Job Aspirations Research Articles

Organisational culture preference for gen Y's prospective job aspirants: a personality-culture fit perspective

Organisational culture preference for gen Y's prospective job aspirants: a personality-culture fit perspective

Economically Disadvantaged Minority Girls' Knowledge and Perceptions of Science and Engineering and Related Careers

This article addresses economically disadvantaged minority girls' knowledge and perceptions of science and engineering and the influence of their experiences with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) on their choices for future careers. We interviewed three girls who participated in a 4-H–led gender-inclusive STEM program. Our findings suggest that the girls lacked opportunities to learn STEM in out-of-school settings and that they had very limited knowledge about STEM professions. They did not associate their job aspirations as being related to STEM, even though they were. To better prepare such girls to engage in STEM, educators need to provide long-term interventions that are supported by both out-of-school programs and families.

Self-Efficacy and Locus of Control in Indian Youth

The purpose of the current study was (i) to find out the role self-efficacy and locus of control of the high and low performing job aspirants (ii) to study the Gender differences of the job aspirants. A random sample of 465 job aspirants males (n=264) and females (n=201) was selected from participants appeared in the Service Selection Board of Mysore. Participants belong to various part of India and their age ranges were between 20 to 27 years with Mean of 21.85 years and SD 1.15 years. Self-efficacy was measured using the General Self-efficacy Scale by Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1995) and the Locus of Control Scale by Rotter, J.B (1966). The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, S.D) and ANOVA. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in their self-efficacy of performing and non-performing groups. Further no significant gender differences were found in Self-efficacy. In addition both men and women were differed in their Locus of control and females were found to be external locus of control. The study brought out that high self-efficacy with internal locus of control influence the participants perform well in their field to attain success.

Demographic preferences towards careers in shared service centers: A factor analysis

Talent attraction and employee retention are some of the main challenges that currently affect the growth of the shared service industry worldwide. Due to the market dynamics and the structure of the labor force, shared service centers (SSCs) in the region compete to attract well-trained candidates with appropriate knowledge and skills. To assess gender preferences towards careers in the SSCs, the article collects 1283 responses using an online questionnaire from university students in the Czech Republic. Respondents vary by study year, gender, age, course of study, and work preferences. The article analyzes gender and age preferences towards careers in the shared services. The article further ascertains the main factors that influence career decisions using the same demographic features. Using the factor analysis technique, the article further analyzes the variables with strong inter-correlations to evaluate the formation of preferences in SSCs. The research results provide insights into the target age and gender of students with job aspirations in SSCs. The findings could help recruitment agencies renew and redirect their search for talents in SSCs.

Educational mismatch and job aspirations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between education, job aspirations and subjective well-being. This analysis is done across the entire well-being distribution and taking account of educational mismatches that could condition individuals’ satisfaction if education generates certain aspirations which are not met by the individuals. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the European Social Survey, a quantile regression model is estimated. This approach allows one to assess the impact of the education variables at different points of the happiness conditional distribution. Findings – The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the impact of education on subjective well-being varies across the distribution, with education effects lower at the top of the happiness distribution. It is also found that education generates certain aspirations among individuals in regard to the job they expect to hold and that people suffer a psychological cost when those aspirations are not met. This “aspiration mechanism” seems however to weaken as one moves along the distribution. Originality/value – The central contribution of this paper lies in the treatment of job aspirations through different variables of educational mismatch. Although rising aspirations have often been highlighted as the main mechanism that could explain the weak relationship between education and subjective well-being, this mechanism has barely been analyzed empirically. Moreover, the effects of educational mismatch on individual satisfaction have only been analyzed at the mean of the conditional distribution. The value of this study is therefore twofold, focussing on the analysis across the entire well-being distribution of the aspiration mechanism generated by education in regard to the job an individual expects to hold.

