This study aims to support high school students at buiness schools choose the right career and major that fit their aptitude, thereby contributing to their brighter future, and furthermore help them develop a desirable set of values in regard to their...
This study aims to support high school students at buiness schools choose the right career and major that fit their aptitude, thereby contributing to their brighter future, and furthermore help them develop a desirable set of values in regard to their career. To this end, this study examined the students inclination in career selection and their perception and satisfaction of trial on-job experience.
This study chose as its subject 102 third year students at Chungnam Marine Science High School situated in Boryeong City in Chungnam Province, which is currently operating an on-job trial system. A questionnaire survey was made on the 102 students, and the result was analyzed using the SPSS program on the 95 who responded to the questionnaire. The results were as follows:
1. Career Perception
Middle school grades were the single biggest reason why most students chose the vocation school. Most were reasonably satisfied with the school as well as their respective major. This study found that many students had an enhanced perception of their school and major than they had when they first entered the school. A high sense of pride for their vocational school could be found among the students. A 61.05% answered that they plan to advance to a higher-level school upon graduation, suggesting the need to discard a cookie-cutter type of education and to establish a diverse curriculum to satisfy students desire for various careers.
2. Job Perception
First, this study found that most had started to think about their future jobs in their middle school years. The source from which they accessed job information was their seniors, friends or the Internet rather than teachers. Judging from the dominant response that they chose their future jobs based on their own decision rather than those of others, we can see that there needs to be a positive and active career counseling from middle school.
Second, items for consideration when selecting jobs were different between the sexes. Male students placed more emphasis on financial compensation and future potential for development while female students focused on happiness, self-fulfillment and aptitude.
3. On-Job Training
First, asked what motivated them to chose the company they did for on-job training, many students answered that it was solely their own decision. Only a few answered that they chose the company based on their teachers recommendation.
Second, most of the companies were small ones located in small to medium cities, working in the fisheries-related industry. Female students generally worked in marine processing companies where their work and major were closely related. However, seeing that the students vocational skills were mediocre or lower, this study concluded that schools must invest in apt educational tools and develop programs to help them adjust to jobs.
Third, most showed a pessimistic view of the future of the company they were being trained in. Male students pointed out that the school needs to provide a more focused education in the practical use of their major studies, whereas female students emphasized the importance of general knowledge.
Fourth, almost all respondents agreed that the need for on-job training was real. Judging from the fact that students perception of the appropriate period of training ranged from two to six months, schools need operate a training program flexible in duration and period.
4. Satisfaction of On-Job Training
First, on the question about the work environment, some made notes about air pollution and noise, but these problems were not severe enough to warrant concern. Many students answered that working hours and the workload were satisfactory, but the recreational facilities were not. A reasonable level of satisfaction was displayed for information sharing facilities. The reason is judged to be the widespread use of TV, newspaper and the Internet.
Second, in regard to working conditions, answers were diverse. Most were satisfied with the commute time. While male respondents were mainly content with the working environment and facilities, female students were less so. This implies that female students need to be more scrupulous in their selection of job sites, taking into consideration the company‘s working environment. The atmosphere and relationship among the students and other employees were generally cordial, mainly because the company showed a high level of interest in the students and because the small size of companies made for a cozy and friendly atmosphere. This is expected to have had a positive effect on the students perception of a job, for their first encounter with the real world of business was a positive one.
Third, parents level of satisfaction in their children's on-job training was generally high. In contrast, the companies CEOs interest in the students was deplorably low; a surprising 10.53% showed no interest at all. Schools must make more effort to increase the companies consciousness in students on-job training program.
Fourth, the relation between the students career aptitude and the actual work was generally unsatisfactory. The gap between the satisfaction level of students school major and that of their actual company work stems from the fact that students failed to chose their majors based on their vocational aptitude. Therefore, this calls for the development of diverse on-job training programs so that students can have a range of jobs to choose from.