifically those participating in career preparation courses. A systematic survey was conducted from January to March 2024, focusing on 387 job seekers and recent graduates in career preparation programs at universities in the Kathmandu Valley. The sample was chosen through stratified random sampling to guarantee representation of various academic disciplines. A quantitative methodology was utilized, employing regression analysis to evaluate the correlations between psychological factors and job search behavior. The findings demonstrate that goal-setting (β = 0.842, p = 0.000) and self-regulation (β = 0.842, p = 0.000) considerably improve job search behavior, underscoring the significance of emotional regulation and cognitive clarity in surmounting employment obstacles. Motivation significantly enhances job-seeking efforts (β = 0.341, p < 0.001), underscoring its importance in this context. Self-efficacy correlates negatively with job search behavior (β = –0.494, p < 0.001), indicating that excessive confidence may diminish persistence in job-seeking efforts. These findings highlight the necessity for specific policies and educational initiatives that improve goal-setting, self-regulation, and motivation while alleviating the negative impacts of overconfidence by promoting balanced self-efficacy and reasonable expectations. This study enhances the comprehension of psychological factors influencing employability, providing essential insights for creating inclusive, adaptive systems that foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce preparedness via academic-industry collaboration.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
This paper aims to examine the operating performance of firms after new issues. Using financial data of 43 initial public offering (IPO) firms from 2013/14 through 2022/23 with 215 observations, operating performance is evaluated. Both the independent samples t-test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare firms’ operating performance between pre- and post-issue periods. Results reveal that operating performance after IPO for all indicators in different time windows from Year t+0 to t+3, has been negative compared to Year t–1. Sector-specific analysis shows that the decline in operating performance is significantly higher in the microfinance sector compared to hydropower firms. Underpricing has a positive effect on operating performance except in a few cases. Hot issue dummy has a negative, insignificant effect on both measures of operating performance, viz., operating return on assets and operating cashflow to total assets, for the first two-time windows, and it weakly supports the windows of opportunity hypothesis. On the other hand, the influence of promoter ownership on operating performance was positive except in few cases, which is contrary to the agency theory. Further, the results show that operating performance has a weaker influence on long-run IPO returns. Thus, it is proposed that IPO firms should strive to intensify their activities and effectively utilize capital raised through IPOs, considering the net present value of the projects to achieve better firm performance.

Acknowledgments
This paper is prepared based on my ongoing PhD work. So, I would thank my supervisors, Professor Dr. Keshar J. Baral and Professor Dr. Dilli Raj Sharma, for their mentoring during my PhD. I also extend a deep gratitude to the University Grants Commission Nepal for providing me PhD Fellowship with the Award No. PhD-78/79-Mgmt-02. I never forget my friend Ramkrishna Chapagain, a research scholar at Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, for assisting me with several inaccessible resources for this study.