Teaching Future Skills for Undergraduate University Students and Its Effectiveness in Developing Future Job Skills to Meet Labor Market Requirements

This study aimed at the inclusion of teaching ‘skills for the future’ in the bachelor programs at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia and its effectiveness in developing future job skills to meet labor market requirements. The study obtained an overview of the future skills that students should acquire and their effectiveness. The methodology used in this study was quasi-experimental and used a single-experimental group design. It also used a descriptive approach to identify the future skills that should be included in the bachelor program at Qassim University. The data collection method used in this study was a pre-test and post-test of future skills, implemented on the sample before and after teaching the ‘skills for the future’ module in the bachelor Shari'a program at Qassim University. It revealed statistically significant differences at specific levels between the mean scores of the students in the pre-test and post-test, with higher scores in the post-test. This study contributes to knowledge about the most important future skills to include in undergraduate programs, which would enable students to face future challenges.


Introduction
Future skills are generally difficult to teach, particularly in the classroom. In addition, the personal qualities, work behaviors and individual characteristics needed in the workplace are hard to assess. Thus, some have proposed that the classroom should be the place for learning these skills since the learner can practice alternative ways of dealing with people, simplifying learning and acquiring knowledge interactively.
Skills acquisition is very important for success in work and in other areas of life (Andreoni et al., 2019). Skills cannot be acquired verbally; instead, they appear through work and practice, in performing relevant activities. While skills acquisition can be initiated through study, knowledge, and understanding, training in practice finally confirms them (Ritter et al., 2018). Education is one of the most critical factors for the youth in finding job opportunities so that they can live healthy, productive and responsible lives. Furthermore, investment in the education of young people contributes to making good individuals. Therefore, young people should be encouraged, inspired and motivated to gain knowledge and self-confidence. Stimulating young minds may be a huge resource, so governments should focus on directing young people's minds towards constructive activities that can help in building the society (Adnan et al., 2017).
It is also important to emphasize the learning of skills for future jobs, such as analytical thinking and working in a team. These skills will enhance young people's job opportunities. In order to fill the gap between the graduates' skills and the employers' needs, and to establish a match between the young people's skills and the labor market, a strong partnership between educational institutions, business, manufacturing and the youth should be established. There is a need for vocational instruction and training that includes the skills that prepare the youth to compete. The training environment should also be geared towards the performance required in the world of employment; the movement from university to work is made easier as the level of hands-on training increases (Hurrel, 2016).
Young people need an enabling environment where they are motivated to take part in their personal improvement and that of their country. Given the opportunity, they will be active and effective contributors to making decisions for the public good. The youth are the source of the society's power; therefore, it is necessary to create ways to ensure their inclusion and participation in all aspects of national development. The development of positive attitudes and the skills of participation and leadership should come from the school, where educational experiences can be integrated with academic knowledge and critical thinking to raise the level of understanding. Moreover, the opportunity for youth participation should not only be in the public sector, but also through partnerships with the private sector to encourage adaptation to the market and the building of leadership skills (Beard et al., 2008).

Literature Review
Future skills are an increasingly important factor in job success and they have a prominent role in the advancement of individuals and institutions. Therefore, it is important to research these skills. Beard et al. (2008) defined the term "skill" as "the ability to achieve a task in a specific way, with precision and very quickly." Also, Ritter et al. (2015) defined the term as "the ability resulting from knowledge, participation and accuracy in order to produce a good thing". According to Tang (2020), the term "skill" is "the product someone has from the sum of his knowledge and experiences that help him to perform his role in his major [subject area] well. Therefore, it is a mix of various inputs and many forms of abilities acquired and learned through academic and practical qualification".

Classification of future skills
There are many ways of classifying skills. According to Gruzdev et al. (2018), skills can be grouped into three classes:  Educational skills (academic): these are related to identifying academic material and the effective and correct use of scientific journals, in addition to the performance of operations such as the choice of resources and references. They are also concerned with designing charts, scientific maps and statistical tables and analyzing them.  Practical skills (manual): these related to conducting practical experiments and activities, using apparatus and tools, and making biological, physical, chemical and other charts.  Social skills: these are shown in the ways of dealing with others, understanding them and making friendships.

