Document Type : Scientific - Research
Authors
1 معاون فرهنگی و دانشجویی دانشگاه فنی و حرفه ای
2 PhD student in higher education University of Tehran
Abstract
Equipping students with a variety of competencies and skills to succeed in the job market and improve their employability is one of the criteria for assessing the quality of universities, especially third generation and entrepreneurial universities. Given the importance of employability, this study aims to analyze the level of employability of technical and vocational graduates (TVG) in a mixed method including quantitative survey and qualitative content. The statistical population of the study includes 107 cultural-student deputies of technical and vocational colleges. For data gathering, a constructed researcher-made questionnaire from the De Vos & Soenz (2008) questionnaire was used, Descriptive statistics and t-test were used to analyze quantitative data. Based on the research, the employability of TVG has been evaluated from the perspective of the deputies at the desired level. In the second part, the solutions for improving the employability level of TVG are investigated. Based on the analysis of the deputy perspectives, 5 main categories, 13 sub-categories and 108 key concepts have been extracted and categorized to improve the employability level of TVG. Using the proposed solutions such as reviewing curricula and adapting them to the needs of the market, providing higher education and establishing and developing disciplines and colleges based on it, equipping infrastructures and reorganizing workshops and laboratories, promoting entrepreneurship culture and highlighting the role of the disciplines, continuous relation with industry, holding effective internship courses and support of TV graduates to start a business, can greatly improve the employability level of the graduates.
Keywords
Aamodt, P. O., & Havnes, A. (2008). Factors affecting professional job mastery: Quality of study or work experience. Quality in Higher Education, 14, 234-248.
Australian Industry Group (2019). Realising potential: Solving Australia’s tertiary education challenge. Sydney, Australia: AIG.
Azevedo, A., Apfelthaler, G., & Hurst, D. (2012). Competency development in business graduates: An industry-driven approach for examining the alignment of undergraduate business education with industry requirements. The International Journal of Management Education, 10(1), 12-28.
Barani, S., & Alibeigi, A.H. (2009). Analyzing the perceptions and expectations of agricultural students about the employability of agricultural fields in agricultural faculties in the west of the country. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 3(2), 39-58 [in Persian].
Beigdeli, M., Karamati, M.R., & Bazargan, A. (2012). Investigating the relationship between academic field and employment status of graduates of the faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of University of Tehran. Quarterly Journal of Research & Planning in Higher Education, 3(65), 111-131 [in Persian].
Boden, R., & Nedeva, M. (2010). Employing discourse: Universities and graduate employability. Journal of Education Policy, 25(1), 37-54.
Bridgstock, R., & Jackson, D. (2019). Strategic institutional approaches to graduate employability: Navigating meanings, measurements and what really matters. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 41(5), 468-484.
Briscoe, J.P., Henagan, S.C., Burton, J.P., & Murphy, W.M. (2012). Coping with an insecure employment environment: The differing roles of protean and boundary less career orientations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(2), 308 -316.
Clark, H. (2013). A comprehensive framework for measuring skills gaps and determining work readiness. Employment Relations Today, 40(3), 1˚11. https://doi.org/10.1002/ert.21416.
Cortellazzo, L., Bonesso, S., & Gerli, F. (2019). Protean career orientation: Behavioral antecedents and employability outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior,116, 1033 43.
Cranmer, S. (2006). Enhancing graduate employability: Best intentions and mixed outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 169-184.
Darvishan, A., Taslimi, M.S., & Hakimzadh, R. (2019). Designing a model of employability skills for higher education graduates (Case study: SMEs in Tehran Province). Journal of Higher Education Curriculum Studies, 19(10), 7 -39 [in Persian].
De Vos, A., & Soens, N. (2008). Protean attitude and career success: The mediating role of self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(3), 449-456. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2008.08.007.
Entezari, Y. (2017). Higher education and employment capabilities of graduates. Iranian Journal of Higher Education, 2(8), 54-75 [in Persian].
