Employability of Graduates of Bachelor of Science in Forestry of the Aurora State College of Technology, Sy 1998 †2006 free essay sample

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction The Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT) has been mandated to offer Forestry course since it opened its doors to its first batch of 300 freshmen on June 6, 1994. It is a ladderized curriculum wherein Diploma course was granted to those who have successfully completed the required courses in the second curricular year while Bachelor degree was granted to those who have successfully completed the required courses till its fourth curricular year. The first batch of graduates in the bachelor degree have shown commendable performance and mark up the College potential in this field when four (4) out of twelve (12) graduates who took the Forestry Licensure Examination in June 1999 were able to pass it. Thus, on August 6, 1999, the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science was officially created by virtue of Board of Trustees Resolution No. 271. Every year, graduates took the licensure examination and some if not most passed it. This motivated the department head and its faculty to strengthen its course offering, manpower, resources, facilities and linkages. However, the location of the College campus wherein this course was offered contributed to decreasing enrollees every year. In the current academic years, enrollees starting to boost its number hence their department was transferred in the main campus bringing a much easier access to the students. Changes in the student population were noted due to the change of location. This claim is just one of the possible causes of the occurrence of declining student population in the course for the past year. Yet, no one is certain to claim that it is really is it. This leads to an idea of making a tracer study to know the where about of the graduates and to generate a sufficient proof in claiming that graduates from this course have really an employment opportunity in the society. Or this is the lacking reason why enrollees for the past years declined. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework According to Manansala (2003), searching employment is a survival system therefore she claimed that educational attainment is necessary. For her, being a graduate is the best tool however she disclosed that the degree received is not important in finding a job but the graduates’ eagerness to find a job. In this study, the researchers considered the employability of graduates in the degree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) for the past nine (9) years as reflected by their ways of finding job, occupation, length of service, employment status, type of employer, employment destination, and monthly income. With the use of appropriate methodology, this information help the researchers ascertain the proportion of employed to unemployed graduates and be able to characterized the distinctions of employed graduates. Figure 1 shows the conceptual paradigm of the study. On the other hand, related information to the graduates that include their personal profile in terms of year graduated, gender, civil status and present educational attainment, the respondents’ considerations on the reasons for not being employed, the learning competencies useful in their job or needed in finding job, and the problems encountered in employment or in finding job were also considered as supporting evidences to their employability. Suggestions to improve their course were also asked to solicit experiential information from them. INPUTPROCESSOUTPUT Employment Data ways of finding job ooccupation olength of service oemployment status otype of employer oemployment destination omonthly income osurvey ostatistical analysis ointerpretation Employability (proportion of employed over unemployed and their distinction of being employed) Figure 1. The conceptual paradigm of the study Statement of the Problem This study attempted to determine the employability of BSF graduat es from school year 1998 to 2006. Specifically, this sought to answer the following questions: 1. How may the personal profile of the graduates be described in terms of a. ear graduated, b. gender, c. civil status, d. eligibility, and e. present educational attainment? 2. How may the respondents’ employment be described in terms of a. ways of finding job, b. occupation, c. length of service, d. type of employer, e. employment destination, and f. monthly income? 3. What are the respondents’ considerations as to a. reasons of being unemployed, b. useful learning competencies in job, and c. needed learning competencies in finding job? 4. What are the problems they encountered in employment or in finding job? . What are the respondents’ suggestions to improve the curricular offerings of their course? Significance of the Study The results of this study would be a means of realization and valuation of the following: Students. The results will give vital information to incoming enrollees that will aid in making a choice of what course to take. Likewise, results will serve as the baseline information to the current students in asserting extent of effort, dedication, preparation and determination to win their profession marketability in the future. Teachers. The information obtain from this study can give them a great opportunity to ascertain what learning skills and competencies should be inculcated to students that will boost their qualities and competencies needed in finding job. Parents. The findings of this study will help parents realize their role in guiding their children in their career choice. Also, they could be provided ideas regarding the possible strengths and weaknesses of the course their children incline with or they wanted for them. In this regard, they could support their children in making the needed preparations as they pursue their chosen career. School administrator. This will give them baseline information which they could utilize in formulating their supervisory plans and in revising curriculum. The results from this study could instill brilliant ideas in designing a curriculum best fitted in the needs of the society now and in the future thereby ensure marketability of the graduates which will include their activities and employment. Scope and Delimitation of the Study This study was limited only to the graduates in Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) of the Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT) during the school year 1998-2006. The main focus of this study was to determine the employability of graduates which include the personal profile of the respondents such as year graduated, gender, civil status, eligibility and present educational attainment, and employment profile such ways of finding job, occupation, length of service, employment status, type of employer, employment destination and monthly income. Graduates’ considerations as to reasons for being unemployed, useful learning competencies in job and needed learning competencies in finding job as well as the problems they encountered in employment or in finding job and their suggested improvement in the curricular offerings of their course were also noted. Definition of Terms To clearly understand some of the terminologies included in this study, the following terms were operationally defined: Employability refers to the proportion of employed to unemployed graduate respondents in and their distinction of being employed or the distinction of their employment. Employment pertains to information related to graduates’ current job such as ways of finding job, occupation, length of service, employment status, type of employer, employment destination and monthly income. Employment destination is the particular place where the respondents work. However as use in this study, this refers to the specified vicinity of workplace of the respondents, whether within their locality, within the province or outside the province. Employment status is the standing of the respondents in their present occupation, either permanent, temporary/contractual, job order or alike. Graduates refer to individuals who successfully completed the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) during the school year 1998 – 2006. Length of service pertains to the number of years the respondents have been employed. Monthly income is the amount of wage or salary received by the respondents in their present job per month. Occupation refers to the particular job or work of the respondents which were categorized based on the occupational standard classification of the National Statistics Office (NSO) such as Technician includes controller. Service worker includes protective service workers like security guard, police, army and firemen, and personal care service worker like social worker and tour guide. Professional includes life science professionals like forester, and teaching professionals like teachers. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) includes Filipino individuals working outside the country which nature of job is unknown or unspecified. Trade worker includes painter. Machine operator includes driver. Supervisor includes project officer and foreman. Government official includes barangay official. Clerks includes customer clerk like cashier, and numerical clerk like typist, encoder, filer and alike. Laborer/unskilled worker includes helper. Managing proprietor includes businessman/businesswoman or vending related job manage and own by them. Personal profile pertains to the particular information about the graduates that includes their year graduated, gender, civil status, eligibility and present educational attainment. Respondents refer to the graduates of BSF under this study. Type of employer refers to the kind of company serving as the workplace of the respondents which are classified as government, private, non-government organization(NGO) or people organization (PO), self-employed and alike