Ways of acquiring future skills
According to Vaughan (2017), there are some important ways of acquiring skills. These include: 1. Identifying the goal: skills acquisition and improvement depend mainly on identifying a motivating goal for acquiring the skill through thinking about the reason for learning it, and what will be done with it once it is acquired. This helps to retain the skill as long as possible. 2. Studying and learning: such as online learning, may be to gain a certificate or degree in a specific course. This is an easy choice for students. 3. Practical participation: may be to take on a difficult task such as managing a particular project from beginning to end or to run a training course for colleagues.
The importance of future skills Azmi (2018) pointed out the importance of the employees' skills that may need to be assessed, based on three points:  Firstly, solid skills or professional skills: the abilities that are necessary for implementing the duties of the job, such as software engineer, computer programmer, accountant, or other major.  Secondly, knowledge: the academic level or experience that an employee should have in order to be able to perform the responsibilities of the job.  Thirdly, soft skills: the behavior that is required from the employee and the personal qualities that should be available in order to be successful in the work environment.
These skills include: initiative, teamwork, quality and excellence in the job, customer service, communication skills, time management, planning for the future, readiness for learning, personnel management, effective leadership, change management, conflict resolution and lateral thinking.

The rise of university education in Saudi Arabia
According to royal decree number 1/236, The Ministry of Higher Education was established for implementing the kingdom's policy of university education, for which the Minister of Education is responsible. University education also received generous support through the establishment of new universities, and practical and scientific colleges, for which large budgets were allocated. For instance, there were 25 government universities, and nine private universities in the kingdom in addition to 34 private colleges containing academic and practical majors in different areas. The Ministry of Education in the kingdom adopted new trends in planning for the future and in scientific research. For example, in 2014 the Ministry of Higher Education was integrated with the Ministry of Education under the name "The Ministry of Education" (Aldabas, 2015).

Educational changes in Saudi Arabia
In 1924, The Directorate of Knowledge was established, and decisions were made for disseminating education and combating illiteracy. There have been many other achievements in the area of education in Saudi Arabia (Badwelan et al., 2016), such as: 1. Offering all types and levels of free education; 2. Disseminating free education all over the country; 3. Increasing the number of those who enroll in primary education to reach 99% of targeted groups; 4.
Gender equality in education; 5. Reducing illiteracy among men and women.
Saudi Arabia also undertook the continuous improvement of the curriculum, the adoption of strategies of teaching assessment that focus on the main competencies, and expanding the establishment of modern schools and teaching methods, in addition to ensuring the availability of the facilities that simplify learning and improve students' competencies. Moreover, the kingdom emphasized the improved recruitment and pay of teachers.

Shari'a Program at Qassim University
The College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Qassim University is one of the leading colleges in the field of Sharia sciences due to its educational programs, research services and community, and its many faculty members. The college's undergraduate programs include the Shari'a program, the Islamic studies program and the law program, as well as programs for master's and doctorate degrees. The college strives to continuously develop its programs in order to achieve effective communication between all its employees and to provide scientific and research services to its visitors in a manner that achieves the college's mission and goals and is consistent with its future aspirations (College of Shari'a and Islamic Studies, 2020).

History of the Islamic Shari'a program in the Qassim University
The College of Sharia and Islamic Studies works to achieve its goals and fulfill its mission. It participates in spreading, teaching and raising awareness of Islamic science and works on preparing qualified candidates to assume various legal functions. On the basis of these principles, the College was established at the beginning of the academic year 1396/1397 AH (1973/1977) in the name of the College of Sharia and Arabic Language in Qassim and was affiliated to Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University. After that, it was separated into two: The College of Sharia and Fundamentals of Religion and The College of Arab and Social Sciences. Later, the branches of Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, then the King Saud University branch and Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Qassim were merged into one university -the Qassim University. The College of Sharia and Fundamentals of Religion became one of the colleges of this university under the name of the College of Shari'a and Islamic Studies (College of Shari'a and Islamic Studies, 2020).

