ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OF TECHNICAL-VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (TVET) GRADUATES: BASIS FOR AN ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

Rayhanah P. Mariano 1

Dr. Luzviminda S. Tantoco 2

Post- Graduate Education Masters of Arts in Education 

Major in Technology and Livelihood Education

Bulacan State University Malolos, Bulacan

Department of Technical Teacher Education, Valenzuela City Polytechnic College

Valenzuela City, 1442 Philippines 1

Richwell Colleges, INC, Plaridel Bulacan 2

rayhmariano@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The study aims to determine the employability skills of Technical-Vocational Education and Training  Graduates of Valenzuela City Polytechnic College. 

This study was carried out to 423 graduates of TVET using convenience sampling and forty-five (45) employers who were selected purposively in the City of Valenzuela. The respondents had completed the TVET program. A survey questionnaire, document analysis and an interview guide were used. Frequency, percentage, and weighted mean were utilized in the statistical analysis and handling of the data.

Among 423 TVET graduates of  ValPoly from 2015 to 2019, majority are employed which had an employment rate of 87.94 percent, compared to a rate of 12.06 percent for those who were unemployed. Carpentry obtained the highest employment rate while the bread and pastry production got the lowest employment rate. The year 2019 also has the highest rate while respondents who graduated in 2016 have the lowest employment rate.

Half of the employed graduates acquired a "regular status". Despite the skills mismatch, graduates have managed to seek employment related to their training right after graduation. Communication skills is the most useful skill in the workplace.

ValPoly has provided comprehensive and effective programs and provisions that enhance graduates' employability skills. TVET graduates employed were assessed as highly competent by their employers. Several factors that facilitate the acquisition of employment. A proposed enhancement program for the employability skills of TVET graduates is formulated based on findings of this study to ensure that all graduates will be equipped with skills for employment. 

Keywords: assessment, employability, employability skills, TVET graduates

BACKGROUND

A key driver toward a sustainable economy is a competent workforce. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2021) defines a competent worker as one who is appropriately qualified, adequately trained, and has sufficient experience to execute work safely without or with minimal supervision. To be competent, a person must undergo an assessment from his or her employer whether the required work-related skills, also known as employability skills, were performed. 

The International Labor Organization (ILO) (2013) states that employability skills as competencies that augment an employee’s capability to assure and maintain employment. Most employable persons have comprehensive education and training, including communication, teamwork, information technology, and problem-solving skills. These skills allow people to adjust to workplace changes. Moreover, Mello et al. (2017) also described employability skills are generic or non-technical skills such as productivity, understanding, and personal attributes that help an individual acquire employment and succeed in their career. Legg and Jack (2014) on employability skills of Technical graduates, showed that skills mismatches are manifestations of misalignment between policy and programs which is influenced the stakeholders concerned.

Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is a system in academe that hones students for employment. It utilizes several forms of education, including formal, non-formal, and informal learning, and is thought to be significant for equality, inclusivity and sustainable development. One of UNESCO's three priority subsectors is TVET, literacy, and higher education. Certainly, it is consistent with the organization's efforts to promote lifelong learning opportunities and quality education accessible for all. (Marope, P.T.M et al., 2015) (UNESCO-UNEVOC.). Graduates from TVET programs are trained in technical-vocational skills, but they are also taught employability skills. These skills will allow them to be more adaptable and flexible in their work and make them successful employees. 

TVET in the Philippines was established eighty (80) years ago but now offers post-secondary and non-formal technical vocational education and training.  It is managed by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), a regulatory body established under R.A. 7796 in 1994 that sets standards, accredits programs, and manages the system of certifying skills.  Also, TESDA created the Unified TVET Program Registration and Accreditation System (UTPRAS) through Board Resolution No. 98, systems that provide a quality management system for program registration, assessment, certification, and the development of Training Regulations (T.R.s) and Competency Assessment Tools (CATs) (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2019). In practice, many institutions adopt the whole set of TESDA promulgated T.R.s. Trainers may deliver the instruction in their style or preferred methodology and use their learning materials or hand-outs. Ismail and Mohammed (2015) revealed in their analysis of the TVET curriculum the lack of integration of problem-solving skills, lifelong learning skills, and competencies in specific TVET disciplines such as Electrical, where the curriculum has given attention more to theoretical courses than practical courses.

