Meaning of Occupational Development Project

In implementing the operation plan to develop occupation according to the direction and framework that was determined, it is necessary to develop a project to control the implementation of work.

Project means a work that needs to be done in a specific period, to solve problems or to satisfy needs, by identifying what, when, how to do, and what factors will be used. A project ends when its period ends or the problem is solved.

Project is a good way to manage works since it is clear, reasonable, creating the same understanding, and its scope can be expanded to further develop the work or activity.

Characteristic of a Good Project

A good project must clearly determine its details and able to identify what, where, when, how, and why doing the work, as well as what the expected result would be. The characteristics of good project can be outlined below.

1. Project objective must be clearly determined and easy to understand by highlighting on the expected outcome of the project; for example, being able to make an income statement correctly and able to reduce the expenses for at least 10% of total income.

2. It must be practicable not too fanciful and vague

3. It must be based on the realities of society, culture, economics, and politics, as well as being able to respond to the need of target group and can be achieved by the practitioner.

4. It provides the details on the elements of the project such as working methods and project timeframe, in order to determine expenses and resources for the project.

5. It should clearly identify the resources needed and the sources of such resources, as well as the budget and source of fund in operation.

6. It should state the expected outcome that aligns with the project goal and objective.

Preparation in Writing a Project

Occupation can be classified into 2 categories, namely self employment, and working as an employee. In writing a project for any types of employment, it is necessary for the learner to prepare the following information.

1) Guideline in preparing information for self employed project

(1) Fund: to successfully carry on a career, one must learn how much fund will be used, for which part it will be used, and if there is sufficient fund. If the existing fund is not enough, one will have to think further on where it can be raised, what the interest rates would be, what kind of warranty is required and whether such warranty exists or not, and what’s loan condition would be. All of these must be considered carefully to precisely estimate the cost of operation and to avoiding any problems that may occur during the project.

(2) Labor: business requires labor. The entrepreneur must consider how many workforces are needed, whether to use male or female workforce, to use family member or external labor, and whether to hire workforce in the community or other external sources since the entrepreneur will have to provide accommodations for externally hired workforces. This will be considered together with labor cost aspect.

(3) Marketing: to what extent the occupation carried is needed by the community or its neighbor and see if there is any competitor since the most successful business is a business without competitors. Apart from that, one must also consider the spending habit and purchasing behavior of people in the community.

(4) Management: management is a crucial part in self employment. Some entrepreneurs have their own sources of fund, labor, and market for the product but cannot be successful in business due to the lack of management skills, so it is necessary for the entrepreneur to have knowledge to manage his business as much as possible. Such management includes investment management to make the worthwhile returns, work process management, and marketing management to make the product well-known and impressed by customers.

(5) Self proficiency: the important things in self employment are proficiency, capability, habit, and readiness of an entrepreneur. One should consider whether he likes or is capable in doing the job or not and then consider other things mentioned before.

(6) Alignment: one should consider whether the characteristic of the job is in line with the condition in community or not; for example, for an occupation that usually uses water, one must consider whether the source of water is sufficient or not. Moreover, the selected occupation must not contradict to the believes, norms, and traditions of the community. For examples, pig farming in an Islamic community or creating fish ponds in a temple.

2) Guidelines in preparing project information for those who work as an employee are:

(1) Wages: in considering whether the wage is high or low, one must consider not only in term of money but also in terms of time spent in working. Some workplaces give more money but the workers will have to spend all day working without rest and this will be bad for their health.

(2) Knowledge: certain companies need knowledge and an expert in a specific field, so one must consider whether his knowledge and expertise match such work or not.

(3) Career progression: one should consider the career opportunity in the company. Some companies support employees’ progression by conducting training or seminar, while others only pay the wages according to the number of work accomplished without developing their staffs.