Etzkowitz, H. (2016). The entrepreneurial university: Vision and metrics. Industry and Higher Education, 30(2), 83-97.
Hofstetter, H., & Rosenblatt, Z. (2017). Predicting protean and physical boundary less career attitudes by work importance and work alternatives: Regulatory focus mediation effects. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(15), 2136-2158.
Jackson, D., & Bridgstock, R. (2018). Evidencing student success in the contemporary world-of-work: Renewing our thinking. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(5), 984-998.
Kalfa, S., & Taksa, L. (2015). Cultural capital in business higher education: Reconsidering the graduate attributes movement and the focus on employability. Studies in Higher Education, 40(4), 580-595.
Korber, M., & Oesch, D. (2019). Vocational versus general education: Employment and earnings over the life course in Switzerland. Advances in Life Course Research, 40, 1-13.
Lord, R., Lorimer, R., Babraj, J., & Richardson, A. (2019). The role of mock job interviews in enhancing sport students’ employability skills: An example from the UK. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education.
MSRT (2019). Employment status of graduates of universities, research institutes and higher education centers in the country. Report, Office of Relation with Industry, October 2019 [in Persian].
Naderi, M. K., Zoleikhaee, S., & Pouya, M. (2016). Employability of female university students: A new strategy for enhancing women’s presence in the labor market. Quarterly Journal of Research & Planning in Higher Education, 4(78), 21-50 [in Persian].
Por Atashi, M. (2018). Evaluating strengths and promoting methods employability of students in agricultural higher education. Journal of Agricultural Education and Ministration Research, Special Issue, Fall 2018 ,18-31 [in Persian].
Pavlin, S., & Svetlik, I. (2014). Employability of higher education graduates in Europe. International Journal of Manpower, 35(4), 418-424.
Rothwell, A., Jewell, S., & Hardie, M. (2009). Self-perceived employability: Investigating the responses of post-graduate students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(2), 152-161.
Salehi, Omran, E., & Rahmani, E. (2013). The issue of employment of higher education graduates and the need to pay attention to job-creating skills in the labor market in higher education planning. Quarterly Journal of Higher Education, 3(5), 27-58 [in Persian].
Sepahvand, R., Solgi, Z. & Akbari, F. (2018). The impact of orientation and planning of varied career orientation on employability of graduates in higher education. Quarterly Journal of Research & Planning in Higher Education, 24(1), 71-90 [in Persian].
Sharifi, F., Khorasai, A., Fathi, V.K., & Salehi, O.E. (2019). Determination of employability skills of academic graduates with exploratory mixed method approach. Journal of Theory & Practice in Curriculum, 7 (13), 29-52 [in Persian].
Singh, G. K. G., & Singh, S. K. G. (2008). Malaysian graduates’ employability skills. UNITAR e-Journal, 4(1), 15-45.
Singh, P., Thambusamy, R., Ramly, A., Abdullah, I. H., & Mahmud, Z. (2013). Perception differential between employers and instructors on the importance of employability skills. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 90, 616˚625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.07.13.
Smith, M., Bell, K., Bennett, D., & McAlpine, A. (2018). Employability in a global context: Evolving policy and practice in employability, work integrated learning, and career development learning. Wollongong, Australia: Graduate Careers Australi.
Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Education Policy, 25, 407-431.
Tsitskari, E., Goudas, M., Tsalouchou, E., & Michalopoulou, M. (2017). Employers’ expectations of the employability skills needed in the sport and recreation environment. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 20, 1-9.
Walker, M., & McLean, M. (2013). Professional education, capabilities and contributions to the public good: The role of universities in promoting human development. London: Routledge.
Walker, M. (2015). Employability and diverse student’s opportunity sets. Seminar paper presented at the University of Bath, 8 June.
Yorke, M. (2006). Employability in higher education: What it is - what it is not: Higher Education Academy.
Yorke, M., & Knight, P. (2007). Evidence-informed pedagogy and the enhancement of student employability. Teaching in Higher Education, 12, 157-170.
)