A study commissioned by the British Council revealed that many developing countries, such as Ghana, Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Armenia, China, and Vietnam, reported a significant increase in the employment rate of their TVET graduates (Cooper,2017). 

TESDA Women's Center Tracer Study of Graduates from 2014-2016 revealed that most of the graduates were employed following their graduation. More than half of employed graduates worked full-time in the formal sector. The majority of those interviewed worked in the hospitality and food service industries and other service industries and construction. The study also revealed the reason for unemployment, such as peer influence, skills mismatch, personal reasons, and discrimination(Ignacio & Tabu, 2018). 

The Employers' Satisfaction Surveys of TESDA in 2014 reviewed by the Asian Development Bank (2021) showed a slight decrease in the employer's degree of satisfaction with employees' work performance who were TVET in two of the theoretical and practical knowledge in doing tasks and work attitudes. The former study guides the researcher to establish an idea of determining how may the employers of the TVET graduates of ValPoly assess their work performance in terms of employability skills. In the advent of Industry 4.0, it is inevitable that TVET institutions should equip students with information technology skills to apply numeracy, design, and technology abilities to prepare and accomplish tasks in the workplace and all aspects of life (Paryono, 2014). 

     The researcher has developed five (5) employability skills based on the skills mentioned in several studies. These are communication skills, information skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills and problem-solving since these skills were also given emphasis in training programs offered by the school. Further, an interview was conducted to obtain a broader understanding of the employers about the factors that facilitate employment. The researcher believed that a semi-structured interview to employers delivers richer information.

Improving quality and responsiveness to the labor market requires sufficient data on the employment profile of TVET graduates and assessment from the employers. The acquisition of the necessary information about the employability skills of TVET graduates will aid Valenzuela City Polytechnic College in focusing its efforts and achievements on the pursuit of technological excellence. This will be accomplished by facilitating a seamless transition for graduates from the educational system into the workforce, as well as by creating a better match between the available skills produced by the institution and the demand from the industry.

The study, therefore, aims to determine the assessment of employability skills of TVET graduates. To have a comprehensive understanding about the implications of the study, employment profile such as employment rate, employment status, length of time acquired first job, relevance of acquired skills to first employment, useful skills and difficulties encountered in search for employment were determined using a tracer study questionnaire, programs and provisions provided by the school will be analyzed, employers were selected to assess the employability skills of TVET graduates employed in their company such as communication skills, information technology skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills and problem-solving skills, consequently an interview will be conducted to identify factors that facilitate employment. The findings obtained from the study were used as basis of formulation of enhancement program.

Statement of the Problem

The general problem of the study is How may the employability skills of TVET graduates be assessed?

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following problems:

1. How may the employment profile of the TVET graduates in Valenzuela City Polytechnic College from 2015-2019 be described in terms of?

   1. 1. Employment rate

      2. Employment status

      3. Length of time

      4. Relevance of skills

      5. Useful skills, and

      6. Difficulties encountered

2. What are the programs and provisions implemented by ValPoly relevant to the employability of its graduates?

3. How may the employability skills of TVET graduates be assessed in terms of:

   1. 1. Communication Skills,

      2. Information Technology Skills

      3. Interpersonal Skills,

      4. Leadership Skills,

      5. Problem Solving Skills,

4. What are the factors that facilitate employment?

5. What enhancement program may be proposed for the development of employability skills of TVET graduates?

Assumptions

     The study assumed that the employment profile of graduates of TVET programs showed positive outcomes but mostly encountered skills mismatches as difficulty. The programs and provisions implemented by ValPoly contribute to the improvement of employability skills. In addition, among the employability skills, communication skills are the most useful in the workplace, yet the least performed by TVET graduates.  Thus, an enhancement program will be formulated based on the findings of the study to further develop the employability skills of TVET graduates at Valenzuela City Polytechnic College.

