survey on graduating english students’ level of readiness to participate in the job market

28 Table 6: Mean comparison according to majors English Translation and Interpreting ETI, English Studies ES and English Education EE their knowledge, skills, and values .... Another st

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING

CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

GRADUATION THESIS ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

SURVEY ON GRADUATING ENGLISH STUDENTS’

LEVEL OF READINESS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE JOB MARKET

CODE: 7096546 CLASS: NN09Z8A1

Cantho, May 2013

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this work has not been submitted in the whole or in part to the university or to any other educational institutions for marking and assessment either previously or concurrently I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged

Mai Bá Anh Triết

May, 2013

Next, I would like to send my deep gratitude to Mr Chau Thien Hiep, who instructed data analysis with Statistic Package for Social Sciences Software to me, and gave me valuable suggestions on my thesis

I also would like to express my appreciation to Mr Nguyen Hai Quan, and

Ms Luu Bich Ngoc for their valuable comments on how to write an academic research study Working with them, I have learnt precious experiences in conducting research

Then, I would like to show my appreciation to my friends, who helped me to collect and input data

Finally, my thanks are to all participants of thesis Without their assistance,

my study could not have been finished

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES v

TÓM LƯỢC vi

ABSTRACT vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Research objectives and significance 4

1.3 Thesis organization 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Graduating students and the job market 6

2.2 The three goals of college education and their importance 7

2.2.1 Knowledge 7

2.2.2 Soft skills 8

2.2.3 Personal values 14

2.3 Studies on students’ readiness to participate in the job market 18

2.4 Research questions 21

2.5 Hypotheses 21

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Research design 22

3.2 Participants 22

3.3 Materials 23

3.4 Data collection 25

3.5 Data analysis 25

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 26

4.1 Research results 26

4.1.1 Responses to the closed-ended questions 26

4.1.2 Responses to the open-ended questions 31

4.2 Research discussion 33

4.3 Conclusion 36

CHAPTER 5: LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 37

5.1 Limitations 37

5.2 Recommendation 37

5.3 Directions for further research 38

REFERENCES 39

APPENDICES 43

APPENDIX A 43

APPENDIX B 47

APPENDIX C 51

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart 1: Three groups of participants 23

Table 1: Essential soft skills for students 9

Table 2: Overall mean comparison of 3 aspects Knowledge, Skills and Values 26

Table 3: Overall mean comparison of specific skills 27

Table 4: Mean comparison between male and female students’ perceptions regarding their knowledge, skills, and values 27

Table 5: Mean comparison between male and female students’ perceptions regarding their specific skills 28

Table 6: Mean comparison according to majors English Translation and Interpreting (ETI), English Studies (ES) and English Education (EE) their knowledge, skills, and values 29

Table 7: Mean comparison according to majors English Translation and Interpreting (ETI), English Studies (ES) and English Education (EE) their specific skills 30

Table 8: Students’ likes, dislikes and suggestions 31

TÓM LƯỢC

Nghiên cứu này nhằm khảo sát mức độ chuẩn bị tham gia thị trường lao động qua góc nhìn của sinh viên sắp tốt nghiệp chuyên ngành tiếng Anh tại trường Đại học Cần Thơ Nghiên cứu đã sử dụng chủ yếu dữ liệu định lượng thu thập từ bảng câu hỏi đóng và mở 90 sinh viên thuộc 3 chuyên ngành Biên Phiên Dịch tiếng Anh, Ngôn Ngữ Anh và Sư Phạm tiếng Anh tham gia nghiên cứu Phần mềm thống kê xã hội học SPSS được dùng để phân tích dữ liệu Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy sinh viên đã có sự chuẩn bị để tham gia vào thị trường lao động nhưng mức độ chuẩn bị vẫn chưa phải lài tốt nhất, cần phải được hỗ trợ rèn luyện thêm Cụ thể, sinh viên Biên Phiên Dịch tự tin hơn các sinh viên của 2 ngành còn lại, đặc biệt ở

kỹ năng xin việc Hi vọng kết quả nghiên cứu này sẽ giúp nhà trường và giáo viên hiểu rõ hơn cảm nhận của sinh viên về mức độ sẵn sàng tham gia thị trường lao động Nghiên cứu này còn đưa ra một số đề nghị điều chỉnh chương trình đào tạo, nhằm tăng cường khả năng áp dụng vào thực tế những kiến thức và kỹ năng học được