The Tyranny of Fit: Yet another Barrier to Mainstream Employment for Disabled People in Sheltered Employment

AbstractPolicies that encourage the aspirations of disabled people for mainstream employment might be an effective way to increase their workforce participation rate. This study aims to determine which people in sheltered employment aspire to a job beyond their current sheltered employment job. We asked 64 people with sheltered employment jobs about their workplace and job fit, their intentions to stay in their current job and their future job aspirations. The key finding is that perceptions of fit indirectly and adversely affect aspirations via intention to stay. Participants who felt they fitted planned to keep working at their sheltered workplace, but a stronger intention to stay made it less likely that they could identify an alternative to sheltered employment. These results were not influenced by age or the time spent in sheltered employment. Policy should therefore support people in sheltered employment to develop realistic job aspirations. Helping disabled people to identify opportunities beyond sheltered employment can avoid complacency and free up sheltered job opportunities for other disabled people. But policy changes are required to leverage sheltered employment as a first step for disabled people to develop mainstream job aspirations and facilitate transitioning beyond sheltered employment job options.

Career opportunities in global health: A snapshot of the current employment landscape.

Career opportunities in global health: A snapshot of the current employment landscape.

Career opportunities in global health: A snapshot of the current employment landscape

Career opportunities in global health: A snapshot of the current employment landscape

On self selection of the corrupt into the public sector

Do corrupt people self select themselves in professions where the scope of corruption is high? We conduct a corruption experiment with private sector job aspirants and aspirants of Indian bureaucracy. The game models embezzlement of resources in which “supervisors” evaluate the performance of “workers” and then pay them. We find that aspirant bureaucrats indulge in more corruption than private sector aspirants but the likelihood of being corrupt is same across two sectors.

Exploring Opportunities for Public Health Graduates in Government Health System in Nepal

Nepal has a history of nearly three decades of public health education. Public health graduates are working under different capacities at governmental and non governmental organizations. If the health system can utilize this human resource, this will contribute to health system strengthening in Nepal. The objective of this paper is to explore the opportunities for public health graduates in government health system in Nepal. MoHP needs to expand opportunities for public health graduates in different areas within government system. Recruiting district level supervisors from bachelor in public health background would enhance performance because of their knowledge and skills on areas like district health management, research, public health administration, health economics and medical sociology as compared to those with certificate level education on General medicine currently being recruited. In the meantime this will create hundreds of job placements in district health system for job aspirants. Role of community health inspectors needs to be made clear and sanctioned at the district and peripheral level. Also, there is necessity of environmental health technicians, health educators, health economists and other types of health personnel. It is equally necessary to establish environmental health, occupational health, urban health, health care waste management, mental health and oral health units at district level. The other areas where public health graduates can work as health officers are District Development committee, Municipality, Women and Child office and Water and Sanitation Division Office. The public health community including its professional organization Nepal Public Health Association should advocate for the professional rights and contribute to create opportunities for public health graduates.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v13i1.11292 Health Prospect Vol.13(1) 2014: 7-11

Aspirations and occupational achievements of Dutch fathers and mothers

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how work and family aspirations relate to occupational achievements and gender differences herein.Design/methodology/approach– Using data from 2009 the authors examined the relationship between career and childrearing aspirations and occupational achievements of Dutch parents. Using path modeling in Mplus, the authors investigated both direct and indirect pathways where aspirations were related to occupational achievements via time allocations.Findings– The authors found that ranking being promoted instead of a non-career aspiration as the most important job aspiration was positively related to occupational achievements. Surprisingly, the authors also found that ranking childrearing as the most important life role aspiration was positively related to earnings among fathers.Research limitations/implications– Investigating aspirations in multiple domains simultaneously can provide new information on working parents’ occupational achievements.Practical implications– The results imply that parents who want to achieve an authority position or high earnings may need to prioritize their promotion aspiration among their job aspirations in order to increase the likelihood of achieving such a position. Moreover, this is likely to require sacrifices outside the work domain, since spending more time on paid work is an important way to achieve this aspiration.Originality/value– This paper adds to previous research by explicitly taking life role aspirations into account instead of focussing solely on job aspirations. Moreover, this study extends previous research by investigating indirect pathways from aspirations to occupational achievements via family work in addition to the previously found pathway via paid work.

