Sector Jobs Research Articles

Determinants of Employability of Fresh Business Graduates: A Statistical Analysis on Perspective of Private Universities in Bangladesh

The employability of business graduates refers to their capability to gain and maintain employment. It encompasses a range of attributes, skills, qualifications, and personal qualities that make individuals desirable to potential employers. In this study, an attempt has been made to find the determinants of employability of fresh business graduates in Bangladesh. Data has been collected through a snowball sampling technique over the year 2022 using a self-administrated questionnaire from a sample of 385 business graduates of the same batch who completed their graduation at a same time point from different private universities in Bangladesh and among those 270 were employed in different job sectors and 115 were not. Study has been conducted on different important factors. Multivariate regression using logistic regression has been performed to identify the determinants. Finally results show that CGPA, Standard of CV, part-time job experience, computer literacy, English proficiency, involvement with club activities, networking with alums, job hunting significantly affect employability of business graduates in Bangladesh.

The roles of LinkedIn-based skill endorsements and LinkedIn-based hiring recommendations on hiring preferences: evidence from Bangladeshi employers

Purpose LinkedIn is a popular and maybe the best job-oriented social networking site (SNS) around the world. Numerous individuals (mostly, jobseekers), as well as the companies (mostly, hiring organizations) have LinkedIn accounts. This study intends to reveal the roles of LinkedIn-based skill endorsements (LSEs) as well as LinkedIn-based hiring recommendations (LHRs) on the hiring preferences (HPs) of Bangladeshi employers. Design/methodology/approach The authors purposefully selected 388 valid respondents (employers) from different Bangladeshi job sectors. Based on their responses, the authors applied SPSS 25 for explanatory statistics and a “Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM)” (with AMOS 25) to measure the hypothesized associations. Findings After appropriate analysis, the authors revealed a momentous positive role of LHR on HP, whereas LSE was identified to have an inconsiderable role on HP. Originality/value In this empirical study, the authors tried to highlight the relatively unattended area of Bangladeshi employers' HPs that can be affected by LSEs and LHRs. The authors believe that this study will encourage the researchers to unveil the impacts of LinkedIn-based profile characteristics on job candidates' employability. This empirical study can also aid the employers and policymakers to look for a new avenue for hiring competent talents.

Understanding the Unmet Accommodation Needs of People Working with Mental or Cognitive Conditions: The Importance of Gender, Gendered Work, and Employment Factors

PurposeWorkplace support needs for women and men living with mental health conditions are not well understood. This study examined workplace accommodation and support needs among women and men with and without mental health or cognitive conditions and individual and workplace factors associated with having unmet needs.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 3068 Canadian workers collected information on disability, gender, gendered occupations, job conditions, work contexts, and workplace accommodations. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined gender- and disability-based differences in unmet needs for workplace flexibility, work modifications, and health benefits, and the association of work context (i.e., work schedule, job sector) and job conditions (i.e., precarious work) on the likelihood of unmet accommodation needs. The additive (i.e., super- or sub-additive) and multiplicative effects of disability, gender, and occupational gender distribution on the probability of unmet accommodation needs were also assessed.ResultsThe most common unmet workplace accommodation was work modifications reported by 35.9% of respondents with mental/cognitive disability and workplace flexibility reported by 19.6% of individuals without a mental/cognitive disability. Women, employees in female dominant occupations, and participants with mental/cognitive disabilities were more likely to report unmet needs compared with men, employees in non-female dominant occupations, and participants without disabilities but these findings were largely explained by differences in job conditions and work contexts. No interacting effects on the likelihood of reporting unmet needs for workplace accommodations were observed.ConclusionsTo support employee mental health, attention is needed to address work contexts and job conditions, especially for people working with mental/cognitive disabilities, women, and workers in female-dominated occupations where unmet accommodation needs are greatest.

The public sector and regional development: Why public sector employment remains a black box in economic geography, and how should we open it?

Despite increasing calls on the state to manage major challenges, in the existing literature, the state – and public sector activities more generally – tends to be overlooked as an agent of regional change. The role of public sector jobs is often taken for granted, with diverse empirical findings being strongly influenced by geography and time period, if they are considered at all. We discuss two main threads of research on contemporary public sector employment that could enhance our understanding of the role of the public sector in regional development (i.e. human capital formation and diversification).