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the level of preparation for the labor market from the perspective of graduating English students at Can Tho University This study used both quantitative and qualitative data from a questionnaire consisting of

51 Likert-scale items and 4 open-ended items Ninety participants from three English majors (English Translation and Interpreting, English Studies and English Education) were recruited Frequencies, T-Tests, and ANOVA’s were used to analyze the data In general, results showed that the students were not very well-prepared for the job market However, English Translation and Interpreting

students were the most confident among the three groups, especially in their seeking skills The research results should give insights into students' perceptions

job-on their readiness for the job market This survey suggests an adjustment to the training program so as to be more practical, in its application of knowledge and skills in the current situation

Cavanagh et al (2006) researched the level of preparedness to participate in the labor force of college and university students through the evaluation of employers from 500 large companies in the United States The authors confirmed that the higher education institution took the major responsibility for equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills However, the result of the research showed that the university had just equipped students with average range

of knowledge and skills to apply in the work place These institutions had not given a timely response to the requirements of the employers given the current growth of society

Another research report from the perspective of managing directors by Dennis (2011) showed that the school needed to improve training the appropriate skills for students to be able to meet the requirements of the workplace Only 17%

of the directors said that young people in the United States had fully prepared to participate in the competitive world Similarly, the report of an educational

evaluation agency in California (Sommerville, 2012) showed that the state's community colleges did not meet the requirements of basic skills for students to be successful at work

From the students’ perspective, those who joined the research by Gardner (2000) said that may be they were not ready to find a good job with high salary because sixty percent of them admitted not having appropriate learning methods College graduates could not find a job immediately or got fired soon due to their lack of communication skills and teamwork skills

Vocational consultants commented that Vietnamese students’ soft skills were very weak (Lao Dong, 2008) Many of them lacked presentation skills "This

is the weakest skill of students nowadays They do not know how to present the ideas coherently and clearly to other people, especially in front of a crowd or employers” (Lao Dong, 2008) According to this article, soft skills of young people just met about 10% of work demands Therefore, university education should pay more attention to skills, and these skills should be included in some courses

In the workshop “Solutions to improving the quality of human resources training at university", many employers agreed that 94% of the students, after graduation, need to be retrained in the workplace (Thanh Nien Online, 2011) The training content is not only professional knowledge but also the work attitude, work ethics, work discipline and basic skills in addressing and solving practical problems of working The reasons why students could not find a job immediately

or got fired very soon were due to their lack of abilities, no clear orientation, or lack of soft skills to work effectively However, up to now no research report about students’ opinion on this issue in CTU has been found

The results of the survey “Career trend of students in English Department, School of Education, CTU” (Trương & Hồ, 2003) revealed that the job hunting of

college graduates mainly depended on the knowledge and skills preparation Sixty-seven percent of the students took a long time to get a job Most of them had

to attend more classes in computer science, professional training courses, and foreign languages especially English Another study about college graduates of School of Education at Can Tho University (CTU) showed that students were very confused with group work and self study skills They lacked critical thinking and always depended on their teachers Moreover, “being passive, inflexible in solving problems” was the idea remark of some employers to the students (Nguyen et al, 2009) Therefore, forming study habits, good thinking and life skills in students are really urgent needs that every educator has to care about

