A study conducted by AGF Consulting Group – Philippines, which gathered 244 selected respondents at random from different Universities, found that 40% of the incoming fresh graduates do not know what to do after graduation and 45% say that they do not know where to find a job after graduation.
When asked what critical skills (e.g. Effective Communication, Critical Thinking, and Initiative) would hamper them in landing a job , 47% answered Effective Communication.
Surprisingly, these numbers logically correlate with the succeeding questions. When these incoming young professionals were asked what capability-building workshops they would be willing to invest on, among the Top 5 answers were (1) Communication Skills , (2) Leadership Skills , (3) Time Management Skills (4) Team Working Skills (5) Team Work and Collaboration.
76% of these students answered “Yes” when asked if they would invest in soft skill workshops, this only means that there is an existing awareness on the need to further train these incoming young professionals with softs skills and competencies.
This survey validates the identified critical skills needed to succeed in the workplace namely, workplace communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills and working in teams.
Annually, an approximate of 700,000 or more graduates join the labor force but end up being underemployed or underpaid because this mismatch of the labor demand and supply. Some may have landed a job but fail during the probationary period because they fail to adapt to the demands of the position, which will most likely be adeptness in these identified soft skills.
“Why should I hire you?”, the cliche question of usual job interviews is not answered by grades or the chosen degree program, though it might be a prerequisite, these things coupled with the right kind of soft skills demanded by most companies are what matters on the first hand interview.
“This research is one way of validating the perennial gap between the industry and academe. Part of our advocacy is to ensure that there is consistent availability of fresh talents entering into the workforce and ensure that our clients management systems and operations are run and managed by equipped personnel.” , said Ms. Heidi Cajes, Research Officer of AGF Consulting Group.
Ms. Cajes, further stated that this industry-academe gap is what prompted “Win@Work”, a training bootcamp that is open to all incoming fresh graduates which aims to reinforce and develop critical skills needed to succeed in the workplace.
(photo grabbed from Insperity)
Sunstar also published this article on its online website. Read the article.
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