The objectives of the Shari'a program in the Qassim University
1. To provide the student with knowledge and Shari'a science; 2. To contribute to building the contemporary Muslim community according to the values of moderation and Islamic moderation through Shari'a studies; 3. To qualify graduates to work in various fields of specialization within Shari'a sciences; 4. To develop reading, inquiry, and scientific research skills in order to qualify the graduate to complete postgraduate studies in the field of specialization in Shari'a sciences; 5. To raise the quality of education in all the scientific departments of the college to achieve excellence; 6. To obtain academic accreditation and establish a reference for granting legal accreditation to legal programs; 7. To develop the scientific capabilities, practical skills, merit and competitive capabilities of the students and graduates; 8. To improve the administrative and technical performance of the college; 9. To upgrade community services and applied research to serve development requirements; 10. To build partnerships with relevant institutions at the local, national, and international levels. 11. To establish funding sources for the College, develop its resources, and rationalize spending; 12. To attract and retain talented individuals in Sharia sciences, making sure to retain them and benefit from their energies and experiences (College of Shari'a and Islamic Studies, 2020).

Study Questions
 What future skills should be included in the bachelor program of Shari'a in Qassim University?  What guide is proposed for faculty members to teach future skills to students on the bachelor program of Shari'a at Qassim University?  What is the effect of teaching future skills on the improvement of the students' future skills and their future job skills for the labor market?

Study Design
A quasi-experimental design was used. This approach deals with present events, practices and incidents, and implements certain changes in a situation in order to obtain intended changes in one or more dependent variables as a result. The quasi-experimental design used in this study was a single-experimental group design. The study tools were implemented on the sample before and after identifying the future skills that are included in the bachelor Shari'a program at Qassim University. The inclusion of teaching future skills in the bachelor's programs in Saudi universities arises from the needs of the labor market and, therefore, for the future employment of graduates.
The study also used a descriptive approach, which deals with events and incidents that are available to be studied and evaluated, without interfering in normal procedures. This approach was used to identify the future skills that should be included in the bachelor program at Qassim University.

Sample
The population of the study consisted of all students in the Shari'a program at Qassim University. The researcher randomly chose a sample of 35 students from the bachelor program of Shari'a in Jurisprudence (Fiqh) of transactions Number 1 (FAGH 223).

Data Collection
The study tools consisted of:  The list of the future skills that should be included in the bachelor program of Shari'a for teaching at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia.
The researcher prepared a list of the future skills that should be included in the bachelor program of Shari'a at Qassim University in the Jurisprudence (Fiqh) of transactions course, through the following steps:  Reviewing previous research addressing future skills to prepare a preliminary list. The list consisted of (59) sub-skills distributed over six main areas: (8) problem-solving skills, (9) decision-making skills, (13) communication skills, (8) economic skills, (11) time management skills and (10) safety and security skills.  Distributing this preliminary list of future skills to a group of specialists in the curriculum and in teaching, and to some employers, for their criticisms and suggestions for modification, deletion or addition.
After making the suggested modifications, the final list of future skills consisted of (49) sub-skills distributed over six main areas: (11) problem-solving skills, (5) safety and security skills, (9) communication skills, (8) time management skills, (8) economic skills, and (8) decision-making skills.

The pre-test and post-test of future skills
Because improving the future skills of the bachelor students of Shari'a in Qassim University is one of the most important objectives of this study, the researcher designed a pre-test and post-test of future skills. The primary form of the test consisted of eight questions.

Validity and reliability of pre-and post-tests
The test was shown to a group of specialists in curriculum and instruction and in Sharia science to confirm its validity. They confirmed the validity of the test. However, most of them suggested deleting the eighth question due to its difficulty, and others suggested some simple amendments in the format and some elements of the questions. Therefore, the test reached its final form. Then, the internal consistency of the test questions was calculated through an exploratory sample consisting of 32 students. This is shown in the following table (1).  Table 1 shows that there is statistically significant correlation at (α=0.05) between the whole test and each one of the seven questions. This confirms the test reliability.
To further ensure the test reliability, SPSS was used to analyze the results of the test of the exploratory sample in two ways: the split-half method and Cronbach's Alpha. This is shown in table 2.   Table 2 shows that the values of the stability coefficient are high in both Cronbach's Alpha and the split-half method. This confirms that the test is reliable for collecting data from the sample.

