Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills

The purpose of the study was to compare vocational trainees participating and not participating in a supervised work experience on the acquisition of employability skills. The population of the study was vocational trainees who had completed vocational programmes in various fields. They were compare...

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Main Author:	Syed Sofian, Sharifah Kamaliah
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English English
Published:	2008
Subjects:	Employability. Vocational qualifications.
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/4875/1/FPP_2008_12.pdf
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id	my-upm-ir.4875
record_format	uketd_dc
spelling	my-upm-ir.48752013-05-27T07:18:50Z Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills 2008 Syed Sofian, Sharifah Kamaliah The purpose of the study was to compare vocational trainees participating and not participating in a supervised work experience on the acquisition of employability skills. The population of the study was vocational trainees who had completed vocational programmes in various fields. They were compared on the basis of whether they had participated in a supervised work experience on the acquisition of employability skills. An equal-sized groups stratified sampling was administered as it was considered useful if one wants to compare the performance of different subgroups, besides, Cohen (1988) prescribed the desirability of equal-sized samples as it can be demonstrated that equal division yields greater power than unequal division does. The process of power analysis determined the sample size. The number of sample was 138. Items comprising the translated version of SCANS foundation skills and work competencies measured acquisition of employability. The consent to use the translated version in the Malay language was officially given by the Planning and Research Unit of the Technical Department, Ministry of Education of Malaysia. The researcher developed items comprising the background characteristics of respondents based on appropriate literature. The dimensions of self-concept and achievement motivation were adopted from a study by Ab. Rahim (2001). The result showed that participating students achieved a moderately higher level of employability skills compared to students not participating in the supervised work experience. A significant difference in the acquisition of employability skills between participants and non-participants of the supervised work experience was observed at (t = 2.3, p < .05), although the magnitude of the differences in the means was moderately small (eta squared = .04). This result could be regarded as material with the said magnitude as it has the potential of changing the way others think about the phenomenon of having a supervised work experience as a feasible mode in nurturing such skills. Study indicated there were also other factors attributing to the acquisition of employability skills, and these include gender, age, previous work experience, self concept and achievement motivation. However, achievement motivation was found to be significantly related to the acquisition of employability skills. This psychological variable is also a well-known contributor in the development of entrepreneurial skills leading towards the development of successful entrepreneur. In addition, type of school to work transition was found to be significantly related to previous work experience and gender. Therefore, participation of vocational trainees in a supervised work experience influences the acquisition of employability skills, an important psychosocial construct. Evidently, employability skills also identified as career success skills could facilitate youth in negotiating from school to work transition as employers seek potential employees nurtured with such skills. Employability. Vocational qualifications. 2008 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/4875/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/4875/1/FPP_2008_12.pdf application/pdf en public phd doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Employability. Vocational qualifications. Educational Studies English
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English English
topic	Employability. Vocational qualifications.
spellingShingle	Employability. Vocational qualifications. Syed Sofian, Sharifah Kamaliah Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills
description	The purpose of the study was to compare vocational trainees participating and not participating in a supervised work experience on the acquisition of employability skills. The population of the study was vocational trainees who had completed vocational programmes in various fields. They were compared on the basis of whether they had participated in a supervised work experience on the acquisition of employability skills. An equal-sized groups stratified sampling was administered as it was considered useful if one wants to compare the performance of different subgroups, besides, Cohen (1988) prescribed the desirability of equal-sized samples as it can be demonstrated that equal division yields greater power than unequal division does. The process of power analysis determined the sample size. The number of sample was 138. Items comprising the translated version of SCANS foundation skills and work competencies measured acquisition of employability. The consent to use the translated version in the Malay language was officially given by the Planning and Research Unit of the Technical Department, Ministry of Education of Malaysia. The researcher developed items comprising the background characteristics of respondents based on appropriate literature. The dimensions of self-concept and achievement motivation were adopted from a study by Ab. Rahim (2001). The result showed that participating students achieved a moderately higher level of employability skills compared to students not participating in the supervised work experience. A significant difference in the acquisition of employability skills between participants and non-participants of the supervised work experience was observed at (t = 2.3, p < .05), although the magnitude of the differences in the means was moderately small (eta squared = .04). This result could be regarded as material with the said magnitude as it has the potential of changing the way others think about the phenomenon of having a supervised work experience as a feasible mode in nurturing such skills. Study indicated there were also other factors attributing to the acquisition of employability skills, and these include gender, age, previous work experience, self concept and achievement motivation. However, achievement motivation was found to be significantly related to the acquisition of employability skills. This psychological variable is also a well-known contributor in the development of entrepreneurial skills leading towards the development of successful entrepreneur. In addition, type of school to work transition was found to be significantly related to previous work experience and gender. Therefore, participation of vocational trainees in a supervised work experience influences the acquisition of employability skills, an important psychosocial construct. Evidently, employability skills also identified as career success skills could facilitate youth in negotiating from school to work transition as employers seek potential employees nurtured with such skills.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Syed Sofian, Sharifah Kamaliah
author_facet	Syed Sofian, Sharifah Kamaliah
author_sort	Syed Sofian, Sharifah Kamaliah
title	Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills
title_short	Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills
title_full	Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills
title_fullStr	Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills
title_full_unstemmed	Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills
title_sort	participation of vocational trainees in a supervised work experience and the acquisition of employability skills
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
granting_department	Educational Studies
publishDate	2008
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/4875/1/FPP_2008_12.pdf
_version_	1747810301799038976

Participation of Vocational Trainees in a Supervised Work Experience and the Acquisition of Employability Skills

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