Rentier Graduates in the Age of AI: Employer Expectations, Skill Gaps, and the Structural Limits of Higher Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council

his dataset supports a systematic literature review examining how artificial intelligence (AI) and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies are reshaping employer expectations of graduate competencies across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The dataset includes the complete search strategy, screening decisions, quality appraisal results, and thematic coding outputs underlying the review. Using PRISMA‑aligned procedures, records from Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and ProQuest (2000–2024) were screened and synthesised. The resulting dataset captures evidence on employer expectations, graduate competency gaps, structural causes of the education–employment divide, and the influence of nationalisation and Vision 2030/2040 strategies. Five thematic clusters were identified through inductive coding. This dataset enables replication, secondary analysis, comparative GCC employability research, and meta‑synthesis extensions.