Influences on undergraduate enrollment and career perceptions: study of Sri Lanka’s maritime logistics sector

Abstract

Deciding on the right higher education focus area and career path is essential for performance, individual satisfaction, and industry growth. Identifying the priorities of factors affecting higher education choices and their perceptions of onshore maritime logistics careers is vital for the sector's survival. As such, this study was designed as a postpositivist study, taking all national universities offering Logistics and maritime-related bachelor’s degree programs as the population while using judgmental sampling. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires from 196 final-year undergraduates in six Sri Lankan universities. A relative importance index and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Survey results revealed that job opportunities and awareness about the field are the most influential factors in determining undergraduates’ educational choice. Career growth and salary prospects are the most influential factors in determining the perception of career choice. Moreover, researchers highlight that “Job opportunities” highly influence the educational choice of undergraduates, and “Career Growth” highly influences the perception of career choice, which implies undergraduates are choosier in deciding their higher education choice and perception of career choice rather than accepting available and demanded careers in the country.