Methods

     The researcher employed mixed-methods research both quantitative and qualitative

data were utilized concurrently. For quantitative data, the researcher modified and adapted the graduate tracer survey questionnaire from CHED as the primary source of data on employment profile of TVET graduates and another survey to selected employers to quantify their assessment of the employability skills acquired from Valenzuela City Polytechnic College (ValPoly).

     Concurrently, the researcher used the qualitative method through document analysis on the programs and provisions provided by ValPoly and a semi-structured interview with the selected employers to assess the employability skills of TVET graduates. 

The respondents for this method were 423 TVET Graduates of Valenzuela City Polytechnic College (ValPoly) who graduated from 2015 to 2019. The researcher employed a strategy of convenience sampling for TVET graduates. 

     While purposive sampling was utilized in selecting the 35 employers. Choosing the appropriate respondents of the study is crucial for its results and findings. 

     For document analysis, the documents presented in tabular form below were selected to analyze the data and come up with a discussion to reach a conclusion to answer the question “what are the programs and provisions provided by ValPoly”. The documents that were selected were both printed and electronic forms to best understand their services, programs, and interventions in enhancing employability skills. 

     Frequency counts, percentages, and mean were used to answer specific questions about the employment profile, assessment of employability skills TVET graduates from Valenzuela City Polytechnic College by employers in terms of communication skills, technical skills, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, information technology skills, difficulties encountered by the respondents in search for employment.

     Each interview's summary was emailed to the participants to verify its veracity. To determine and describe the data in connection the assessment of employability skills by employers during training, frequency, mean and five-point Likert scale was used.

Table 4 shows that among the 423 respondents who graduated from 2015 until 2019, 87.94% were employed, and 12.06% were unemployed, right after graduation. Carpentry has the highest employment rate while Bread and Pastry Production obtained the lowest employment rate. 

     As gleaned in Table 5, the year 2019 has the highest rate of employment as well as the least rate of unemployment, while respondents who graduated in 2016 have the lowest rate of employment and the highest rate of unemployment. 

     Table 6 presents that as to employment status at the time of the study, 45.63% of the graduates are employed as regular employees, 29.55% are contractual, and 12.77% are temporarily employed which includes project-based work, freelancing, or job orders. Further, 11.35% are self-employed, leaving 0.71% who admitted that they have never been employed due to health-related reasons. 

     The length of time of acquiring the first employment was also determined. Among the respondents, 50% of graduates employed were hired for less than a month. While 43.28% managed to acquire their first job less in than a year leaving 6.72% were employed more for than a year. Electrical (EIM) qualification obtained the highest percentage to acquire employment “less than a month” or right after graduation and the lowest score of graduates employed “less than a year” there is only 1.61% among the EIM who was employed “more than a year”. 

As can be seen in Table 8, the relevance of employment to training acquired, overall, among 423 graduates, 66.19% said that the training acquired in ValPoly is related to their first acquired job 34.28% of the graduates said that the training acquired is not related to their first job. There were 0.71% of respondents who have not been employed so they could not respond to the question.  Masonry (MAS) got the highest number of respondents which is 78.57% were able to acquire their first employment related to training. Electronics (EPAS) obtained the lowest number wherein 52.38% only were able to relate the training in their first employment.

     Table 9 presents the acquired skills that are useful in the first employment. Communication skills obtained the highest rank with an A percentage of 75.9% as the most useful skills acquired in ValPoly in their first employment. 

     In table 10, The respondents identified skill mismatch as the number one difficulty they encountered during their search employment searched is new job vacancies, third is inadequate experience, and fourth is passing the interview. Some of them believed that they have not encountered any difficulties in looking for employment which was ranked as fourth. fifth is passing the interview, sixth is passing the pre-employment exam, seventh is health concerns, and there were very few who stated other reasons. 

