Work landscape changes

The Developing Landscape of Jobs in the 21st Century

The developing landscape of job in the 21st-century demands for an education system that is more practical and focused on training of graduates on hands-on skills. The labor market has experienced various and drastic transformation since the beginning of 21st century. These challenges and demands of the workplace, as well as workforce, have significantly influenced the attitudes of graduates who leave the colleges with high expectations of getting jobs immediately after graduating (Behrens and Rosen 431). Furthermore, the introduction of technology in the labor market has left so many young Americans unemployed, forcing some graduates to do some minor jobs to earn a living.

Technological Advances and Unemployment

Technological advance is also to blame for the increased cases of unemployment in most parts of the world, with most people rendered jobless because they lack skills to control this advanced equipment. Besides, inappropriate career advises that students get from parents, college lecturers, and media have significantly affected the demand and supply in the labor market. Most graduates with no employment today may have chosen the wrong career because the press had put emphasis on the course as lucrative and better paying. As a result, many graduates applied for the job and within a short period, the work market became flooded and lost the profitability to graduates. Therefore, the rapid growth of unemployment in the USA is because of the effects of economic recession and the demand that the job market puts on the new, inexperienced graduates. Thus, this article will be focusing on some of the key features that workers particularly graduates should possess to succeeded in the market while also being competitive and on demand by businesses such as engineering.

Hands-on Skills

Hands-on skills mostly include the active involvement of a student in the learning process. The process entails equipping the students with practical abilities and experience of materials, equipment, and tools used in the class. The training mainly focuses on making the working conditions for the intern or the student to be more realistic as possible. According to an employment survey done by consulting firm Accenture, a majority of this year’s graduate students expects to find jobs in their selected fields. Another investigation conducted by Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State revealed that there was a rise in employment of graduates with bachelor’s degree by approximately 7 percent (Behrens and Rosen 433). Besides, most of the employees in the business world search for students who possess skills that are in high demand no matter the occupation, accounting or engineering majors. For instance, Intel, Microsoft, and Noble Energy pursued Madison Piercy a student at Boulder, majoring in both electrical and computer science.

The student had the essential hands-on skills that would significantly improve the creativity and innovations of the companies. However, since most graduates do not possess the hands-on skill in their relevant fields, they end up in the wrong jobs after graduation. For instance, Rebecca Mersiowsky graduated from Radford University two years ago and had worked in several areas to earn a living (Behrens and Rosen 434). She has worked at a beach club, as a substitute teacher and as a sales associate where she now lives. She graduated with a degree in communication but has never had the luck to find a job in public relations because she has no hands-on skills experience in that field. Therefore, socialist, economist, and philanthropist have proven that most employers in the 21st century are likely to favor students or graduates with hands-on skill experience on practice.

Have a Degree

Education is the key to one’s success in life. With the current condition of labor market characterized by the competition of skilled workers, productive employment among other features, there is a need for individuals in the job market to have skills gained from the colleges (Behrens and Rosen 429). After graduation every parent expects all their kids to have at least a job especially after the first and second year (Behrens and Rosen 436). Therefore, an educated and skilled person with a degree certificate has a high chance of getting employment when compared with an individual who has none. However, with the demand for graduates with hands-on skills on the rise, parent have also cost their children a lot when guiding them in the selection of career before joining the colleges.

There is a great need for the parents to brainstorm the finest choice of career and colleges with the best payoff after graduation. Therefore, the job market demands the parents to go for the colleges that can offer practical skills. Practical abilities help the students to be more realistic in the market and particularly in performing their tasks. Currently, the private, as well as the public sectors, are advising students joining the colleges to abandon the liberal arts and go for courses that guarantee field study where the labor market is hot. As a result, the schools and colleges are reacting to this change by offering specialized courses that will provide the students with skills that the job market demands (Behrens and Rosen 435). For instance, having a degree in hospital financing is better off than having the one in finance. Therefore, it is important for parents to note that having a degree that offers practical skills is helpful to a job search. Parents should remember that selecting the best college in terms of the courses is not helpful if the kid does not graduate (Behrens and Rosen 435). Therefore, it is important for parents to evaluate the graduation rate of the various colleges and schools.

No Specialization

One major problem with the colleges is they are currently moving towards offering courses that are specific. However, educationist and economist call this step undesirable since there is no guarantee that these jobs will still be lucrative tomorrow. The work market is dynamic and what is hot today may not necessarily be hot tomorrow (Behrens and Rosen 436). One major problem with specialization is that a field become hot today and students rush to take the career leading to a bust over a short period of time. When this occurs as in most fields students graduating after the second year of a program’s boom may end up unemployed. Besides, the changes in regulation can also create or kill careers (Behrens and Rosen 437). If this happens those graduates in the concerned field may become affected leading to high unemployment level in the country. The developments such as these touching on occupations are nearly impossible to expect, therefore, to avoid releasing graduates who may remain unemployed is to offer courses that are general.

Conclusion

In conclusion, students graduating from public and private colleges should possess some important capacities to succeeded in the market while also being competitive and on demand by businesses such as engineering. The labor market is so competitive and dynamic demanding for graduates who have hands-on skills and can perform tasks with minimal supervision. Most graduates are still unemployed because they lack practical skills needed to perform demanding tasks. Employers will always engage workers who have a degree and have graduated from a recognized institution. One major problem with the colleges is they are currently moving towards offering courses that are specific. However, educationist and economist call this step undesirable since there is no guarantee that these jobs will still be lucrative tomorrow.

Work Cited

Behrens, Laurence and Rosen, Leonard, J. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Books, A LA Carte Edition. 13th Edition. 2014.