Employability after Graduation - Essay Example

?Employability after Graduation My career option and plans My preferred career option after graduation is to be a web designer. Brown et al (2002) quote Hillage and Pollard (1998:1) as defining employability as “having the capability to gain initial employment, maintain employment and obtain new employment if required.” Brown et al on the other hand argue that “employability can be defined as the relative chances of finding and maintaining different kinds of employment.” Though there are some contextual differences in these two definitions, there is a clear signal within the definitions that places some emphasis on the person seeking for employment. From the definitions, it is clear that employability is vested in both the employer and the employee. On my part as a prospective employee, there are a number of plans I have in place to make me employable. Among other things, these plans pivot around four major themes which are focusing on labour demanding-but-supply inadequate career choice, being a measure of standard among colleagues with same qualification, technological advancement and finally having entrepreneurial options. How my plans fit with the comments within the context of the current labour market In making career plans for employability, it is important to consider the context of current labour market trends. Some of these trends have well being discussed by Brown et al (2002) in their article. In the first place, my theme of focusing on labour demanding-but-supply inadequate career choice is certainly in the right direction as Brown et al (2002) posit that graduates employability much rests with “whether they find employment will depend on whether there are other more qualified or experienced people looking for the same kinds of work”. Demand and supply of labour market has been an issue for a very long time and it is an open secret that some career courses studied at the university opens learners to more readily available jobs than others. In career with ready-made job openings, it is common to see employers and entrepreneurs at graduation ceremonies only to chase after graduates. In simple terms, some courses studied at the university makes graduates more employable than others if we want to believe in how Brown et al (2002) put the definition of employability saying employability has to do with “relative chances of finding and maintaining different kinds of employment”. To this effect, my decision to study to be a web designer was in the right direction. This is because the influence and power of the internet is gaining so much grounds in the business world today that almost every company is looking for a way to go electronic via the internet. This has called for the mad rush of web designers. Supporting this notion, the Business.Com states that “all companies need web design”, which means that there are usually more jobs than graduates. In the second place, my plan of being a measure of standard among colleagues with same qualification is in line with the relative dimension as discussed by Brown et al (2002) in their article. According to Brown et al (2002), “Employability not only depends on fulfilling the requirements of a specific job, but also on how one stands relative to others within a hierarchy of job seekers.” This means that a student or graduate with a meaningful sense of securing employment or becoming employable must have a plan or orientation that sets him above other contenders in the search for job. As Hirsch (1977) suggests, ‘If everyone stands on tiptoe, no one sees better’ (p.5). This means that as much as others are standing on tip-toe, there should be an effort to stand taller than all the others. There is a common saying that if all people are sitting, strive to stand and if all people are standing, strive to stand out; but if all people are standing out, try to be the standard. The field of web designer may look glooming and ready-made and highly employable but to match the positional competition and make it to the elite position, it is important that I equip myself with transversal knowledge such as accounting, marketing, corporate management and human resource management to give me added qualifications than would be seen in an ordinary web designer. Again, there cannot be a better plan than getting myself to be technological advanced. Apart from the fact that to be a web designer deals strictly with becoming advanced with information and communication technology, the consensus theory as discussed by Brown et al (2002) stresses how precious technological advancement has become in rating the employability of a graduate. As a matter of fact, the idea expressed in the consensus theory stretches beyond just becoming conversant with computers or knowing how to design a web page as in my case. According to the theory, “global integration of financial markets; advances in information and communication technologies; corporate restructuring; and the increasing significance of multinational companies within the world economy, all herald a ‘new’ competition based on innovation, applied knowledge and improvements in productivity” (Reich, 1991). This calls for the need to be innovate and reason ahead of modern day technology to satisfy the needs even of unborn generations. It calls for an ability to be versatile and transnational in the delivery of work. Finally, I am having entrepreneurial options strongly behind my considerations and this is rather the radical approach. This is because Brown et al (2002) throughout their discussion vests so much power into the hands of the job giver. For instance they say; “employability is primarily determined by the labour market rather than the capabilities of individuals.” For this, I have plans in place to venture into entrepreneurship, should all approaches and plans discussed above fail. Strategies to improve my position It is good to have plans but behind plans should be workable strategies. In my case, I have strategies that should help me with the implementation of my plans. These strategies are interrelated in the sense that each one can satisfy or cater for all the four thematic areas. The first strategy is to equip myself with self training to upgrade myself to meet the conflict theory. This is because according to the conflict theory, employers are shifting the responsibility training and upgrading unto the employee. So in order to be able to handle such a situation when it happens to me, I have started undertaking career courses and attending career workshops, counselling sections and seminars that seeks to upgrade the knowledge I acquire from the classroom. Secondly, I am putting the concept of social construction behind me. This is because the concept of social construction limits graduates to seeking certain jobs that gives them employments deemed by society as wealthy of their qualification. Meanwhile, it is possible to accept positions of lower skill and gradually rise through the ranks to topmost position or job placements. Finally, I am equipping myself with skills that not have direct bearing on my job. This is in line with what Ashton, et al., (2000) say “These changes in skill requirements not only reflect an increase in technological complexity but changes in models of organisational efficiency, leading to greater emphasis on problem-solving, communication, teamwork and self-management skills. This means that having skills in the areas mentioned above will put me ahead of my colleagues, with whom I shall be competing for limited job openings. In conclusion, much of the employability is becoming dependant on the employer and availability of jobs rather than a graduate’s qualification. But no matter what the case is, there should be graduates to fill the small vacancies. How a graduate positions himself for the competition is therefore the most important issue. With constant upgrading of one’s knowledge even outside one’s area of study and learning so hard to come on to of the class are some few ways that can guarantee that one graduate shall become a preferred choice over others. 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