Employment Mobility in East Java During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study examines the mobility of workers between the formal and informal sectors in East Java, Indonesia. The potential mobilities of workers are examined, not only from the formal to informal sector and from informal to formal sector, but also the movement of new entrants (who do not have a job in the past) to the formal-informal sector jobs. Using the 2021 National Labor Force Survey (SAKERNAS), the study contributes to the literature by examining the mobilities in the case of developing countries during an economic downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is essential in supporting the policies in the region with the existence of a large informal sector in the labor market. Using probit regression, the study found that workers who have previously worked in the formal sector are more likely to enter (re-enter) formal sector employment when the economy starts recovering in 2021. In contrast, workers previously employed in the informal sector have a lower probability of moving to the formal sector. The study continues examining the implications of the different income levels of formal and informal sector workers. The results using Heckman's bias correction selection show that new entrants (workers who have no job previously or freshly graduated) earn more earnings than workers who have previously been employed in the formal-informal sector. One possible reason is the role of digitalization and working-from-home activities that might support, particularly young educated people, to work productively during the pandemic.

Workplace reflections of librarians in India during the COVID pandemic

Purpose Covid-19 pandemic created a series of challenges for all professions, and libraries and library professionals were not spared. This study aims to attempt to analyze how qualified library professionals in India responded to the pandemic period and seeks their opinion on their preference for the job sector, activities and the challenges they faced during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a quantitative survey method using simple random sampling technique. A structured Google forms questionnaire was used to collect the data. In total, 169 qualified professionals, working in different LIS areas, and a few nonworking professionals participated in the survey. The data were collected and analyzed using MS Excel, and statistical tests were done. Findings The major challenges include lack of proper equipment and official digital records, comfortable work environment, poor internet connection and over work load. Majority wish to work in the government rather than the private sector. The participants believe that Covid has affected employment opportunities. Despite the challenges, library professionals are satisfied with the profession and were actively engaged in the learning process. Research limitations/implications The challenges faced by the LIS profession during the post Covid era should be examined by professional bodies and organizations and should ensure extensive human resources development in different LIS sectors and stress the need to implement better services to society with a better digital experience. Originality/value The study explores how qualified library professionals from India have coped with the Covid pandemic and seeks to identify challenges in post-Covid LIS employment. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind concerning work reflections of library professionals in India since the pandemic.

Occupation-related factors affecting the health of migrants working during the COVID-19 pandemic – a qualitative study in Norway

BackgroundThe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were more pronounced among migrants than in the majority population and went beyond those directly caused by the virus. Evidence suggests that this overburden is due to complex interactions between individual and structural factors. Some groups of working migrants were in vulnerable positions, overrepresented in essential jobs, under precarious work conditions, and ineligible for social benefits or special COVID-19 economic assistance. This study aimed to explore the experience of migrants working in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic to gather an in-depth understanding of the pandemic´s impact on their health and well-being, focusing on occupation-related factors.MethodsIn-depth personal interviews with 20 working migrants from different job sectors in Bergen and Oslo were conducted. Recruitment was performed using a purposive sampling method. Thematic analysis was used.ResultsAt the workplace level, factors such as pressure to be vaccinated, increased in occupational hazards, and increased structural discrimination negatively impacted migrants’ health. Other factors at the host country context, such as changes in social networks in and out of the workplace and changes in the labour market, also had a negative effect. However, the good Norwegian welfare system positively impacted migrants’ well-being, as they felt financially protected by the system. Increased structural discrimination was the only factor clearly identified as migrant-specific by the participants, but according to them, other factors, such as changes in social networks in and out of the workplace and social benefits in Norway, seemed to have a differential impact on migrants.ConclusionsOccupational-related factors affected the health and well-being of working migrants during the pandemic. The pressure to get vaccinated and increased structural discrimination in the workplace need to be addressed by Norwegian authorities as it could have legal implications. Further research using intersectional approaches will help identify which factors, besides discrimination, had a differential impact on migrants. This knowledge is crucial to designing policies towards zero discrimination at workplaces and opening dialogue arenas for acknowledging diversity at work.