     Table 11 presents the programs and provisions such as Laboratory activities, Entrepreneurial activities, Community outreach programs, Skills competitions, On-the-job training, and Institutional assessment were some of the programs provided by the institution.  The main objective of these programs is to provide an opportunity for students to enhance their employability skills to prepare them for bigger commitments in the future. Such skills include but are not limited to communication, information technology, interpersonal, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

     Table 12 shows that the employers assessed the employability skills of TVET graduates employed in their companies as “Very competent” in terms of communication skills, information technology skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills.  The program and provisions provided by the institution have contributed to honing the skills.

     As gleaned in table 13, employers elaborated on several factors that facilitate employment. They have emphasized the adequate skills they require in the companies which includes the five (5) major employability skills provided in the pieces of training of ValPoly, they have also mentioned professionalism and technical skills. Employers have mentioned positive feedback on the work performance of the TVET graduates. In addition, they are recommending intensive training for every employability skill.

     Table 14 presents a proposed enhancement program for the employability skills of TVET graduates is offered herein based on the findings of this study to ensure that all graduates will be equipped skills focusing on communication skills and information technology skills which obtained the lowest mean among the assessed employability skills in order to acquire and maintain employment. 

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings from the results and discussions, the following conclusions were derived:

1. The majority of the TVET graduates are employed. Half of them have acquired a "regular status" of employment. Despite the skills mismatch prevalent in the labor market, graduates have managed to look for employment related to their training acquired in ValPoly right after graduation. Communication skills are the most useful skill in the workplace.

2. Valenzuela City Polytechnic College has provided comprehensive and effective programs and provisions that enhance graduates' employability skills.

3. Employers are delighted with the performance of the TVET graduates employed in their companies based on their employability skills.

4. There are lots of factors that facilitate the acquisition of employment. Adequate skills are some identified factors needed to be developed to acquire a job in an industry. Soft skills are necessary to acquire a job. Interpersonal relationships, work ethics, and honesty is some of these factors, to name a few.

5. A proposed enhancement program for the employability skills of TVET graduates is formulated based on the key findings of this study to ensure that all graduates will be equipped with the necessary skills to acquire and maintain employment.

REFFERENCE 

Asian Development Bank. (2021, November 3). What we look for. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/work-with-us/careers/what-we-look-for

Cooper, C. (2017). Systemic TVET reforms - Impact on employment outcomes., British Council,https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/employment_outcomes

Ignacio, M. B., & Tabu, L. P. (2018). TESDA Tracer Study. TESDA Women Center. https://twc.tesda.gov.ph/advocacy/researches/11.pdf

ILO OECD,  (2013). Engaging employers in apprenticeship opportunities. International Labour Organization

Ismail, S., & Mohammed, D. S. (2015). Employability skills in TVET curriculum in Nigeria Federal Universities of Technology. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 204, 73-80.

Legg-Jack, D. W. (2014). Employability skills of technical college graduates: a case study for Government Technical College (GTC) in Ahoada Rivers State Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation).

Marope, P.T.M; Chakroun, B.; Holmes, K.P. (2015). Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (PDF). "What is TVET?". www.unevoc.unesco.org. Retrieved 1 April 2017.  UNESCO. "Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)". www.unesco.org.

Mello, L. V., Tregilgas, L., Cowley, G., Gupta, A., Makki, F., Jhutty, A., and Shanmugasundram, A. (2017). ‘Students-As-Partners’ scheme enhances postgraduate students’ employability skills while addressing gaps in bioinformatics education. Higher Education Pedagogies, 2(1), 43–57.

Occupational Safety and Health. (2021). Competent person - Overview | Occupational safety and health administration. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/competent-person

Paryono (2014). Transferable skills in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Brunei Darussalam. In: TVET@Asia, issue 3, 1-15. Online: http://www.tvet-online.asia/issue3/paryono_tvet3.pdf (retrieved 30.06.2014).

Republic Act No. 7796  Sec 23, TESDA Act of 1994: Administer Training Programs, Retrieved from https://tesda.gov.ph/About/TESDA/27878

UNESCO-UNEVOC. (2019). Increasing Public Awareness of TVET in the Philippines. UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. https://unevoc.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/docs/CS_.pdf