CanTho University is a main institution of undergraduate and post-graduate training, with the mission of providing the professional human resources for the socio-economic development of the areas and the whole country To meet the social need annually, the English Department of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities and the School of Education train hundreds of students They are all going to join the workforce with enthusiasm However, some queries have been raised For example, are the seniors ready to join the labor force? Are they well-prepared for employment? Do they need any support? Yet the appropriate answers for these question have not been found in any research Consequently, the career preparation of seniors studying at CTU has aroused my interest From my own experience, as a senior of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, CTU, I have noticed the great influence of knowledge, soft skills, and values on my part-time job Based on the theoretical background on the impact of these factors on the employment opportunities and the real demands of the job market, the current study is conducted to investigate the readiness to join the workforce of English majored seniors of the School of Education and the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at CTU While most of the studies to date have focused on the assessment of students’ job preparation by the employers,the present study looks

at the students’ perceptions about what they need to prepare for job in the future

1.2 Research objectives and significance

This study aims to investigate the level of preparation of final-year students majoring in English at the School of Education and the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at CTU in three aspects: knowledge, skills and personal values Students are also expected to have a review on their learning process and evaluate their development at CTU when they respond to the survey Thereby, they can recognize their strengths and weaknesses in preparing themselves to be successful

in the future work Based on the research findings, I would like to offer some solutions and recommendations to school to prepare the students for meeting the demands of the labor market

1.3 Thesis organization

The thesis consists of five chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Literature Review, (3) Research Methodology, (4) Results, Discussion, and Conclusion, (5) Limitations, and Recommendations

Chapter One presents the problems of the university graduates in the job market related to their preparation to work in the context of the world and Vietnam The background information and reasons to conduct the thesis are also mentioned Then, research questions, research objectives and significance are introduced The organization of the thesis is included in the last part of the chapter

Chapter Two - Literature Review provides definition of terms used in the thesis and reviews the previous related studies

Chapter Three concentrates on research methodology It describes the research designs, participants, and research procedure used in this thesis A detailed description of the instruments and data collection is also presented

Chapter Four shows the results of the questionnaire responses analyzed by SPSS The chapter summarizes the main results of the thesis and gives a deep discussion about the results in comparison with the results of previous studies It also emphasizes the soft skills and values which need to be paid attention to

In Chapter Five, the limitations of the study and certain recommendations for further research are finally included

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews the previous projects investigating the topic of graduating students’ readiness for the job market in terms of the three aspects: knowledge, skills and values It includes (1) an overview of graduating students and the job competition, (2) the three aspects: knowledge, skills and personal values, (3) studies on students’ readiness to participate in the job market (4) research questions, and (5) hypothesis of the thesis

2.1 Graduating students and the job market

The transition from university to the job market can be a period either stressful or exciting, to which some students can make better adjustments than others Full-time work can be a shocking experience to those familiar with a leisurely lecture timetable Working in an office or any organization for eight hours a day takes some time to get used to However, the first barrier for new graduates to cross is finding a job Towards the end of academic life, seniors start to think about job hunting Some students are hired before finishing their degree and have to juggle time between work and studying Other students may opt to take a break upon degree completion and may spend this time traveling before deciding on their career Another group may complete their degree and start looking for a job right away

In reality, many university graduates do not walk into their dream job, but instead have to start from the bottom, working their way up the ladder in a company or several companies, and often starting with a low salary According to the article “Employment of graduates and the demand of the job market in HCMC 2012-2015” by Tran (2012), approximately 80% of graduates were employed and the remaining (20%) could not find a job The survey also revealed that only about 50% students who got jobs lived with suitable jobs and had opportunities to

develop their career, and the other 50% worked in non-professional field with low income and lack of stability

2.2 The three goals of college education and their importance

To develop a course in a higher education institution, setting goals is the first and most important step (Bloom et al, 1994) The researchers claim that once goals are stated, school can connect the curriculum, instruction, and assessment to them Assessment with course goals can be aligned by grouping them into three broad categories: knowledge-based goals, skills-based goals, and affective goals, among which affective goals include values, attitudes, and interests

2.2.1 Knowledge

In Oxford dictionary (the 8th edition, 2013), knowledge is defined as the information, understanding and skills that students gain through education or experience In Chapter Five “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill (1938) divided knowledge into two categories: general knowledge and specialized knowledge

