Perception on Graduate Employment Trends of Jigme Namgyel Engineering College Under Roayl Unıversity of Bhutan

Year 2021, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 213 - 223, 31.12.2021

Hemlal Bhattarai

Abstract

Supporting Institution

Jigme Namgyel Engineering College, Royal University of Bhutan

Project Number

NA

Thanks

The office of the Dean (Research and Industrial Linkages), Jigme Namgyel Engineering College for the employment data provided for this research.

Perception on Graduate Employment Trends of Jigme Namgyel Engineering College Under Roayl Unıversity of Bhutan

Abstract

Higher education institutions are always challenged with the relevance of the programme that they offer in meeting the requirements of the job market. In today's dynamic job market, the stakeholders always strive to have the best of the best employee for contribution in their organization. There is thus a challenge of making strategic intervention in the existing programme in higher education followed by initiation of a new programme that is on the demand. This data is based on the survey conducted on the graduates' status and their employability within the span of SIX months to ONE year immediately after their graduation. The result obtained from the study is promising that the college is doing fairly well in introducing the right as well as a relevant programme but on the other hand, there are increased number of graduates available in the job market each year. This is already creating a burden in the small job market available in Bhutan. The employment statistics of Jigme Namgyel Engineering College (JNEC) seem fairly placed in comparison to its national statistics but there is a need to explore further to build employability skills and competencies of its graduates for the job markets. As a result, the study recommends the need for fostering a clear understanding of the national and international job markets with possible supports that are available and necessary to remap its approaches for further enhancing the skills development programmes of its graduates.

Keywords

Programme, Higher Education, Employment, New Programme, Intervention.

Project Number

NA

References

• Abas, M. C., & Imam, O. A. (2016). Graduates’ Competence on Employability Skills and Job Performance. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 5(2), 119-125.
• Brewer, L., & International Labour Office. Skills and Employability Department. (2013). Enhancing youth employability: What? Why? and how? Guide to core work skills, Geneva: ILO.
• Dhamdhere, S. N. (2016). Importance of Knowledge Management in the Higher Educational Institutes. 162-183, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE , 16(1).
• Farah, S. A., & Ali, H. A. (2018). A Study on the Causes of Unemployment among University Graduates in Kenya: A Case of Garissa County, Kenya. Open Journal of Economics and Commerce, 1(1), 55-60, Sryahwa publications.
• Hwang, Y. (2017). What is the cause of graduates’ unemployment? Focus on individual concerns and perspectives. Journal of Educational Issues, 3(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.5296/jei.v3i2.11378.
• Jun, K. (2017). Factors affecting employment and unemployment for fresh graduates in China. Unemployment - Perspectives and Solutions. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.69809.
• Mutambara, J., Makanyanga, T. R., & Mudhovozi, P. (2019). Psychological health and optimism amongst unemployed graduates in Zimbabwe. Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, 6(2). 19-28, https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i2.3308.
• NSB, RGoB. (2020). 2020 Labour Force Survey Report, Bhutan, https://www.nsb.gov.bt/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2021/04/2020-Labour-Force-Survey-Report.pdf
• Onoyase, A. (2019). Causal factors and effects of unemployment on graduates of tertiary institutions in Ogun state south west Nigeria: Implications for counselling. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 9(4), 119-127. https://doi.org/10.2478/jesr-2019-0061.
• Pool, L. D., & Sewell, P. (2007). The key to employability: Developing a practical model of graduate employability. Education + Training, 49(4), 277-289. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910710754435
• Pool, L. D. (2016). Developing graduate employability: The CareerEDGE model and the importance of emotional intelligence. Graduate Employability in Context, 317-338. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57168-7_15
• Pool, L. D. (2020). Revisiting the CareerEDGE model of graduate employability. Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling, 44(1), 51-56. https://doi.org/10.20856/jnicec.4408
• Pang, E., Wong, M., Leung, C. H., & Coombes, J. (2018). Competencies for fresh graduates’ success at work: Perspectives of employers. Industry and Higher Education, 33(1), 55-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218792333
• Rowe, A. D. (2017). Developing graduate employability skills and attributes: Curriculum enhancement through work-integrated learning. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, Special Issue: Advancing the WIL curriculum to enhance graduate employability, 18(2), 87-99. https://www.ijwil.org/files/APJCE_18_2_87_99.pdf
• Statista. (2020). Bhutan - unemployment rate 1999-2020, Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/527274/unemployment-rate-in-bhutan/.
• Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Education Policy, 25(4), 407-431. https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2011.26