Changing Landscape of work

The changing career market in the twenty-first century

The changing career market in the twenty-first century necessitates a more realistic education system that focuses on educating learners in hands-on skills. At the turn of the twenty-first century, the labor market has undergone many and dramatic changes. These career pressures and demands, as well as workforce needs, have greatly affected the perceptions of graduates who leave colleges with strong hopes of seeking employment shortly after graduation. Furthermore, the advent of automation into the labor market has left a large number of young Americans unemployed, causing some graduates to work in low-wage jobs to make ends meet. Technological advance is also to blame for the increased cases of unemployment in most parts of the world, with most people rendered jobless because they lack skills to control this advanced equipment. Besides, inappropriate career advises that students get from parents, college lecturers and media have significantly affected the demand and supply in the labor market. Most graduates with no employment today may have chosen the wrong career because the press had put emphasis on the course as lucrative and better paying. As a result, many graduates applied for the job and within a short period, the job market became flooded and lost the profitability to graduates. Therefore, the rapid growth of unemployment in the USA is because of the effects of economic recession and the demand that the job market puts on the new, inexperienced graduates. Thus, this article will be focusing on some of the key features that workers particularly graduates should possess to succeeded in the market while also being competitive and on demand by businesses such as engineering.

Hands-on skills

Hands-on skills mostly involve the active involvement of a learner in the learning process. The process entails equipping the students with practical skills and experience of materials, equipment, and tools used in the class. The training mainly focuses on making the working conditions for the intern or the student to be more realistic as possible. According to an employment survey done by consulting firm Accenture, a majority of this year’s graduate students expects to find jobs in their selected fields. Another research conducted by Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State revealed that there was a rise in employment of graduates with bachelor’s degree by approximately 7 percent. Besides, most of the employees in the business world search for students who possess skills that are in high demand no matter the occupation, accounting or engineering majors. For instance, Intel, Microsoft, and Noble Energy pursued Madison Piercy a student at Boulder, majoring in both electrical and computer science.

The student had the essential hands-on skills that would significantly improve the creativity and innovations of the companies. However, since most graduates do not possess the hands-on skill in their relevant fields, they end up in the wrong jobs after graduation. For instance, Rebecca Mersiowsky graduated from Radford University two years ago and had worked in several areas to earn a living. Rebecca has worked at a beach club, as a substitute teacher and as a sales associate where she now lives. She graduated with a degree in communication but has never had the luck to find a job in public relations because she has no hands-on skills experience in that field. Therefore, socialist, economist and philanthropist have proven that most employers in the 21st century are likely to favor students or graduates with hands-on skill experience on practice.

Have a degree

Education is the key to one’s success in life. With the current condition of labor market characterized by competition of skilled employees, productive employment among other features, there is need for individuals in the job market to have skills gained from the colleges. After graduation every parent expects all their kids to have at least a job especially after the first and second year. Therefore, an educated and skilled person with a degree certificate has a high chance of getting employment when compared with an individual who has none. However, with the demand for graduates with hands-on skills on the rise, parent have also cost their children a lot when guiding them in the selection of career before joining the colleges.

There is a great need for the parents to brainstorm the finest choice of career and colleges with the best payoff after graduation. Therefore, the job market demands the parents to go for the colleges that can offer practical skills. Practical skills help the students to be more realistic in the market and particularly in performing their tasks. Currently, the private, as well as the public sectors, are advising students joining the colleges to abandon the liberal arts and go for courses that guarantee field study where the labor market is hot. As a result, the schools and colleges are reacting to this change by offering specialized courses that will provide the students with skills that the job market demands. For instance, having a degree in hospital financing is better off than having a degree in finance. Therefore, it is important for parents to note that having a degree that offers practical skills is helpful to a job search. Parents should remember that selecting the best college in terms of the courses is not helpful if the kid does not graduate. Therefore, it is important for parents to evaluate the graduation rate of the various colleges and schools.

No specialization

One major problem with the colleges is they are currently moving towards offering courses that are specific. However, educationist and economist call this step undesirable since there is no guarantee that these jobs will still be lucrative tomorrow. The job market is dynamic and what is hot today may not necessarily be hot tomorrow. One major problem with specialization is that a field become hot today and students rush to take the career leading to a bust over a short period of time. When this occurs as in most fields students graduating after the second year of a program’s boom may end up unemployed. Besides, the changes in regulation can also create or kill careers. If this happens those graduates in the concerned field may become affected leading to high unemployment level in the country. The developments such as these touching on occupations are nearly impossible to expect, therefore, to avoid releasing graduates who may remain unemployed is to offer courses that are general.

In conclusion

In conclusion, students graduating from public and private colleges should possess some important capacities to succeeded in the market while also being competitive and on demand by businesses such as engineering. The labor market is so competitive and dynamic demanding for graduates who have hands-on skill and can perform tasks with minimal supervision. Most graduates are still unemployed because they lack practical skill needed to perform demanding tasks. Employers will always employ workers who have a degree and have graduated from a recognized institution. One major problem with the colleges is they are currently moving towards offering courses that are specific. However, educationist and economist call this step undesirable since there is no guarantee that these jobs will still be lucrative tomorrow.