One of the most crucial factors that influence the success of a construction project is communication. However, past studies found that communication failure frequently occurs at civil engineering workplaces. Among communication failures reported were oral communications, such as giving instruction and briefing; skills, which are supposed to be mastered by engineering graduates during their study years. Thus, students need to equip themselves with proper oral communication skills before they enter the industry. As such, this study aimed to develop a valid and reliable survey instrument to measure Workplace Oral Communication Skills (WOCS) by performing a step-by-step instrument validation through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The questionnaire consisted of nine components, with 39 items of Workplace Oral Communication Skills (WOCS). In the study, the EFA was carried out in three rotations until every item’s factor loading met the minimum requirement of 0.60. Notably, Bartlett’s test of Sphericity was significant (p <0.05), and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test was more than 0.60 in every rotation, which means that the sample size was adequate. Furthermore, all components showed a Cronbach Alpha >0.70, which indicates that the instrument is reliable. The final result of the EFA showed that the WOCS construct only had six components with 25 items. Therefore, this study had managed to validate the instrument. Thus, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) can proceed in the next study using the validated instrument.

• Ahmad, D. I. (2016). Kemalangan di tempat kerja [Accidents at work]. NIOSH Updates, 9(17), 1-16.

• Al-Khamaiseh, Z., Halim, B. A., Afthanorhan, A., & Alqahtani, A. H. (2020). Exploring and developing items measuring situational leadership II (SLII). Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(2), 579-588. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8266

• Alias, N., Awang, Z., & Muda, H. (2019). Policy implementation performance of primary school leaders in Malaysia: An exploratory factor analysis. IIUM Journal of Educational Studies, 7(2), 22-39.

• Awang, Z. (2015). SEM made simple (1st ed.). MPWS Rich Publication Sdn. Bhd.

• Bahkia, A. S., Awang, Z., Afthanorhan, A., Ghazali, P. L., & Foziah, H. (2019). Exploratory factor analysis on occupational stress in context of Malaysian sewerage operations. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2138(1), 050006. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5121111

• Baird, A. M., & Parayitam, S. (2019). Employers’ ratings of importance of skills and competencies college graduates need to get hire. Education + Training, 61(5), 622-634. https://doi:10.1108/et-12-2018-0250

• Bhattacharyya, E. (2018). Stakeholders perspective on communicative competence in industry 4.0. SHS Web of Conferences, 53, 03001. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20185303001

• Bhattacharyya, E., & Zainal, A. Z. (2015). What do students and engineers have to say about communicative competence in technical oral presentations? Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 23(S), 123-142.

• Cattell, R. B., & Vogelmann, S. (1977). A comprehensive trial of the scree and kg criteria for determining the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 12(3), 289-325.

• Cubero, S. N. (2017). Essential communication skills for engineers, scientists and multi-disciplinary teams. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 7(7), 483-494.

• Department of Polytechnic and Community College. (2018). Rangka kerja TVET 4.0 (2018-2025) [TVET 4.0 framework (2018-2025)]. Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia.

• Donnell, J. A., Aller, B. M., Alley, M., & Kedrowicz, A. A. (2011, June 26-29). Why industry says that engineering graduates have poor communication skills: What the literature says [Paper presentation]. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, Vancouver. https://peer.asee.org/18809

• Ehido, A., Awang, Z., Halim., B. A., & Ibeabuchi., C. (2020). Establishing valid and reliable measures for organizational commitment and job performance: An exploratory factor analysis. International Journal of Social Sciences Perspectives, 7(2), 58-70.

• Fareen, J. A. M. (2018). Job focus: Revisiting students’ communicative needs and industrial demands. Journal of Language and Education, 4(4), 42-53. https://doi.org/10.17323/2411-7390-2018-4-4-42-53

• Finalcad. (2020). Exploring digital transformation in global construction. https://www.finalcad.com/survey-report-exploring-digital-transformation

• Friborg, O., Martinussen, M., & Rosenvinge, J. H. (2006). Likert-based vs. semantic differential-based scorings of positive psychological constructs: A psychometric comparison of two versions of a scale measuring resilience. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(5), 873-884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.08.015

• Gamil, Y., & Rahman, I. A. (2017). Identification of causes and effects of poor communication in construction industry: A theoretical review. Emerging Science Journal, 1(4), 239-247. https://doi.org/10.28991/ijse-01121. https://doi.org/ 10.28991/ijse-01121

• Gray, F. E. (2010). Specific oral communication skills desired in new accountancy graduates. Business Communication Quarterly, 73(1), 40-67.

• Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson. https://doi.org/10.1198/tech.2007.s455

• Hair, J. F., Jr.Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs.

• Hooper, D. (2012). Exploratory factor analysis. In H. Chen (Ed.), Approaches to quantitative research – Theory and its practical application: A guide to dissertation students (pp. 1-33). Oak Tree Press.

• Hudin, N. S., Osman, J., Shokory, S. M., & Wahid, H. A. (2018). Service learning in higher education: Evidence from Malaysia. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7, 474-479. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i3.30.18361

• Husain, M. Y., Mokhtar, S. B., & Alias, A. H. (2015). Polytechnic engineering students perceptions of the employability skills: A case study. Advanced Journal of Technical and Vocational Education, 1(1), 112-122.

• Ismail, I., Ahmad, A. R., & Awang, M. M. (2017). A study of soft skills among polytechnic students. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 5(8), 295-311. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2017.58025

• Jabarullah, N. H., & Hussain, H. I. (2019), The effectiveness of problem-based learning in technical and vocational education in Malaysia. Education + Training, 61(5), 552-567. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2018-0129

• Kovac, M. M., & Sirkovic, N. (2017). Attitudes towards communication skills among engineering students. English Language Teaching, 10(3), 111-117. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n3p111

• Ledesma, R. D., & Valero-Mora, P. (2007). Determining the number of factors to retain in EFA: An easy-to-use computer program for carrying out Parallel Analysis. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 12(2) 1-12.

• Lenard, D. B., & Pintarić, L. (2018). Comparison of employers’ and students’ perceptions regarding communication skills. Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 6(1), 063-082. https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP1801063B

• Linares, C. V., & Breeze, J. (2015). Is instant messaging the future of workplace communication within oral and maxillofacial surgery? International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 44(4), e301-e302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijom.2015.08.365

• Loewenthal, K. M. (2001). An introduction to psychological tests and scales (2nd ed.). Psychology Press.

• Masduki, M., & Zakaria, N. (2020). Fulfilling the demand for workplace communication skills in the civil engineering industry. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 28(4), 3069-3087.

• McLaren, I. (2019). Science students’ responses to an oral communication skills development initiative: Attitude and motivation. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 31(1), 73-85.

• Mehta, N. K., & Jha, S. (2020). Facilitation of team communication skill among engineers: An empirical study. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 11(2), 435-453.

• Mohamed, A. A., & Asmawi, A. (2018). Understanding engineering undergraduates’ technical oral presentation: Challenges and perspectives. International Journal of Language Education and Applied Linguistics, 8(1) 41-53.

• Muda, H., Baba, Z. S., Awang, Z., Badrul, N. S., Loganathan, N., & Ali, M. H. (2020). Expert review and pretesting of behavioral supervision in higher education. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 12(4), 767-785.

• Muda, H., Loganathan, N., Awang, Z., Jusoh, H., & Baba, Z.S. (2018). Application of theory, methodology and analysis in conducting research. A Practical Guide to Quantitative Research and Thesis Writing. UniSZA Publisher.

• Mustapha, R., Husain, M. Y., Mohamad, S. A. M. S, & Mokhtar, S. B. (2014). Persepsi majikan kejuruteraan terhadap tahap kemahiran empolyabiliti pelajar kejuruteraan institusi teknikal: Satu kajian kes [The engineering employers’ perceptions towards the level of employability of technical institution engineering students: A case study]. Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology, 1(2), 41-55.

• Nakatani, Y. (2006). Developing an oral communication strategy inventory. The Modern Language Journal, 90(2), 151-168.

