Career Trajectories of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education Graduates: A Post-Graduation Tracer Study

Abstract

Tracking the whereabouts of the graduates provides empirical data on the employment profile of the graduates. This study was conducted to gather data on the employment of the graduates of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education program of Palompon Institute of Technology Tabango currently renamed to Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education. 58 out 74 (or 78 %) graduates of Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education from year 2016-2019 participated in this study. The instrument used by the researchers in the data gathering was the Graduate Tracer Study developed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Findings make known that 76% (or 44 out of 58) of the respondents are employed. Moreover, 61% (or 27 out of 44) perceived that their current job is related to the program that respondents took up in college. Furthermore, 55% (or 24 out of 44), 9% (or 4 out of 44), 34% (or 15 out of 44), 2% (or 1 out of 44) has a regular, temporary, contractual, self-employed employability status, respectively. When asked the reasons why some graduates are not yet employed, top 1 reason is they did not look for a job, followed by no job opportunity, lack of work experience and family concern, then, advance or further study, and last of all is the health reason. Also, when asked what skills learned in college did the graduates find very useful in their job, top 1 is human relation skills, followed by communication skills, information technology skills, critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and lastly, entrepreneurial skills. To further improve the employability rate of the BTVTED program, among the researchers’ recommendations is that the administration should tap linkages to other agency or companies that can provide employment opportunities to the graduates and may conduct a job fair in partnership with the LGUs, NGOs, and other governing bodies. The administration should also establish linkages in the industry and create a student immersion program to develop the human relation skills, communication skills, IT skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving and entrepreneurial skills. Revisit of the curriculum is also recommended to ensure that the courses offered are relevant to the nature of their job in the future and in order to find some areas that needs improvement.
Keywords: Employability Status, Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education, Tracer Study, career trajectories, post graduation

References

Abelha, M., Fernandes, S., Mesquita, D., Seabra, F., & Ferreira-Oliveira, A. T. (2020). Graduate employability and competence development in higher education—A systematic literature review using PRISMA. Sustainability, 12(15), 5900. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155900

Albina, A. C., & Sumagaysay, L. P. (2020). Employability tracer study of Information Technology Education graduates from a state university in the Philippines. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2(1), 100055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100055

Antiojo, L. P. (2018). Employability of education graduates of Cavite State University Naic. Social Science and Humanities Journal, 2(6), 423–431. https://sshj.in/index.php/sshj/article/download/134/77

Bhalla, J. (2016). Impact of flexible work arrangements on productivity in Indian IT sector: A study. IPE Journal of Management, 6(1), 80. Cornesse, C., & Bosnjak, M. (2018). Is there an association between survey characteristics and
representativeness? A meta-analysis. Survey Research Methods, 12(1), 1–13.

Daguplo, M. S., Capili, P. L. G., Estrella, A. R. C., & Bano, A. L. (2019). Tracking the employ-
ment and employability characteristics of the graduates of the College of Teacher Education. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 7(2). https://www.academia.edu/download/62407062/ APJMR2019.7.02.03.0920200318-106148-obkuju.pdf

Deming, D. J. (2022). Four facts about human capital. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36(3), 75–102.de Ocampo, M., Bagano, A. J., & Tan, A. L. (2012). Culture of entrepreneurship versus employment. Fifth Taiwan-Philippines Academic Conference: Digital Humanities and Cultural Studies.

Gines, A. C. (2014). Tracer study of PNU graduates. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 4(3), 81–98.

Jardim, J. (2021). Entrepreneurial skills to be successful in the global and digital world: Proposal for a frame of reference for entrepreneurial education. Education Sciences, 11(7), 356. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11070356

Kahn, L. M. (2018). Permanent jobs, employment protection, and job content. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 57(3), 469–538. https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12209

Kucharska, W., & Erickson, G. S. (2020). The influence of IT-competency dimensions on job satisfaction, knowledge sharing, and performance across industries. VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 50(3), 387–407.

Millington, C. (2001). The use of tracer study for enhancing relevance and marketability in online and distance education. Retrieved July 30, 2013, from http://wikieducator.org/images/e/e1/PID_424.pdf

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). (2020). Employment, unemployment, and underemployment in the Philippines. National Economic Development Authority. https://www.neda.gov.ph/ph-unemployment-rateeases-in-july-from-april-2020/

Nowosad, K., Sujka, M., Pankiewicz, U., & Kowalski, R. (2021). The application of PEF technology in food processing and human nutrition. Journal of Food Science and Technology,58(3), 397–411.

Ogwo, A. A. (2024). Higher education, skills development, and students’ preparedness for employability: A case study of the University of Lagos, Nigeria [Doctoral dissertation]. University College London.

Pusiran, A. K., Janin, Y., Ismail, S., & Dalinting, L. J. (2020). Hospitality internship program insights. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 12(2), 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-11-2019-0072

Rahim, A. R. (2020). Interpersonal skills and the impact of managerial performance through organizational commitments. Management and Organization Review, 16(3), 467–489.

Romanick, M., Ng, K., Lee, G., Herbert, M., & Coller, B. S. (2015). The Rockefeller University Graduate Tracking Survey System. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4de1/da1a3806dc38fb3a87786c7dd732453e1f04.pdf

Schomburg, H. (2020). Carrying out tracer studies: Guide to anticipating and matching skills and jobs. International Labour Organization. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/2218_en.pdf

Sun, T., Gaut, A., Tang, S., Huang, Y., ElSherief, M., Zhao, J., & Wang, W. Y. (2019). Mitigating gender bias in natural language processing: Literature review. arXiv preprint, arX-iv:1906.08976.

Tang, T., Vezzani, V., & Eriksson, V. (2020). Developing critical thinking, collective creativity skills, and problem-solving through playful design jams. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 37, 100696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100696

Wanberg, C. R., Ali, A. A., & Csillag, B. (2020). Job seeking: The process and experience of looking for a job. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7(1), 315–337. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-044939
Published
2024-12-30