Automation in public sector jobs and services: a framework to analyze public digital transformation’s impact in a data-constrained environment

PurposeThis study aims to estimate the value of the impact from digital transformation (DX) focusing on its automation effect, looking at the time and cost savings coming from the substitution effect with an adoption of digital technologies. For example, cloud and artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT have the potential to change ways of working, substituting and replacing several of the tasks that are currently carried out by public administration (PA) employees and labor processes underpinning PA services.Design/methodology/approachThe paper outlines a new framework to estimate the potential impact of DX on the public sector. The authors apply this framework to estimate the value of the impact of DX on the Italian PA, defining the latter by the collection of the value of its labor (i.e. PA workforce salaries) and by the collection of the value of its outputs (i.e. public services’ costs).FindingsThis study ultimately maps out the magnitude and trends of how likely the PA occupations and services could be substituted in a wider process of DX. To do this, the authors apply their framework to the Italian PA, and they triangulate secondary data collection, from official accounts of the Italian Ministry of Economics and the National Statistical Institute, with methodological antecedents from the UK Office for National Statistics and experts’ insights. Results provide a snapshot on the type and magnitude of PA jobs and services projected to be affected by automation over the next 10 years.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper provides for the first time an approach to estimate the value of the impact of DX on the public sector in a data-constrained environment – or in the lack of the required primary data. Once applied to the Italian PA, this approach provides a granular map of the automatability of each of the PA occupations and of the PA services. Finally, this paper mentions preliminary insights on potential challenges related to equity in public sector jobs and implications on recruitment processes.

Perception of Employers about the Employability Skills of Fresh Graduates: A Case Study of Distt. Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

In this modern age, the dramatic change in economic trends is creating a high demand for employability skills in the job market. Employability skills play a significant role in the placement of graduates in the job sector. Job markets are progressively highly competitive and rely on quality learning and abilities. The employers have elevated the requirements for the newcomers to do their work from the earliest starting point. The purpose of this paper was to explore the perceptions and satisfaction levels of employers about the employability skills of fresh graduates in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. A case study design using the qualitative method was conducted to explore the different aspects related to the study. An in-depth interview was used for the data collection. The data was gathered from the 10 purposefully selected managers or owners of companies and NGOs where graduates are most likely to find jobs. Coding and themes were used for the analysis and to make the data meaningful. The findings indicated that the employers’ expectations were usually not met by the fresh graduates. According to the point of view of employers, the students of public universities did not perform well or performed less than students of more well-known private universities on many skills such as communication, creativity and critical thinking.

Exploring firm performance in Central and Eastern European regions: a foundational approach

Economic development in post-transition countries is dominated by the performance of capital cities, although second-tier cities are also important drivers of development. However, peripheral regions struggle with problems of adaptation and response, often leading to brain drain and economic decline. Industrial strategies highlight those tradable sectors of the economy that favour leading edge KIBS firms and advanced manufacturing, while neglecting the residentiary economy that is more sheltered from competition and provides jobs in local production and services sectors. Our research is inspired by the burgeoning literature of the ‘foundational economy’ approach to economic development, focusing on mundane economic activities providing essential goods and services, and we investigate the differences of economic performance across the NUTS3 regions in selected CEE countries. We study regionally aggregated, firm-level financial and employment data including sectoral classification of the companies with 10+ employees. Our position is that a well-functioning foundational economy is necessary for the whole local economy to work efficiently in the long run. Moreover, increasing productivity in the foundational economy should lead to more regionally balanced growth than an exclusive focus on the ‘frontier firms’ that are highly concentrated spatially as the regional productivity gap in the case of certain foundational activities is not necessarily large.

Simulating Seoul's greenbelt policy with a machine learning-based land-use change model

This study builds a machine-learning-based land-use change (ML-LUC) model to analyze the effect of green belt (GB) regulation in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) and predict the spatially explicit development potential of the land within the GB under the assumption of a no-GB policy scenario. It stands out for its ML-LUC application to simulate counterfactual planning for urban land use regulation. After comparing the predictive power of extreme gradient boosting (XGB), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN), the ML-LUC model utilizes the XGB algorithm due to its outperformance. Three scenarios based on SMA's land market demand were simulated to estimate the potential population and employment within the GB under the no-GB policy: high, moderate, and low land market demand. The results suggest 0.6 to 1.5 million residents, 0.2 to 0.5 million manufacturing jobs, and 0.4 to 1.0 million service sector jobs could have been located within the GB, accounting for 3 % to 6 % of total population and 5 % to 13 % of all employment in SMA. The findings imply the GB regulation prevents population and employment from locating within the GB, pushing them to central Seoul or suburbs beyond the GB under a closed-city assumption.

Building a just transition in asia-pacific: Four strategies for reducing fossil fuel dependence and investing in clean energy

The Asia Pacific region is notable for its vulnerability to climate change, its varied ability to respond to its impacts, and its dependence on coal. However, recent years have seen an increase in the use of renewable energy sources. We focus on the ‘just energy transition’, a framework which emphasizes the necessity for social justice in a low carbon world. But how well are Asia Pacific states performing in matters of justice and energy transition? We outline four components of a just transition initiative to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and increase investments in clean energy, based on open-access quantitative data. These include increasing investments in clean energy, prioritizing equity in decision-making, developing comprehensive financing strategies, and prioritizing restorative justice approaches. The aim is to ensure affected communities are fairly compensated for losses, have access to employment rights programs, and can transition towards new jobs in alternative sectors.

