UM Report: Workplace Preference and Job Skills Trend

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At present, the Philippines has a 96.5% employment rate. This is according to the most recent survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority for the month of February 2024. In connection with this, it is interesting to note that the City of Davao had an exceptionally high employment rate, closing at 96.7% last January 2024. With such promising rates of employment, the University of Mindanao has bolstered its efforts to keep track of trends and conditions in the labor market and provide analysis that benefits both job seekers and employers.

Through the University's Student Career Development and Job Placement Office, the students are provided ample job opportunities to start or re-start their careers. This is but a modicum of the University's effort in terms of Career Development for its students and graduates.

The first important topic in this report is the result of the workplace preference survey, which seeks to provide views of the graduating students’ expectations and preferences on what their ‘future employers’ should be. The second topic is related to identifying the most critical skills in today’s workplace environment, including how the respondent organizations rated UM graduates who are part of their workforce.

By analyzing the results of these surveys, the University will be better able to provide and supplement the needs of its graduates to match the demands of the constantly evolving labor market. This is in consonance with the University’s vision to provide a smooth transition to steady and sustainable employment for its graduates. Parenthetically, this coincides with the University’s pursuit of adopting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth. Strengthening the career development of its stakeholders has become imperative as the University continues its pursuit of creating a sustainable impact in society.

The Workplace Preference Survey

In years gone by, the penchant for high-paying jobs was prevalent in any industry. However, in recent years, modern society has become more socially aware, and the scales have tilted towards more humane working conditions over high-paying jobs.

Interestingly enough, the same sentiments were reflected by the UM students in the Workplace Preference Survey conducted by the External Relations and International Affairs Office of the University across the main campus and its branches. A total of six hundred thirty-five (635) participants took the survey, where thirty-nine percent (39%) of the respondents were from the main campus, and the rest were from the branches. Each participant was provided with 20 random descriptions of a workplace environment. From the list, they were asked to select only five of their desired future workplace environments.

The survey revealed fairness as the top workplace attribute identified by UM graduates. It shows that these future members of the workforce have high regard for a trusting and open environment that practices fair treatment to all its employees regardless of politics, bias, and favoritism. Job-security was the second attribute identified by the students. This only shows that the future members of the workforce expect a working environment that provides sustainable employment and opportunities for career growth. The other attributes of desirable organizations that were favored by the participants are those that promote work-life balance, open communication, and maintain good reputation. Surprisingly, organizations that offer professional advancement and are innovative were identified to be the least desired attributes by the participants.

The Job Skills Report

Equally important in doing employment analysis are the views and perspectives of the hiring organizations. The University did a separate survey to its partner host-training establishments and other external stakeholders to identify entry-level skills needed in today’s workplace. Subsequently, the survey also asked the respondents to provide general ratings of UM graduates who are members of their workforce based on the identified relevant skills.

These skills are categorized into two – soft skills and hard skills. Soft skills, as defined by Paul Whitmore (1972), are those crucial job-related skills that involve or no interaction with machines. They may as well be considered as behaviors that a person must possess to fulfil the given tasks competently (Tate 1995). The soft skills are closely associated to one’s personal qualities, therefore these are strongly developed through social experience, which is why they are often referred to as “people skills”.

The hard skills are commonly being referred to technical, tangible and quantifiable abilities related to the use of equipment for a specific job (Lyu and Liu 2021). These abilities are typically acquired through training and education and are requisites for performing job duties. They are needed within an industry, especially those that require specific expertise and proficiency.

Some significant findings in the survey were as follows:

• In terms of soft skills, the survey revealed ability to work in a team as the top entry-level skill needed by the employers. These are followed by active learning, sustainability mindset, and communication. (Table 2)

• The participants have identified the ability to work in a team, leadership, and business management as the strongest soft skills manifested by the UM graduates. (Table 3)

• Despite adoption of technological tools into the workflow, employers say soft skills remain of high importance for all workers. This was supported by 83% of the respondents.

• The top five hard skills that play determining roles in the hiring decisions of employers are: sales, IT/computer skills, project management, data analysis, and network security. (Table 4)

• UM graduates have manifested project management, sales, IT/computer skills, data analysis and video production as their strongest hard skills. (Table 5)