126 Int. J. Economics and Business Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2018 Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Crafting employability strategy in skills-driven labour markets Mahmoud Yousef Askari*, Abdelkader Mazouz and Ghaleb A. El Refae Al Ain University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 64141, Al Ain, UAE Email: Mahmoud.askari@aau.ac.ae Email: abdelkader.mazouz@aau.ac.ae Email: President@aau.ac.ae *Corresponding author Abstract: In this paper, we propose that universities could facilitate the employability of their graduates by utilising the three main university functions of teaching and learning, research, and community engagement. Our approach is built on the assumption that the role of universities in the success of their graduates might exceed the transmission of theoretical knowledge in a typical classroom and should go beyond their graduation ceremony. The professional life journey of students starts after graduation and as soon as they start their trained-for careers in the labour market. To reach that happy end of starting the desired future career, universities have a role to play in making the dream of a good job come true. Thus, we argue that the four-year period that students spend in getting their bachelor degrees should include a mixture of theoretical knowledge, applied skills, and a taste of work in real life organisations. Keywords: employability; strategy; labour markets; applied skills. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Askari, M.Y., Mazouz, A. and El Refae, G.A. (2018) ‘Crafting employability strategy in skills-driven labour markets’, Int. J. Economics and Business Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp.126–136. Biographical notes: Mahmoud Yousef Askari is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Al Ain University of Science and Technology, UAE. He received his Doctorate in Leadership from the University of Calgary, Canada. His research interest is in incentives and motivation, human capital management, intellectual capital management, higher education funding and leadership. Abdelkader Mazouz is an Associate Professor of Management and the Dean of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies at the Al Ain University of Science and Technology, UAE. He received his Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, USA. His research interest is in quality management and supply chain management. Ghaleb A. El Refae is a Professor in Financial Economics with expertise in higher education management, risk management in higher education institutions and university corporate governance. He endeavoured in researches that covered many themes, including higher education quality, international higher education, diversity and education, risk management in higher education