(1) General knowledge

General knowledge or common knowledge is knowledge of facts about a lot of different subjects (Oxford dictionary) It is general information in certain areas such as diplomacy, management, teaching, love, marriage, and so on Every field has its certain knowledge and can be learned from many sources such as from school, book, television or the Internet General knowledge is not only the fundamental knowledge but also the important base of life and career

(2) Specialized knowledge

Specialized knowledge is in-depth knowledge about a particular subject Specialized knowledge is traditionally seen as knowledge that has undergone a

formal rationalization and that is systematic, codified and generalized (French, 2007) French believes that professional knowledge raises the awareness about the field, and it provides a theory based on practice relevant to student’s professional fields and benefits them in increasing their understanding of their future work If the general knowledge can be learned from many sources, even by self-learning through finding information in books, television, or the Internet, specialized knowledge can only be transferred through schools Students, especially seniors, have spend 3 to 4 years in the college to foster their professional knowledge for the future career Based on their in-depth specialized knowledge, students can develop appropriate skills and solve problems in their career life For example, a teacher should possess the qualifications and professional knowledge required to ensure a successful performance in class such as general pedagogical knowledge, subject knowledge and teaching methodology (Maria, 2011) They can also use relevant scientific knowledge

2.2.2 Soft skills

In Oxford dictionary (2013), “soft skills” or “interpersonal skills” is defined as personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with others The roles of soft skills appear in every aspect of life They show one’s lifestyle and real life experience accumulation

The issue of soft skills has raised a special attention in many countries around the world, especially in developed countries The book “Employability skills for the future" of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) (2002) defines soft skills

as the skills required for students not only to find a job but also to improve of their abilities and contribute to the development of the organization According to the book, there are eight skills: communication, teamwork, problem-solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organizing, self-management, learning, and technology In the United Kingdom, the government is interested in developing strong and competitive human resources The Qualification and Curriculum

Authority (2009) has also come up with a list of important skills: application of number, communication, improving one’s own learning and performance, information and communication technology, problem solving, and working with others

Following the article “What Do Employers Really Want? Top Skills and Values Employers Seek from Job-Seekers” by Hansen, R and Hansen, K (2008),

a list of important skills have been synthesized and proposed for participants in the current study

Table 1: Essential soft skills for students

1 Communication skill The ability to listen, read, write, and speak

effectively

2 Teamwork skill The ability to work with others in a professional

manner while attempting to achieve a common goal

3 Problem-solving skill The ability to find solutions to problems using

creativity, reasoning, and past experiences along with the available information and resources

4 Organizational skills The ability to design, plan, organize, and implement

projects and tasks within an allotted timeframe

5 English communication

skills

The ability to listen, read, write, and speak effectively in English

6 Job interview skills Including how to effectively write cover letter,

curriculum vitae, prepare the outlook and answer interview questions

7 Information searching

skills

The ability to effectively search information sources using a variety of information tools available

8 Computer Literacy Basic understanding of computer hardware and

software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email

(1) Communication skills

In today's society, communication is really an important aspect of human life The higher civilization of society students live in, the higher need of communication they have Communication happens through many channels: interpersonal communication skills (verbal and non-verbal), listening skills, reading skills, writing skills, questioning skills, and understanding skills Business managers with good verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills help facilitate the sharing of information among employees within a company for its commercial benefit

This research focuses on the interpersonal communication skills Interpersonal communication is the process by which students exchange information, feelings, and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages: it is face-to-face communication (skillsyouneed.com) The process of verbal communication is aided with clarity of speech, remaining calm and focused, being polite and etiquette However, interpersonal communication is not just about what

is actually said - the language used - but how it is said and the non-verbal messages sent through tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and body language Therefore, communication skills are extremely important factors to demonstrate the confidence, the dynamics of the students and also the key to success in life