Longitudinal changes of late adolescents' job aspiration and the effect of individual and environmental variables

Longitudinal changes of late adolescents' job aspiration and the effect of individual and environmental variables

Employment Barriers, Skills, and Aspirations Among Unemployed Job Seekers With and Without Social Anxiety Disorder

The literature has consistently demonstrated that social anxiety disorder has substantial negative impacts on occupational functioning. However, to date, no empirical work has focused on understanding the specific nature of vocational problems among persons with social anxiety disorder. This study examined the association between perceived barriers to employment, employment skills, and job aspirations and social anxiety among adults seeking vocational rehabilitation services. Data from intake assessments (June 2010-December 2011) of 265 low-income, unemployed adults who initiated vocational rehabilitation services in urban Michigan were examined to assess perceived barriers to employment, employment skills, job aspirations, and demographic characteristics among participants who did or did not screen positive for social anxiety disorder. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. After adjustment for other factors, the multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that perceiving more employment barriers involving experience and skills, reporting fewer skills related to occupations requiring social skills, and having less education were significantly associated with social anxiety disorder. Participants who screened positive for social anxiety disorder were significantly less likely to aspire to social jobs. Employment-related characteristics that were likely to have an impact on occupational functioning were significantly different between persons with and without social anxiety problems. Identifying these differences in employment barriers, skills, and job aspirations revealed important information for designing psychosocial interventions for treatment of social anxiety disorder. The findings underscored the need for vocational services professionals to assess and address social anxiety among their clients.

Jumping off the track: comparing the experiences of first jobs of young people living in disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Britain

This paper draws on an analysis of one of the UK's most prominent longitudinal datasets, the British Household Panel Survey. The panel was used to study and track the realisation of job aspirations of young people born in the early 1980s and entering the workforce in the 2000s. The study compared the aspirations of those growing up in socio-economically disadvantaged areas with those growing up in non-disadvantaged areas. The analysis confirmed strong differences in the occupational preferences and choices of young people in these two types of areas. Young people in disadvantaged areas more often sought manual occupations, often following their parents' example. They were also more likely to become unemployed, reflecting economic tertiarisation and decreasing availability of manual jobs in those areas. However, the study also found evidence of young people from disadvantaged areas using repeated changes in jobs to achieve employment in higher-level occupations. The research demonstrated that growing up in disadvantaged areas did not prevent the proactive construction of career biographies per se, but it required overcoming more barriers to do so.

Assessment of Functionality of Health Extension Workers and Its Determinants in East Gojam, Northwest Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Programs promoting primary healthcare using Health Extension Workers are crucial to improve cost-effectiveness of healthcare, reaching large numbers of underserved people with expansion of high-impact basic healthcare services at grass-root levels in developing countries. Hence, this study attempted to assess Health Extension Workers functionality and its determinants of Health Extension Workers in Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in eight randomly selected districts of east Gojam zone, Northwest Ethiopia in 2012. The study was cross-checked by facility observation using checklists. A total of 375 Health Extension Workers were included in the study. The questionnaire was designed using the job description of Health Extension Workers; the level of functionality was measured by using functionality score scaling technique and scores were given ranging from 0-2 in multi-interval scale with a minimum of zero if an activity had not been performed at all times and maximum of two if the activity was performed regularly. The average score of one for an item was taken if the activity was performed occasionally and those scored below the mean were considered non-functional and otherwise functional. Univariate, chi-square test and multivariate analyses were done. Ethical clearance was obtained from Research and Ethical Committee of Debremarkos University. Results and discussion: The majority of Health Extension Workers (86.3%, n= 297) were functional. The overall non-functional rate was 13.7% (n=47). Health institutions support, regular drug supply, selection pattern and future job aspiration were found to be the determinants of functionality using logistic regression. Conclusion: The functionality of Health Extension Workers was encouraging. Family health, personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, health education and promotion services were well being done by Health Extension Workers. Stakeholders must deploy qualified health personnel for training, supervision and support, and promote development of career structure in line with Health Extension Workers’ future job aspiration.

Aspirations and an austerity state: young people's hopes and goals for the future

Survey findings from 1701 Year 11 and Year 13 students across 35 English educational institutions are reported, which indicate young people's hopes and goals, and the ways in which their institutions support them in their aspirations. This research adds to the literature empirical findings using a methodological stance on the study of aspirations that is open to broader perspectives of young people's agendas for their lives. The majority of young people reported high-educational (e.g. university) and career (e.g. a professional or well-paid job) aspirations. Life satisfaction and developing relationships was also high on the agenda of many young people.