The steps of the study
To answer the study questions, the researcher followed these steps: 1. Preparing a list of the future skills that should be included in the bachelor program of Shari'a at Qassim University; 2. Preparing a faculty members' guide for Fiqh of transactions in teaching future skills; 3. Preparing the study tool, which is a test of future skills; 4. Choosing the study sample, and pre-testing the tool on this sample; 5. Teaching the future skills course to the study sample according to the instructions in the faculty members' guide in the Fiqh of transactions; 6. Post-testing the study tool on the sample; 7. Recording, analyzing and discussing the results; 8. Making recommendations in light of the findings.

Statistical analysis
To analysis the results of the pre-and post-tests of the study tools, the researcher used the following statistical strategies:  "T" test for the significance of the differences between two interrelated averages.  Modified Blake's Gain Ratio: this percentage is between (0-2), and the course is accepted to some extent if it is between (1-2).  Eta Square (η 2 ) to identify the size of the effect of the independent variable (future skills) on the dependent variable (gaining the future skills). The effect size is identified as follows: Small 0.2, Intermediate 0.5, Large 0.8.

First: Results Related to the First Research Question: "What are the Future Skills that Must be Included in the Bachelor Program of Shari'a in Qassim University?"
This question has already been answered within the study procedures (Section 3.3: Sample and data collection) as the researcher developed a list of future skills, the final form of which included (49) sub-skills distributed over six main areas. These areas are: (11) problem-solving skills, (5) safety and security skills, (9) communication skills, (8) time management skills, (8) economic skills, and (8) decision-making skills. These skills are described in more detail in Table 3:

Second: Results Related to the Second Research Question: "What Guide is Proposed for Faculty Members to Teach Future Skills to Students on the Bachelor Program of Shari'a at Qassim University?"
The process of preparing the faculty members' guide for Jurisprudence (Fiqh)

of transactions:
This went through the following steps: 1. Preparing the primary form of the guide. This contained:  An introduction;  The importance of teaching future skills;  The general objectives of the course in light of including it within future skills;  The nature and importance of the future skills that are included in the course;  The activities and learning resources of the course;  Strategies of activities and evaluation of the course;  Instructions for implementing the tools of the study before and after teaching it;  The schedule of teaching the topics of the course.
2. Refining the faculty members' guide. After preparing its primary form, the researcher showed it to a group of specialists and faculty members in order to discover to what extent it would be applicable to the bachelor students of Shari'a at Qassim University and to discover the appropriateness of its components to the study objectives and the nature of the course. They confirmed the appropriateness and applicability of the guide, with the following notes:  The accurate identification of the objectives of the guide in the introduction;  Adding the item "identifying the future skill and its importance" after the items of the general and objectives of the course;  Adding quizzes to the strategies of activities and evaluation;  Adding some general instructions before the schedule of teaching the topics of the unit.
After applying the suggested amendments, to see the students' responses and identify any possible difficulties in implementation, some of the activities of the guide were tested on a pilot sample of bachelor students. After this, the final form of the guide was composed, and it included:  An introduction to the guide with clear objectives for the course;  The importance of teaching the course;  The general objectives of the course in light of its inclusion of future skills;  The definition of future skills and their importance;  Detailed and comprehensive information on the six main future skills included in the course, in addition to their sub-skills;  The activities and learning resources of the course;  Activities redesigned as problem-solving activities in which students are taught the future skills included in each activity through practicing it;  Strategies of activities in the course and evaluation: these included the use of enrichment activities and quizzes during the course;  Instructions on how to implement the study tools before and after teaching the course;  General instructions for the teacher to be considered when teaching the course;  The schedule for teaching the topics of the course.

The pedagogy of teaching future skills in Jurisprudence (Fiqh) of transactions:
This study provided a structural model for teaching future skills which integrated three axes. The proposed faculty members' guide had three components: knowledge of the field; future skills; and the application of teaching methods for the skills and course content situations. The idea of this model is taken from the Russell model (1960; p. 651). "It is an integrated model of thinking content (understanding of knowledge), thinking methods (thinking skills), and thinking quality (kinds of dispositions), which is also cognizant of the relevant psychological foundations". (Hu et al., 2011;p. 534). The researcher copied this model and modified it according to the study aims and the nature of the undergraduate program.
The three axes of the model were:  Knowledge level including content of courses;  Future skill level including six future skills outlined in answer to research question 1;  Teaching of skills methods level including the strategies and activities for teaching future skills that emerged while teaching the knowledge content.
The model has some features. First, it forms an integrated system and consists of cognitive content, future skills and quality of teaching. They depend on each other, help each other, develop together, and form an integrated system. Also, this model develops with the acquisition of knowledge, the development of teaching methods, and the development of future skills. The ability to think using knowledge and skills develops and the model becomes more sophisticated and integrated with the progress of the stage. As students' progress through the course, the deeper their knowledge becomes and more their future skills develop. This is shown in Figures 1 and 2 and an example of one lecture is shown in Table 6, see Appendix 1.

