Student's Readiness for the Industry: An Analytical of Digital Literacy Aspect

Abstrak

The advancement of information technology and increasingly sophisticated internet access has positively impacted society. Unsurprisingly, the world of work now demands human resources capable of optimally utilizing technology and the internet. Today's young generation, known as digital natives, is considered to have high technological skills. However, several studies show that this generation has not fully demonstrated a high curiosity about their surroundings, and has not been fully able to utilize technology effectively. The young generation's interest in digital technology professions must be supported by strengthening critical thinking and information processing skills through increasing digital literacy. Digital literacy is vital to being productively involved in the ever-growing digital economy. This study analyzed digital literacy, which was measured using three main elements—complementary, familiarity, and security—and developed it into six indicators: communication and collaboration, critical thinking, ICT familiarity, data literacy, device security, and personal security. The research was quantitative with a purposive sampling approach, and the respondents were last-year university students. This research is expected to contribute to developing a higher education curriculum by strengthening digital literacy and students' curiosity to be better prepared to face the demands of the digital industry. Educational institutions can utilize the results to design relevant learning programs and by sector in formulating recruitment and HR development strategies. The improvement of these two aspects encourages the active participation of the younger generation in the digital economy. It supports the transformation of industry 5.0, which emphasizes the integration of humans and technology in an intelligent, adaptive, and ethical manner.