(2) Teamwork skills

In a report of BCA and ACCI (2002), the essential elements of teamwork identified by employers were concerned with employees’ of different age, gender, race, religion or political view; working as an individual and as a member of a team; knowing how to define a role as part of a team; applying teamwork to situations; identifying the strengths of team members; and coaching, mentoring and giving feedback Crebet et al (2011) also defined teamwork as the mix of interactive, interpersonal, problem-solving and communication skills needed by a

group of students working on a common task, in complementary roles, and towards a common goal, whose outcomes are greater than those possible by any person working independently

(3) Problem-solving

The Concise Oxford dictionary (1995) defines a problem as “something hard to understand or accomplish or deal with” and “a doubtful or difficult matter requiring a solution” To solve a problem efficiently and in a timely way, we need skills to identify the problem, structure the problem, seek a solution, and make a decision

Decision making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action by searching for more information, getting others’ recommendations, taking

a vote or even tossing a coin On skillsyouneed.com, there are six steps to make a good decision: (1) listing all possible options; (2) setting a time scale and deciding who is responsible for the decision; (3) gathering information; (4) weighing up the risks involved; (5) deciding on values, or in other words what is important; (6) weighing up the pros and cons of each course of action and (7) making the decision

(4) Organizational skills

Organizational skills are essential in work or study In the business world, organizational skills are invaluable to employers Organizational skills include prioritization, time management and stress management skills (skillsyouneed.com)

(a) Prioritization

Learning to eliminate unnecessary tasks and decide which items on the

to-do list is the most important is a helpful organizational skill, because it forces students to tackle high-priority tasks before less important ones They can accomplish tasks with earlier deadlines or greater effects on time and in a

thoughtful manner If a person does not prioritize, he/she may do small tasks first because they take less time, but postpone big jobs until the last minute, causing him/her to do a substandard job on them (skillsyouneed.com)

(b) Time management

Time management is the ability to manage time using a range of skills, tools (e.g, schedule, file cabinets, paper trays and daily planners) and techniques to effectively manage tasks, projects, goals and schedules (managementskillsadvisor.com) Students will have a hard time developing their tasks or accomplishing projects as well as they would like to without efficient and effective time management skills

(c) Stress management skills

In a study on stress management by Reddy (2008), stress management comes down to how students organize their thoughts and their inner life in reaction

to events, circumstances and others in their outer life Each person has his or her own way to reduce stress By learning to organize our thoughts and reduce stress, the rest of the organizational tasks will be much more easily accomplished To be successful, students have to know how to reduce the effect of stress in their life

(5) English communication skills

In “The Globalization of English Report: Globalization Accelerates Need for Business English Communication Skills” by Pearson Company (2010), it remains clear that the “flattening” of global business increasingly mandates English competency as a crucial skill for the workplace A growing number of global workers must communicate in English—both within and outside their company—on a regular basis The report reveals that ninety-two per cent of global employees say English is required or important for their job, and this is true at all levels of the organization all over the world

(6) Job interview skills

This is an essential skill for students, especially seniors and new graduates After graduation, many students have realized that finding a suitable job in a company is not easy at all, even with excellent university degree Definitely, it is not caused by the student’s ability shortage but because he/she lacks job interview skills Job interview skill is an efficient feature for a job applicant to be chosen for the job Job interview skill could be developed and characterized so as to maintain

a steady success during the job interview Job interview needs a good preparation Information about company, position and field a person applies to are something a candidate has to know In addition, knowing how to have a pleasing appearance, how to answer questions from interviewers and how to express emotion as personality during the process are important At last, writing a well-organized CV

is also a skill students need to learn Although job interview skills are very essential for students to earn a job, no related study about the importance of these skills have been found

(7) Information-searching skills

Information searching skills might not be the most important skills, but it is essential as it will help us save time and effort to select a good source When an issue occurs in study or in life that students need to understand or solve, they have

to seek information about that issue There are many ways to get the information

we need such as asking teachers and friends, reading books or watching television Besides, with the advancement of science and technology, the Internet has become

a huge source of knowledge By using Google, students can access different sources of information in a fast and convenient way However, there are widely unreliable and incorrect sources on the Internet Knowing how to identify the reliability of the information is also an important skill since problems from choosing bad sources can happen without it (Mildred F Sawyer Library - Suffork University)

