The Career Prospect of Undergraduates: An Empirical Study of Management Students.

Abstract

Each individual from their childhood itself has a desired goal to find a well-accepted and respectable profession and is highly concern about tht}career progression since it is a major necessity in life and the society. The education sector in many countries provides a solid foundation for the career of individuals in the country. Accordingly, many infrastructure facilities such as university education, vocational training centres, internship placements and on-the-job trainings etc. are designed to facilitate and strengthen the professional life of individuals. In this context, the career prospect of students has been paid a severe attention around the globe. The study was conducted to evaluate the career prospect of undergraduates. The convenience sampling technique was employed and the data were collected from 181 undergraduates who are reading their management degree being in the final year in the University of Ruhuna. A survey was conducted, and a structured questionnaire including both open-ended and close-ended questions was used for collecting data. The majority of both male and female undergraduates prefer private jobs over public sector due to high salary, high performance, and a plenty of career opportunities. They do not like the public sector because of lack of motivation, lack of promotions, unclear career ladder, political interferences and low level of salary and other benefits. Undergraduates enjoy the career guidance services to develop their soft skills and career related skills and participate in workshops and career fairs for seeking career opportunities. Accordingly, career guidance service has been identified as a useful service to strengthen the career life. Further, undergraduates expect more services to develop their career related skills, organize career fairs, make students aware of employment opportunities, facilitate training opportunities and find job opportunities. In securing the career, English literacy, information technology knowhow, communication skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, self-confidence, teamwork, critical thinking, creativity and training were identified as important components.