Table 3.

Individual competency details.

Competency/Interview support	Description
Adaptability (24/30)	The ability to recognize problems, modify methods for solving problems and demonstrate flexibility (Precision Consultancy, 2006). Adaptability is crucial in the digital age because the rate of change in technology and the environment is accelerating rapidly and directly affects jobs; new graduates who can adapt to any situation will be employable (Bernie Trilling, 2012; Rainsbury et al., 2002).
Basic IT for works (30/30)	The ability to realize and use IT-based tools to seek information, and support the task (Gressgård et al., 2014) and to adopt intimate ICT technical skills to work efficiently and successfully (Md Saad et al., 2013). New graduates who apply IT to help improve company productivity can increase their career path growth (Prabhakar et al., 2005).
Business foundations (13/30)	The ability to understand business processes, accounting, finance, marketing, or economic situations pointed out by employers (Bassellier and Benbasat, 2004; Nord and Nord, 1995) and to apply technical knowledge plus business knowledge to collaborate with customers (Bassellier and Benbasat, 2004). The demand for business skills has increased significantly in the IT professions (Hardin et al., 2002) and they are essential for business negotiations (Liu and Hai, 2005).
Critical thinking (30/30)	The ability to gather skills, knowledge, and tactics that are creative, rational, and effective in addressing problems (Ennis, 1985; Reid and Anderson, 2012). Critical thinking is associated with the ability to apply knowledge in a real situation and analyze problems intelligently (Aizikovitsh-Udi and Cheng, 2015).
Database (24/30)	The ability to effectively use or manage simple and complex data to help increase business strategy competitiveness (ETA, 2016; SFIA, 2015). For example, data scientists need the ability to manage huge amounts of data (Horton et al., 2015). IT workers should understand and apply in-depth database techniques such as the medias analytic technique (Gandomi and Haider, 2015) or the big data technique (Zhou et al, 2016).
Dependability (27/30)	The ability to complete one's assigned duties in a punctual fashion (DEST et al., 2002; ETA, 2016). Reliability is a significant asset in the workplace, and is a qualification sought by employers. Because high-level managers do not have time to closely follow all workers, and need time to do other things that are more beneficial to the organization, they need new graduates that they can trust (Human Resources, 2018).
Digital communication (22/30)	The ability to use digital media and technology such as the Internet, email, and social media (Deursen and Dijk, 2011; Lan, 2000) to communicate, create networks and collaborate with others. New graduates should understand online usage, and should be able to use a variety of tools such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, and online social networks to increase self-capacity and to work with teams (Ala-Mutka, 2011; Ferrari, 2012; Vuorikari et al., 2016). Includes awareness of online social etiquette (Ramsay, 2010; Vuorikari et al., 2016) and issues of information privacy (Brandtzæg et al., 2010).
Digital marketing (10/30)	The ability to deal with customers through both traditional and interactive methods (Deighton and Sorrell, 1996), along with the skills needed to use digital technologies to help increase profits and maintain customer lifecycles (SFIA Foundation, 2015; Smith, 2007). Digital marketing is becoming increasingly important in this digital age because of changing consumer behaviors (Simmons, 2008) and the advancement of technology (Brady et al., 2008). This research has included digital marketing in the digital workforce competency list because most SME companies in this case study need digital marketing knowledge and techniques (Royle and Laing, 2014) to maintain their customers and market share.
English for IT (15/30)	The ability to effectively speak, listen, read and write in English (G. K. Singh and Singh, 2008), particularly knowing the jargon of ICT. English plays an important role in both oral and written communication in Thailand and other developing countries (Wiriyachitra, 2002). Language abilities affect employability, in particular that of non-native English speaking workers (Arkoudis et al., 2009), because employees who cannot communicate in English may face obstacles to their interpersonal communication and their effectiveness (Harzing and Pudelko, 2013). Most IT job advertisements list language proficiency as a required qualification. (JobsDB, 2018; Omar et al., 2012).
General communication (30/30)	The ability to communicate with significant people, using appropriate language in the right contexts, includes being a good listener who can express opinions (ETA, 2016; Radermacher and Walia, 2013). Effective communication can increase individual, team, and organizational success (Vries et al., 2010). Excellent written and oral communication skills will give new graduates confidence and courage (Ganguly, 2017), and enable them to work smoothly with teams in the organization (Gray, 2010).
Hardware/Network (10/30)	A basic knowledge of network systems, computer connection types, various operating systems and how they work and network security (ETA, 2016; ITPA, 2015). This also includes ICT infrastructure building in the digital age (Chourabi et al., 2012), for example, the Internet of things (I. Lee and Lee, 2015). or the concept of resource sharing - such as the cloud computing service (Bhardwaj et al., 2010). It was found that one factor contributing to success within an organization is the right investments in infrastructure and system development (Garrison et al., 2012). Therefore, new graduates should realize the importance of an organization's hardware, network meaning and mechanisms.
Innovative (12/30)	The ability to arrive at innovative solutions (ETA, 2016). Because companies have to provide excellent products or services to their customers (Tushman and Nadler, 1986), innovation within an ever-changing environment is necessary. New employees with creativity are needed by employers (Carnevale et al., 1988) because good ideas can help organizations to enhance business benefits and compete with their rivals in the market (Kilgour and Koslow, 2009).