(8) Computer literacy

Computer literacy refers to the ability to use computer programs in an effective manner The BCA and ACCI (2002) suggested that many enterprises now require some basic understanding of computer hardware and software (e.g; Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Photoshop, etc) especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email Computer skills can be considered as the most basic skills

a modern worker needs to possess as companies have started to depend upon computerized technology to get work done

In summary, these are essential skills for job vacancies which employers are seeking Today's service economy and the ascendance of work teams in large organizations put a new premium on interpersonal and relationship-building skills Kocon (2009), a Portland-based human resources expert, says, “Employers also

want students who are agile, adaptable and creative at solving problems." Together

with general knowledge and expertise, soft skills are also an important factor that can affect recruitment decision of an enterprise In an interview, employers might give many unrelated questions in order to check the interviewee’s interpersonal skills There will be no accurate answers to that type of question However, the candidate is supposed to convince employers to believe in his/her answers In Vietnam, the education system has not really focused on or paid proper attention

to the importance of soft skills Therefore, they were reviewed in this study in

order to create a base for my questionnaire

and job satisfaction They also indicate essential personal values including loyalty, commitment, honesty and integrity, enthusiasm, reliability, personal presentation, commonsense, positive self-esteem, sense of humor, balance attitude to work and home life, ability to deal with pressure, motivation, and adaptability In this study, from various sources, especially following the article “What Do Employers Really Want ? Top Skills and Values Employers Seek from Job-Seekers” by Hansen, R and Hansen, K (2008), I have synthesized and proposed a list of values which are important for students:

(1) Strong professional ethics

In “Professional Ethics and Morality”, Sirswal (2010) claims that

“professional ethics is partly comprised of what a professional should or should not do in the workplace” It also encompasses a much greater part of the professional’s life If a professional is to have ethics, then that person needs to adopt that conduct in all of his dealings” Every profession has its own codes to practice by their professionals According to Ms Trinh Hong Nguyet (2005), vice president and also the secretary general of Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (VACPA), professional ethics are the valuable intangible assets of the students to be successful in the market nowadays Professional ethics would bring benefits for both individual employees and companies In a study by Kotter and Heskett (2011) , companies with high ethical standards showed to be able to improve their income up to 68.2% (compared to rival companies with ethical standards achieved on average 36%), and increase the value of shares on the stock Securities by 90.1% and net income to 75.6%

(2) Integrity

According to Oxford dictionary (2013), integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles Good relationships are built on trust Employers want to know if they can trust what their employees say and do Successful businesses work to gain the trust of customers It is the responsibility of

each person to use their own individual sense of moral and ethical behavior when working with and serving others within the scope of their job (Loretto, about.com guide)

(3) Adaptability

Adaptability is the ability to have openness to new ideas and concepts, to working independently or as part of a team, and to carrying out multiple tasks or projects (Hansen, R & Hansen, K., 2008) Employers seek employees who are adaptable and maintain flexibility in completing tasks in an ever-changing workplace Potential applicants are students who can demonstrate their adaptability to changing circumstances and environments and accept new ideas and concepts Being open to change and improvements provides not only an opportunity to complete work assignments in a more efficient manner but also offer additional benefits to the corporation, the customer

(4) Passion

Employers seek job-hunters who love what they do and will keep at it until they solve the problem and get the job done (Hansen, R & Hansen, K., 2008) Passion helps to engage in an organization When people discover the work that they love, work becomes more than a job - it becomes a unique calling, a life's mission (Tucker, 2002) People with passion for their work engage each other and their customers Success comes not so much from what people do (their job), but how well they do it (our passion for our job)

(5) Reliability

Being reliable as an employee shows his/her employer and colleagues that he/she is responsible for the job (Hansen, R & Hansen, K., 2008) Moreover, a reliable person can earn others’ trust and build up his own image It is important for employees to keep their supervisors abreast of changes in schedule or if they

are going to be late for any reason This also means they have to keep their supervisor informed on where they are on all projects they have been assigned

