Building AI-Ready Graduates: The Impact of AI Literacy and AI Usage Behaviors on Student Employability

Abstract

This research aims to investigate how generative AI literacy shapes students’ AI usage behaviors, which in turn influences their employability readiness. In an era where the value of university degrees as reliable indicators of employability is challenged, understanding these relationships is essential. Data was collected from junior and senior students in the College of Business and Economics and analyzed using PLS-SEM. Generative AI literacy significantly increased reflective use (β = 0.223, p = 0.007) and reduced thoughtless use (β = -0.217, p = 0.01). Reflective use (β = 0.213, p = 0.01) and generative AI literacy (β = 0.225, p = 0.05) predicted internal employability, while relationships with cautious use and external employability were not significant. These findings position AI literacy as a meaningful form of human capital that guides productive AI usage and strengthens internal employability perceptions, offering implications for AI education strategies.