Anas Arfandi, M. Musdalifah, S. Sudjani, Abdul Haris Setiawan
Work readiness in vocational education is associated with transferable competencies and students’ confidence in applying them in technology-rich workplaces. This study examined the direct and indirect associations among soft skills, digital literacy, self-efficacy, and work readiness among vocational students who had participated in MOOC-based upskilling. A cross-sectional, non-experimental survey involved 225 students from 22 vocational high schools in 16 districts and cities in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. All constructs were measured using a 5-point Likert scale, and CB-SEM was conducted in AMOS using maximum likelihood estimation. The structural model demonstrated excellent overall fit. Soft skills were positively associated with self-efficacy (β = 0.574, p < 0.001) and work readiness (β = 0.652, p = 0.034). In contrast, digital literacy was positively associated with self-efficacy (β = 0.274, p = 0.002) and work readiness (β = 0.663, p < 0.001). Self-efficacy showed the strongest direct association with work readiness (β = 0.778, p = 0.018). Significant indirect associations through self-efficacy were found for soft skills (β = 0.447, p = 0.034) and digital literacy (β = 0.213, p < 0.001), while their direct associations remained significant, indicating partial statistical mediation. These findings suggest that soft skills, digital literacy, and self-efficacy are complementary factors associated with work readiness. The results highlight self-efficacy as an important statistical pathway linking the two competency domains to work readiness. However, because all variables were measured concurrently, the findings should be interpreted as theory-consistent associations rather than evidence of causal direction or temporal mediation. © 2026 by the author(s). Licensed by Three E Science Institute (International Journal of Environment, Engineering and Education).
Department of Civil Engineering and Planning, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia; Department of Technology and Vocational Education, Postgraduate Program, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia; Department of Civil Engineering Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia; Department of Construction Engineering Education, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia
