The Impact of the Integrated Model of Sustainability Training on Soft Skills to Develop Psychological Empowerment among Newly Appointed Employees in the Medina Region
Keywords:
integrated models of training sustainability, soft skills, psychological empowerment, newly appointed employees
Abstract
The current study aimed to verify the impact of the integrated model of sustainability training on soft skills to empower trainees psychologically in the Medina region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also aimed to determine the long-term sustainability of the impact and to determine whether there were differences between males and females based on gender in psychological empowerment. To achieve the study objectives, a scale of psychological empowerment among employees was developed, consisting of (36) items. Its psychometric properties were verified for validity and reliability. Newly appointed employees were selected before undergoing the integrated model of sustainability training on soft skills. They then underwent soft skills courses totaling (20) hours or more. The number of these employees who were followed up before and after the training was (40) male and female employees, including (18) male employees and (22) female employees. The results indicated the effectiveness of the integrated model of sustainability training on soft skills between the pre- and post-tests in psychological empowerment, in favor of the post-test. Differences in psychological empowerment among employees between the post-test and follow-up measurements indicate that employees retained their soft skills. The results also indicated no differences between males and females in the integrated model of training sustainability in soft skills for developing psychological empowerment. The study concluded with several recommendations, including continuing to diversify and provide soft skills to newly appointed employees, which will reflect positively on their psychological well-being, specifically improving their psychological empowerment.
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3. السالم، ف. م. (2022) المهارات الناعمة كمدخل لتعزيز التمكين النفسي للمتدربين. مجلة البحوث التربوية والنفسية، 11(1)، 73-91.
4. العامري، ن. ع (2021). دور المهارات الناعمة في تمكين الطلبة الجامعيين نفسيًا. مجلة دراسات جامعية عربية، 9(2)، 44-62.
5. عبد الحليم، أحمد (2021). . الخصائص السيكومترية لمقياس التمكين النفسي لدى عينة من المعلمين. مجلة التعليم والبحث التربوي، 79(5)، 377-414.
6. العبيدات، أ. م. (2024). التمكين النفسي وجودة الحياة العملية لدى الممرضين والممرضات في الرعاية الأولية في الأردن. مجلة الطب، 11 1))، 1476225. تم الاسترجاع من https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1476225/full
7. علي، م. س. (2022) التمكين النفسي كمدخل لتطوير برامج التدريب المهني. مجلة العلوم التربوية والنفسية، 20(1)، 33-50.
8. نصر، ع. م (2020). التمكين النفسي وعلاقته بتحسين الأداء التدريبي. المجلة العربية لعلوم التربية، 18(2)، 55-72.
9. Abu-Ghazal, R. (2017). Soft skills and social competency in the Arab world. Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies, 11 (3), 215–229.
10. Alabdulkarim, H. (2018). The role of soft skills in professional development: Saudi Arabian context. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 9 (2), 101–110.
11. Albrecht, S. L. (2017). The Handbook of Employee Engagement: Perspectives, Issues, Research and Practice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
12. Al-Khalidi, A. (2020). Enhancing resilience in workplace training programs. Journal of Human Resources Development, 8 (1), 55–67.
13. American Psychological Association. (2019). APA Dictionary of Psychology (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
14. Andisheh, F., Shams, M., & Karami, A. (2024). Abdulahi, A. (2024). Effect of training evaluation methods on employee performance in public service in Kenya. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 8 (5), 296–308. Retrieved from https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/effect-of-training-evaluation-methods-on-employee-performance-in-public-service-kenya.
15. Bandura, A. (2018). Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
16. Barrera-Osorio, F., Kugler, A. D., & Silliman, M. I. (2020). Hard and soft skills in vocational training: Experimental evidence from Colombia. NBER Working Paper No. 27548. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27548/w27548.pdfNBER+1
17. Bilderback, S. (2023). Integrating training for organizational sustainability: The application of Sustainable Development Goals globally. European Journal of Training and Development, 47(5), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-01-2023-0005
18. Cameron, R. (2016). Developing soft skills for workplace success. Journal of Management Development, 35 (5), 640–655.
19. Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (2016). Empowerment and effectiveness: The moderating role of task structure. Academy of Management Journal, 59 (2), 217–239.
20. Creon, A. (2022). The impact of transformational trainer behavior on trainees' psychological empowerment and training transfer. International Journal of Training and Development, 26 (3), 214–229. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijtd.12256.
21. Education to Workforce Indicator Framework. (2023). Communication skills. https://www.educationtoworkforce.org/indicators/communication-skills
22. Gartner. (2023). Conflict management. Gartner Glossary. https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/glossary/conflict-management
23. Ghasemi, M., Karami, M., & Ranjbar, H. (2024). The role of psychological empowerment in enhancing work engagement among nurses in Iranian hospitals. Journal of Nursing Management, 32 (1), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13346.
24. Goleman, D. (2017). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. New York: TalentSmart.
25. Hartini, Q. A. P. (2025). Factors that influence the employability skills of vocational education and training graduates in Botswana. PubMed Central. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12344406.
26. Kariri, H. D. H. (2023). Rasch and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the Arabic version of the Psychological Empowerment Scale (PsyES). MDPI Sustainability, 15(7), 5928.
27. Morin, A. (2023, July 20). What is self-awareness? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-awareness-2795023
28. Moubarak, H. F. A. (2022). Multicultural Psychological Empowerment Scale for Saudi Women. PMC.
29. Razali, M. Z. M., & Jamil, R. (2023). Sustainability learning in organizations: Integrated model of learning approaches and contextual factors. SAGE Open, 13(1), 21582440231155390. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231155390
30. Robles, M. M. (2015). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 78 (4), 453–465.
31. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York: Guilford Press.
32. Samawi, A., Al-Momani, M., & Al-Debei, M. (2022). Evaluating the effectiveness of a psychological empowerment-based training program on reducing future career anxiety among gifted students at Al-Balqa Applied University. Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies, 16 (2), 102–118. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.102118.
33. Smith, L., Brown, T., & Wang, J. (2025). Psychological resilience in the aftermath of global crises: A systematic review. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.15.25322337
34. Spreitzer, G. M. (2015). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38 (5), 1442–1465.
35. Sult, A. (2024). The role of training in implementing corporate sustainability: A systematic review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2560
36. Terkamo-Moisio, A., Salminen, L., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2022). Psychological and structural empowerment among nursing students in a leadership education program in Finland. Nurse Education Today, 112, 105315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105315.
37. Yimam, M. H. (2022). Impact of training on employees' performance: A case study of Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. Cogent Education, 9 (1), 207-221. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1379322ERIC+2Scribd+2
38. Zhang, Y., Xu, L., Li, H., Wang, J., & Chen, Y. (2025). Psychological empowerment and its impact on professional motivation among trainees: A multidimensional perspective. BMC Nursing, 24(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03403-3
39. Zimmerman, M. A. (2017). Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational and community levels of analysis. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of Community Psychology (pp. 43–63). Springer.
Published
2025-10-17
How to Cite
Talal Ibrahim Alashram. (2025). The Impact of the Integrated Model of Sustainability Training on Soft Skills to Develop Psychological Empowerment among Newly Appointed Employees in the Medina Region. Journal of Arts, Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, (125), 56-71. https://doi.org/10.33193/JALHSS.125.2025.1529
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