Training quality, laboratory skills readiness, and employability of medical laboratory graduates in post-conflict Somalia: a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) study

Description

Abdirahman Ibrahim Abdi and three colleagues test how training quality becomes employability for medical laboratory graduates in post-conflict Mogadishu, Somalia. Labs underpin diagnosis and disease tracking, yet fragile systems struggle to staff them. The 2026 study surveyed 291 final-year students and recent graduates, modelled the pathways with structural equations. Three teaching inputs were tracked: how relevant the curriculum feels, how much hands-on practice students get, and how competent their instructors are. Confidence and job readiness sat between teaching and employment.

All three inputs built student confidence, and confidence predicted both readiness and getting hired. Readiness did not predict employment. The model explained 68.3 percent of confidence and 58.2 percent of readiness, yet only 2.3 percent of employment, a gap the authors own. In a thin job market, they argue, reform should strengthen practical training and faculty skill, since belief in one's ability is the bridge that carries teaching into work.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/PMC13563738