(6) Loyalty

Loyalty is the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments

or obligations (dictionary.com) Employers want employees who will have a strong devotion to the company - even at times when the company is not necessarily loyal to its employees (Hansen, R & Hansen, K., 2008) Employees who exhibit loyalty towards their employer may have interests which are aligned with those of their employer Employees’ loyalty is positively associated with high levels of workplace performance (Brown, McHardy, McNabb, & Taylor, 2011)

(7) Self-confidence

In socio-psychological concept, confidence is associated with assuredness in one’s personal judgment, ability, power, and so on (The Macquarie Dictionary) The more self-confidence one has, the more likely one is to succeed

self-in his or her field of work Self-confidence helps people make others trust self-in their abilities to complete a job successfully (Galloway, 2006) Self-confident employees have faith in themselves and their abilities, which is manifested in their positive attitude and outlook on life

(8) Self-motivated

The ability to work independently, with minimal supervision, is recognized

as an important skill (Hansen, R and Hansen, K., 2008)

In short, perceptions of oneself might have an impact on one’s success in professional life I assume that the more values students obtain, the more success they will gain

2.3 Studies on students’ readiness to participate in the job market

Are graduating students ready to participate in the job market? Can they respond

to the requirement of the market? These issues have raised a lot of concerns by both foreign and Vietnamese researchers

In a survey of the UK graduating students’ perceptions of skills, Atfield and Purcell (2012) found that after graduation about 80% of students agreed that they had appropriate skills which employers were seeking This means most graduating students in the UK were very confident Just 6% of them did not think that they had the right skills and the rest 10% said the skills they had developed in their courses would not make them more employable The reason for such responses would come from students who had studied in the programs that are not associated with the development of appropriate skills and qualifications for employment in the business world The majority of students were confident in their skills and knowledge which were adequately provided for employment though their courses Researchers believed that students in the research achieved some essential skills and had self-confidence for the job market Communication skills (oral and written), critical thinking skills, presentation skills, time management skills and problem solving skills were highly rated by students with the mean of more than 3.5 However, this survey omitted participants in language studies because of unrepresentative nature of 3rd year finalists

Another survey on 500 employers in the UK about skills of graduates by the Institute of Directors (IOD, 2007) reported that 68% of the employers were satisfied with professional skills and specialized knowledge of students; 55% of them were pleased with the generic employment-related skills Although 25% of the employers thought that young people (both graduates and non-graduates) were well-prepared for employment, 40% of them had the opposite view Perceptions of how well-prepared young people were for the world of work varied slightly according to organization size Members from the smallest organizations

represented in the survey were less likely to consider young people ready for employment than their counterparts in large organizations Nearly half (46%) of directors from organizations employing between 1 and 25 employees thought that young people were unprepared, compared to a quarter (26%) of directors from organizations with 200 or more staff From the figure of this survey and the survey

of Atfield and Purcell (2012), it showed that there was a big mismatch in the perceptions between employers and students In the report by IOD (2007), an overwhelming majority of employers (90%) suggested that the education system should do more to prepare their students for employment

Cavanagh et al (2006) researched the level of preparedness to participate in the labor force of college and university students through the evaluation of employers from 500 large companies in the United States The authors confirmed that the university institution takes the major responsibility for equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills Nonetheless, the result of the research indicated that the university just equipped students with an average range of knowledge and skills to apply in the work place These training institutions did not have a timely response to the requirements of the employers to catch up with the current growth of society Meanwhile, the research on the adaptability to the work

of university graduates majoring in economics and related areas in the period 2000-2005 assessed by employers in Hanoi (Ngo, 2009) showed that more than 46% of graduates met the job requirements at average level, and just 40% responded well to the jobs The figures were quite low According to the employers, the reasons were that students lacked soft skills and specialized knowledge, were weak in communication, and had no preparation for the target companies