Education for collective intelligence

ABSTRACT Collective Intelligence (CI) is important for groups that seek to address shared problems. CI in human groups can be mediated by educational technologies. The current paper presents a framework to support design thinking in relation to CI educational technologies. Our framework is grounded in an organismic-contextualist developmental perspective that orients enquiry to the design of increasingly complex and integrated CI systems that support coordinated group problem solving behaviour. We focus on pedagogies and infrastructure and we argue that project-based learning provides a sound basis for CI education, allowing for different forms of CI behaviour to be integrated, including swarm behaviour, stigmergy, and collaborative behaviour. We highlight CI technologies already being used in educational environments while also pointing to opportunities and needs for further creative designs to support the development of CI capabilities across the lifespan. We argue that CI education grounded in dialogue and the application of CI methods across a range of project-based learning challenges can provide a common bridge for diverse transitions into public and private sector jobs and a shared learning experience that supports cooperative public-private partnerships, which can further reinforce advanced human capabilities in system design.

Human Capital Management Based on the Principles of Green Economy and the Creation of Green Jobs for Sustainable Territorial Development

As a result of the actualization of sustainable development and the strengthening of the role of green responsibility at all levels of the economy, there are significant changes in modern management practices to improve long-term economic, social, and environmental indicators of territorial development through the introduction of green technologies. The purpose of the study is to determine the possibilities of managing human capital based on the principles of a green economy and creating green jobs for sustainable territorial development in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Using the example of the Akmola region, Kazakhstan, quantitative indicators of green jobs in the fields of activity related to green technologies are determined, an expert survey is conducted, and a SWOT analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of creating green jobs in various sectors of the economy is carried out. It is concluded that green human capital management focuses on the introduction of environmentally friendly green technologies, forms the social foundation of high ecological awareness and proper skills of eco-innovation work of employees, and acts as a factor in the growth of sustainable territorial development.

Investigate the role of Certain Explanatory Variables on Risk Aversion and Sorting among Employees in Iraqi Kurdistan

`Understanding the significance of the risk attitude on sorting between public and private workers helps policymakers in introducing reforms in the labor market regulations that prevent oversized public sector jobs and encourage selection into private sector jobs. The current study attempts to assess the role of certain factors such as gender, type of employment and work training on risk aversion among employees in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Given that public sector jobs provide higher job security than private sector jobs, workers’ risk attitudes can be an important determinant of sector choice. The data of the study was collected from a sample of 300 fourth-stage evenings shift college students from the universities of Sulaimani, Charmo University and Sulaimani Polytechnic University who have already been employed in either the public or private sector. The results of the study indicated that the models containing Gender, Employment type and Work Training as predictors were significant for some of the risk aversion and sorting, particularly 20% and 10% of risk aversion. One-third of risk aversion was found to be related to gender, suggesting that males had reported the aforementioned risk more than females. However, no statistically significant associations were found between 50% of risk aversion and all the independent variables.

Mental health around retirement: evidence of Ashenfelter’s dip

BackgroundMental health issues among retirees have become increasingly concerning because the aging population presents a significant challenge globally, particularly in Western countries. Previous studies on this issue are plagued with bias owing to lacking panel data and estimation strategies. This study investigated the depression levels of European adults around the time of retirement.MethodsWe used data obtained from Waves 1–7 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to create panel data covering the 2004–2017 period. Wave 3 (SHARELIFE) was excluded from the sample because it provided mismatched information. Fixed-effects (FE) and fixed-effects instrumental variables (FE-IV) models with multiple imputations were employed to examine the impacts of retirement on mental health before and after retirement, where being over pension age (normal and early) was used as the instrument variable.ResultsOur results indicated that retirement based on aspirational motivations (β = − 0.115, p < 0.001) and positive circumstances (β = − 0.038, p < 0.001) significantly reduced depression, whereas retiring under negative circumstances could deteriorate one’s mental health (β = 0.087, p < 0.001). FE and FE-IV models indicated that overall, retiring reduced retirees’ depression (β = − 0.096, p < 0.001 and β = − 0.261, p < 0.001, respectively). The results of FE-IV models showed that adults planning to retire in the next two years experienced less depression compared with others in the workforce (λ = − 0.313, p < 0.01). These adults must have adjusted their lifestyles in response to their impending retirement, thereby evincing Ashenfelter’s dip. Two years after retirement, when the “honeymoon” phase was over, retirees may have completely adapted to their new lives and the effect of retirement was no longer important.ConclusionsRetirement improves mental health before it happens, but not after. Increasing the pension eligibility age may postpone the beneficial effects of retirement on health. However, policy implications should be tailored according to the unique situations of each country, job sector, and population. Providing flexible schemes regarding retirement timing decisions would be better than a generalized retirement policy.

