The quality of graduates should be strengthened to enhance their marketability after graduation. Unemployment issues among graduates in Malaysia are still reported to be high. Several factors have contributed to the occurrence of this situation including the lack of soft skills in graduates. This article discusses the role, implementation, and outcomes of Siswa@Fesyen programs that have been implemented to nurture student’s soft skills through Project-oriented Problem-based Learning (PoPBL). The Siswa@Fesyen program involves 40 final-year students from the Bachelor of Home Economics Education at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Qualitative studies involving observation and interviews were conducted to review the program’s outcomes in nurturing student’s soft skills and character development. Students’ feedback shows that this program has successfully achieved the main objective which is to nurture student’s soft skills as well as strengthening student’s sewing skills in producing fashion designs. Finally, the findings show that the Siswa@Fesyen program can be a significant platform to nurture soft skills and thus provide students with the opportunity to face the working environment and life after graduation.
Keywords: soft skills, PoPBL, fashion entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship outcomes