Aspirazioni e aspettative lavorative: giovani studenti italiani e stranieri a confronto

This paper presents results from a survey conducted in upper secondary schools of Bologna aimed at exploring the trajectories leading young students to the working world. The survey was conducted in the 2009/10 school year by means of a questionnaire administered to 1,080 students (577 non-Italians). A job is still a distant goal for most 15-year-old students. Nonetheless, it is important to investigate if, and to what extent, teenagers think about their occupational future and what their actual job aspirations are. More precisely, the paper aims to examine the degree of consistency between job aspirations and realistic expectations, paying particular attention to the probable differences existing between Italians and non-Italians, and the relationship between this consistency and social class of origin.The comparison between females and males reveals greater differences than the comparison between non-Italian and Italian students in terms of occupational aspirations and actual career plans. As regards their occupational aspirations Italians are as likely to be “dreamers” as their non-Italian schoolmates, and both groups of students are much more “pragmatic” if they refer to their realistic job opportunities. Social class influences occupational expectations to a greater degree than aspirations, and foreign students show higher social mobility expectancy than Italians.

Unemployment among Women in Meghalaya

Unemployment is widely regarded as a major social and economic global problem since it is directly connected with earning abilities and therefore welfare of the person and her/his family. Unemployment is an enormous issue and is important indicator of lack of human welfare in developing countries like India. The study intends to investigate the ground realities of the problems associated with unemployment of women in Meghalaya and issues connected with possible gender biases, education related as well as behavior of the labour market for women workers. Thus with the help of a selected number of indicators of unemployment, the main objectives of the study are:(a) To identify the causes of unemployment among women in Meghalaya;(b) to analyze the relationship of unemployment with education and gender. From the study it was found that the work participation rate of females in Meghalaya is much higher than the all India level. The prevailing employment market scenario and the relative status of various occupations in the society, greatly influence the job aspirations of the persons entering the active working life. Keywords - Meghalaya, unemployment, employment, education, gender-bias, work-participation.

Graduate Women’s Beliefs about Gender Roles in China

Despite government laws to protect the rights of women in China, strong cultural values continue to privilege males. Well-educated women express ambiguity about gender roles and responsibilities. This basic qualitative study documents graduate students’ perceptions of gender roles in China’s rapidly changing culture through content analysis of 21 course essays on the role of gender in identity formation written by graduate psychology students in central China and eight follow up interviews with additional graduate women translated into English for analysis. Participants in this study acknowledged that males are still accorded more personal freedoms, greater acceptance for “bad” behavior at home, and privileged status in school settings and in the job market. Several interviewees indicate they admire “capable” women, meaning those recognized for achievement, but they also wonder if such women can also play appropriate family roles. Tensions clearly exist between job aspirations and traditional roles of wife and mother. A grounded theory approach to analysis using open and axial coding of data identified four emergent themes: Filial piety towards the family; Autonomy versus femininity; Division of labor: Gendered roles and responsibilities; and Media and school as mediators of gender identity. Further research with diverse Chinese women is needed including comparisons of rural and urban experiences of gender roles.

Enhancing Youth Outcomes Following Parental Divorce: A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of the New Beginnings Program on Educational and Occupational Goals

This study examined whether the New Beginnings Program for divorced families led to improvements in youth's educational goals and job aspirations 6 years following participation and tested whether several parenting and youth variables mediated the program effects. Participants were 240 youth aged 9 to 12 years at the initial assessment, and data were part of a randomized, experimental trial of a parenting skills preventive intervention targeting children's postdivorce adjustment. The results revealed positive effects of the program on youth's educational goals and job aspirations 6 years after participation for those who were at high risk for developing later problems at program entry. Further, intervention-induced changes in mother–child relationship quality and youth externalizing problems, internalizing problems, self-esteem, and academic competence at the 6-year follow-up mediated the effects of the program on the educational expectations of high-risk youth. Intervention-induced changes in youth externalizing problems and academic competence at the 6-year follow-up mediated the effects of the program on the job aspirations of high-risk youth.