Another study assessing on whether the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the graduates of Hanoi University of Education meet the requirements of the labor market (Do, 2009) surveyed 100 graduates and 150 employers The result of this research showed that knowledge of students was assessed at the average level by

42% of employers, at low and very low level by 33% and 16%, respectively The assessment of employers was different from that of graduates There were 37% of graduates believing that their knowledge was good and very good, 17% thought they could meet the job requirements; and 24% admitted they were at a low level Regarding professional skills, 50% of employers agreed that students’ professional skills were acceptable, and 31.3% agreed that these skills were good and very good Communication skills, personal values, work ethics had a high rating by students with the mean of more than 4.0 out of 5

A study (Quan, Tran, & Pham, 2011) to measure satisfaction level of 98 enterprises in the Mekong Delta about human resource quality which were trained

by the universities reported that university graduates responded well to the requirement of the job Ninety per cent of the employers were satisfied with the quality of graduates Most of the items were rated high above the average According to the findings, personal values are the strongest aspect of students with the total average mean of 3.6 However, the research indicated that some essential aspects such as basic theoretical knowledge, specialized knowledge, soft skills and the ability to get the job done were rated at moderately good level Moreover, the

level of English was rated very low (M = 2.7) which raised a question for my

study The researchers also made some suggestions for schools and enterprises to improve the quality of human resource for the future

An important survey of more than 200 seniors by Business Administration Departments of HCM Economics University (HCMEU) (2010) about their perspective on study attitude, soft skills and self-confidence showed that most students had high awareness of their study and they were quite confident in soft skills More than 94% of students believed they had the ability to communicate above the average; 55% were confident in their communication skills; 76% felt confident in their presentation skills; 58% rated their English ability as sufficient for work; 48% had good teamwork skills; 91% had self-confidence In short, the students were confident with their skills and abilities However, the study did not

focus much on knowledge and personal values This was also the reason why my study was conducted for more comprehensive undestanding of the level of students’ readiness for the job market Moreover, there was not any study on CTU graduating students majoring in English in this field of research

2.4 Research questions

In order to investigate the level of job preparation as well as readiness of graduating students majoring in English, the current study is aimed to answer the following questions:

1 To what extent do graduating English majors perceive their readiness for the job market regarding their knowledge, skills and values?

2 Are there differences among three groups of English majors (English Translation and Interpreting, English Studies, English Education) in their perceptions of knowledge, skills and values?

3 What do students think about their study program in preparing them for the job market?

2.5 Hypothesis

Since there has been no research on the English majors’ perceptions of their readiness for the job market in terms of knowledge, skills and values, I do not have any hypothesis Thus, this is just an exploratory survey to further understanding of how well-prepared Can Tho University students are for employment

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes in detail (1) research design, (2) participants, (3) materials, (4) data collection, and (5) data analysis

3.1 Research design

In order to get insights into the graduating students’ job preparation in three aspects: knowledge, skills and personal values, this research has been designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data using a questionnaire Either quantitative or qualitative type of research has its own strengths and weaknesses,

so the combination of the two modes of research will give a comprehensive understanding of the research topic Quantitative research is generalisable with a large number of participants, whereas qualitative research is used to clarify people’s attitudes, behaviors, value systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations, cultures and lifestyles (Ereaut, 2007, p.8) Thus, the qualitative data from the open-ended questions of the questionnaire in this study were intended to supplement what the closed-ended questions could not measure

3.2 Participants

The participants involved in the current study were 90 graduating English students, coming from 3 groups of different majors: English Translation and Interpreting, English Studies and English Education The focus of this study is on the English Translation and Interpreting students’ readiness for the job market; however, it would be an interesting idea to compare this target group with two other groups of English majors - English Studies and English Education This explains why students from the three majors were recruited Moreover, to facilitate the comparison and enhance the reliability of the statistical tests, thirty questionnaires were collected from each major In the field of applied linguistics and second language acquisition research, it is common to conduct a comparison