IT foundations (30/30)	The ability to understand fundamental IT concepts, systems, platforms, tools, and technologies and to manipulate hardware, software, and services - including IT applications in organizations or industries (ETA, 2016; Gorgone et al., 2006). Having a strong IT foundation can influence firms to adopt advances of IT usage, particularly in SME firms (Hashim, 2015).
IT laws and ethics (13/30)	The ability to be honest and have self-respect includes being sincere and truthful with colleagues, customers and competitors (Crane and Matten, 2016). The awareness of IT laws and ethics is a fundamental competency for IT professionals, who need to keep records confidential, and know the other rules and regulations that might affect their companies (Sulmasy, López, Horwitch, & American College of Physicians Ethics, 2017). A lack of ethics could lead to serious business problems (George, 2006).
IT risk management (17/30)	The ability to plan, identify, analyze, respond, monitor and control a project (Morris, 2001). Risk is a variable that affects projects, and may cause plans to fail (Padayachee, 2002). If an organization can effectively manage risk, it will help them to accomplish their particular IT project goals (Alhawari et al., 2012).
IT support (30/30)	The ability to cover the broad range of assistance services provided to customers and/or users (SFIA Foundation, 2015). Support tasks include solving hardware/software problems, software maintenance, preparing documents and manuals, and training users how to use computer systems (ETA, 2016; ITPA, 2015). IT professionals should have technical knowledge which they are able to convey in a way that users can easily understand (Tarafdar, 2016). New graduates who understand and can apply IT standards and management tools will help organizations to increase their business success, providing service level agreements (SLA) for software maintenance (Hassan and Khan, 2017) or using ITIL frameworks (Cater-Stee et al., 2006).
Lifelong learning (30/30)	The ability to establish learning objectives, striving to learn either by self-study or through outside training. This skill involves acquiring new knowledge, and learning approaches to tasks that help increase business efficiency and effectiveness (DEST et al., 2002; ETA, 2016; Md Saad et al., 2013). Life-long learning is a crucial issue for knowledge societies and communities (Klamma et al., 2007). Organizations expect their employees to acquire new knowledge and update their skills whenever possible (Sutherland and Crowther, 2006).
Math and science (10/30)	The ability to understand and use IT-related mathematics, scientific rules and methodology to assist with tasks and solve problems (ETA, 2016; ITPA, 2015; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008). New graduates who have high-level skills in applying math and science to IT jobs are needed by the industry in the digital era (Atkinson, 2013).
Mobile technology and application (14/30)	The ability to understand the technology of mobile communications, mobile data systems, wireless fidelity, mobile operating systems and mobile application development and distribution processes (ETA, 2016; Holzer and Ondrus, 2011). New graduates should have knowledge of mobile platforms and mobile programming languages (Dalmasso et al., 2013) to create or maintain applications, because many organizations in many sectors use mobile apps to do business, and to sell their products and services (Neuhofer et al., 2015; Scott, 2015; Silva et al., 2015). In this research, this skill was selected because of its demand in daily life (Charland and Leroux, 2011; Goggin, 2012; Wasserman, 2010).
Personal attitude (30/30)	The characteristics of individuals who are confident, enthusiastic and happy with their work (Robles, 2012). Having a positive attitude will give individuals a positive perspective on a negative situation (Burton, 2015). Organizations need new graduates who have the right attitude (Burton, 2015).
Problem solving (30/30)	The ability to process information, think systematically and make correct decisions (ETA, 2016; Kilgour and Koslow, 2009) in both routine and unusual problems in a workplace. Problem-solving often requires critical thinking skills to assess the problem (ETA, 2016), particularly by IT workers who should generate alternative solutions that optimize profit and reduce implementation time.
Project management (16/30)	The ability to manage overall organizational plans, schedules, and performance (ITPA, 2015; Pant and Baroudi, 2008; SFIA Foundation, 2015). Because existing IT projects in the digital age are becoming more complicated, many organizations are paying attention to skill refinement for project managers and project workers (Svetlana Cicmil, 2018) to lower failure rates (Mir and Pinnington, 2014). New graduates who have project management experience (Natalie Ewin, 2017) are required.
Software application (22/30)	The ability to understand the software development life cycle, learn fundamental programming skills, to keep in touch with software tools, software development frameworks and technology and trends (ETA,2016; Finch et al., 2013; Vuorikari et al., 2016). Programmability has been studied as there has been a huge demand for it in many organizations (Geer, 2006; Westlund and Hannon, 2008), therefore new graduates are much more employable if they acquire this skill.
Teamwork (30/30)	The ability to work as part of a team, including helping one's team to achieve targets or goals (DEST et al., 2002; ETA, 2016). Teamwork is defined as group effectiveness (Carnevale et al., 1988) and is considered a skill necessary to organizations (Crebert et al., 2004; Robles, 2012). This skill can help individuals develop themselves by learning from others, and maintaining team learning contributes to organizational development as a whole (Ellis et al., 2005).