Causal effect of obesity on the probability of employment in women in Turkey

This study aims to investigate the causal effect of obesity on the employment probability of women in Turkey via the instrumental variable approach by using data from the 2018 Turkey and Demographic Health Survey. Obesity prevalence in the area of living and the overweight status of the oldest child, which are the most common types of instruments seen in the literature, are used as instruments. Consistent with the OLS result, the 2SLS estimate indicates that obese women are statistically significantly less likely to be employed when the overweight status of the child is used as an instrument. On the other hand, the statistically significant effect of obesity disappears when the area level obesity prevalence is used as the instrument. In addition, obesity in women decreases the likelihood of employment in the services sector and full-time jobs and employment with social security. Although the results of this study do not indicate the source of the effect found, the presence of a causal relationship for women should not be ignored when the economic burden of obesity for Turkey is considered.

In flux: Social adaptability in two former timber towns transitioning to new economies

Rural towns across the US have undergone economic and social restructuring. We focus on two former timber towns adjacent to public lands that are transitioning to new production economies, wherein the communities develop new economic sectors. One of our cases has developed data centers, and the other prisons. Through in-depth interviews with residents, we explore the shifts toward these new sectors and their impacts on community social adaptability, in particular human and social capital and community identity. In both of the communities, there are well-paying jobs in the new production sectors. However, indicators of social adaptability have diverged greatly. In the data center community, there are higher perceived levels of human and social capital, while the prison community has lower levels. Members of both communities describe their community identity as in flux, and voice apprehension about growth and development of new industries, including the possibility that the communities may be shifting single-industry dependence from one sector (timber) to a new sector. Both communities are rebuilding their relationships to adjacent public lands and view those public lands as opportunities for economic diversification.

Investigating the Implementation of the Buffer Zone Approach in Development: A Case Study of Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Kanchanpur, Nepal

The study conducted in February-March 2023 aimed to assess the socio-economic status of rural communities residing in the buffer zone surrounding Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR) in Kanchanpur district, referred to as a zone of impact adjacent to the Conservation Area. The buffer zone covers various locations, including Bhim att, Bedkot municipality, Suklaphanta municipality, Beldandi Village municipality, and others. Data was collected through household surveys in five sample locations: Chathari, Sunderpur, Bagphanta, Nayagaun, and Lalpur. A total of 50 households were surveyed, with 10 sample households per location, using structured questionnaires and observation sheets. Findings from the study indicated an average family size of 6.08 individuals, with varying levels of education among adults. Approximately 74% of households were primarily engaged in agriculture, while other means of occupation included hotel business, trade, and service sector jobs. The study also highlighted the significant role of women in farming activities and childcare. Tourism was identified as an emerging economic activity in the buffer zone, with around 55% of visitors coming from different parts of the country to SWR. The Wildlife Reserve positively impacted the socio-economic environment by conserving natural resources, promoting greenery, and contributing to income and employment generation. Respondents acknowledged the buffer zone's importance in water resource conservation, with 90% agreeing that it was fruitful in this regard. However, around 6% reported facing challenges due to wild animals. Ultimately, if future initiatives align with the buffer zone's potential, the study concluded that rural poverty could be reduced, and the livelihoods of people in the area could be improved.

‘It’s a match!’: a discrete choice experiment on job attractiveness for public service jobs

ABSTRACT What makes public service jobs attractive to citizens? We address this question by studying several attributes simultaneously, categorizing the signals sent by each attribute as instrumental or symbolic, and clarifying the role of PSM. Using a conjoint experiment on a sample of citizens in Catalonia (Spain), the results show that citizens prefer stable, well-paid and public sector jobs in organizations pursuing public values. The influence of public values, a symbolic attribute, strengthens as PSM increases, but citizens with high PSM are equally responsive to the appeal of other attributes. The discussion addresses the findings and provides directions for future research.