Third: Results Related to the Third Question: "What is the Effect of Teaching Future Skills on the Improvement of the Students' Future Skills and Their Future Job Skills for the Labor Market?"
To answer this question, the researcher tested a hypothesis which states that there are statistically significant differences at (α≤0.05) between the mean scores of the students of the sample in the pre-and post-tests of problem-solving, communication, safety and security, decision-making, time management and economy in favor of the post-test. To test this hypothesis, the researcher computed the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the students' scores in the pre-and post-tests, and then used a paired samples t-test to discover the significance of the difference between the two means. This is shown in Table  4.
According to Table 4, the calculated "T" value is greater than the tabulated "T" at the level of significance (α≤0.05) in the six aforementioned skills. This means that the hypothesis that states that there are statistically significant differences at (α≤ 0.05) between the mean scores on the future skills before and after studying them, in favor of the students' scores in the post test, is confirmed. This result is attributed to the appropriate and effective teaching of these future skills, using modern strategies and connecting them to the needs of the labor market.
To measure the effect of teaching future skills on the development of these skills among the bachelor student sample, the researcher used the Modified Blake's Gain Ratio. The result of the equation is shown in Table 5:  Table 5 shows that the Modified Blake's Gain Ratio of the future skills of problem-solving, safety and security, communication, time management, economy and decision-making, is 1.44. It is clear that this value is within the range identified by Blake, which is 1-2. This demonstrates the effectiveness of teaching these future skills for the development of these skills among the students in the sample.
To identify the size of the effect of teaching future skills to the students of the sample, the researcher calculated Eta Square (η 2 ). This is shown in Table 6:  Table 6 shows that the value of Eta square (η 2 ) of the future skills of problem-solving, safety and security, communication, time management, economy and decision-making equals 0.994. This value is greater than the size of the effect of the dependent variable, which equals (0.80), which shows that the independent variable "teaching future skills" has a significant effect on the dependent variable "improving future skills for the bachelor students of Shari'a in Qassim University".

Conclusions
The study aimed to demonstrate the need for the inclusion of teaching future skills in the bachelor programs of Saudi universities in light of the future needs of the labor market. The results of the study revealed that there were statistically significant differences at (α≤0.05) between the mean scores of the students on the tests before and after they were taught future skills, in favor of the post-test.
In light of the results, the researcher recommends that Qassim University should use teaching methods and 5798 Teaching Future Skills for Undergraduate University Students and Its Effectiveness in Developing Future Job Skills to Meet Labor Market Requirements strategies that support the teaching of future skills, in addition to assessing and developing the curricula in the light of future skills. The researcher also recommends reforming and reorganizing the content of the curriculum of Shari'a at Qassim University to focus on some of the neglected future skills in the bachelor program. Moreover, it is recommended to review the programs of faculty member training in order to provide them with the future skills that they could then transfer to their students. In addition, the researcher recommends studying the obstacles to acquiring future skills for the Shari'a students at Qassim University. Further, the researcher recommends investigating the extent to which the bachelors' courses in Shari'a at Qassim University are integrated with the other academic courses to enable the bachelor students to acquire these future skills.  Students will write a short paragraph that includes a thesis statement and call to action.
-Safety and security skills -Economic skills -Decision-making skills -Case study report -Questioning strategies -Classroom polls -Peer assessment -Projects Explain the difference between right and wrong sales Students will make a graphic organizer after reading an article on conditions of validity of a sale.
-Problem-solving skills -Communication skills Form predictions about the effect of changing the value of money when selling Students will use websites to know about different currencies and categorize them by mindmapping -Economic skills -Safety and security skills Describe their thoughts on the importance of mutual consent between the seller and the buyer Students will describe a process to a peer in which they provide at least five points on the importance of mutual consent with valid feedback.