• Ngadiman, S. H., & Jamaludin, M. F. (2018). Hubungan di antara kemahiran kerja berpasukan dan kemahiran komunikasi dalam kalangan pelajar semester akhir politeknik. [The relationship between teamwork skills and communication skills among final year students at polythecnics]. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 3(19), 1-18. https://doi.org/http://www.ijepc.com/PDF/IJEPC-2018-19-09-01.pdf

• Phoya, S. (2017). The practice of communication of health and safety risk information at construction sites in Tanzania. International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, 47(7), 384-393.

• Quintero, Y. A. R., Sukier, H. B., Capella, J. A. C., & Molina, R. I. R. (2019). Responsible communication strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises. Opción, 89(2), 1208-1234.

• Rahlin, N. A., Awang, Z., Afthanorhan, A., & Aimran, N. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of employee safety climate in small manufacturing enterprises: Translation, validation and application of generic safety climate questionnaire. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 7(10), 307-328.

• Richards, J., Guerrero, V., & Fischbach, S. (2020). Negotiation competence: Improving student negotiation. Self-Efficacy Journal of Education for Business, 95(8), 553-558.

• Saleh, N. S., & Murtaza, S. F. (2018). English Language use in Malaysian government and private civil engineering workplaces. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 6(3), 84-91. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.6n.3p.84

• Saleh, R., Widiasanti, I., & Hermawan, H. (2019). Development of communication competency for civil engineering students. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1402(2) 022024.

• Samuels, P. (2017). Advice on exploratory factor analysis. Birmingham City University. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.5013.9766

• Shkeer, A. S., & Awang, Z. (2019). International review of management and marketing exploring the items for measuring the marketing information system construct: An exploratory factor analysis. International Review of Management and Marketing, 9(6), 87-97. https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.8622

• Sinha, S., Ghosh, P., & Mishra, A. (2019). Employability of fresh engineering graduates in India. Education + Training, 62(1), 47-63. doi:10.1108/et-12-2018-0265

• Solnyshkova, O., & Makarikhina, I. (2017). Analysis of forming of students’ professional communication elements on the base of transporting and civil - Engineering university according to the requests of potential employers. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 90(1), 012022.

• Spence, P., & Liu, G. Z. (2013). Engineering English and the high-tech industry: A case study of an English needs analysis of process integration engineers at a semiconductor manufacturing company in Taiwan. English for Specific Purposes, 32(2), 97-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2012.11.003

• Spitzberg, B. H. (2018). Preliminary development of a model and measure of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) competence. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Preliminary, 11(2), 629-666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00030.x

• Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge University Press.

• Viera, A. J., & Garrett, J. M. (2005). Understanding interobserver agreement: The kappa statistic. Family Medicine, 37(5), 360-363.

• Williams, B., Onsman, A., & Brown, T. (2010). Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novices. Journal of Emergency Primary Health Care, 8(3), 1-13.

• Winterton, J., & Turner, J. J. (2019). Preparing graduates for work readiness: An overview and agenda. Education + Training, 61(5), 536-551. https://doi.org/10.1108/et-03-2019-0044

• Wisniewski, E. C. (2018). Novice engineers and project management communication in the workplace. Technical Communication, 65(2), 153-168.

• Yap, J. B. H., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Wang, C. (2018). Preventive Mitigation of Overruns with Project Communication Management and Continuous Learning: PLS-SEM Approach. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(5), 04018025. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0001456

• Yusof, Z. M., Mohamed, S. F., Misnan, M. S., Habil, H., & Ohueri, C. C. (2018). Improving labor productivity in Iskandar Malaysia: Insights from site supervisors. Advanced Science Letters, 24(6), 4162-4165. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2018.11563

• Zakaria, N., Masduki, M., Hamzah, N., Rubani, S. N. K., & Ariffin, A. (2019). Shy engineers? Strategies to eliminate shyness and enhance engineering students’ career development. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, 9(2), 4610-4615. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.b9041.129219

• Zakaria, N., Masduki, M., & Ismail, N. N. (2018a). Eliminating shyness through co-curricular activities towards enhancing the career development of engineering students. IOP Conference Series: Journal of Physics, 1049(1), 012057. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1049/1/012057

• Zakaria, N., Masduki, M., Kamis, A., Yamin, N. A., & Ismail, N. N. (2018b). Effective Competency-Based Training Learning Environment towards Career Competencies Amongst Vocational Students. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 13(2018), 18-26.