Employment status Essay

Background of the Study Decades have marked the beginning of a fast changing world. Fast growing economies have rapidly increased the number of students attending college in recent years. Now the pool of unemployment graduates is rising to worrying levels. Of particular concern is the difficulty in finding a job due to the increasing demands of employers, growing competence of job seekers and the growth of the number of qualified job applicants. According to many accounts, graduates are finding it difficult to secure a job and those who find work is often too confined to wage positions. In 2014, the annual employment rate was estimated at 93.2 percent and the annual unemployment rate falls from 7.3 percent 6.8 percent as more people were employed in the services and industry sectors. The annual rate was based on the results of the quarterly Labor Force Survey (LFS) conducted in January, April, July and October of the year 2014. Education plays an important role in determining employment status of an individual. It is one of the investments that need to be recovered in due time. Historically, those who have made this investment have received substantial economic benefit. Moreover, education is an important factor that contributes to nation’s growth. Tertiary education gain from universities and colleges especially has its paramount roles in developing the society. Universities and colleges nowadays offer many courses for students that may suit their specializations and skills as individuals. In the Philippines, one university in the Ilocos Region aims to produce graduates of any courses who are competitive locally and globally. The Pangasinan State University operates in nine campuses producing thousands of competent graduates, many of whom excelled in various fields such as agriculture, education, health, engineering and fisheries to name a few. In the field of health, one of the courses offered in Pangasinan State  University Lingayen Campus is the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics program. The said course is designed to adequately equipped the students with the fundamental knowledge, attitudes and skills in food, nutrition, dietetics, management and allied fields in order to prepare them for entry level professional responsibilities in education, communication, food and nutrition, research, clinical dietetics, food service industries, wellness programs and public health/community nutrition. Moreover, the Nutrition and Dietetics education is responsive to Philippine society and takes into account its needs, resources and potentials. According to Bernal et.al in their research entitled â€Å"The Trend in the Employment Status of Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics Graduates S.Y. 2001-2010: A Basis for Curriculum Development†, there was a decline in the number of employed graduates for batches 2001 to 2002. However, the trend rose from batches 2002 to 2006. After which, the trend declined again for batches 2006 to 2008 and at its peak in 2010. The results also showed that the nature of employment of most BSND graduates were not related to their course and most of them were not hired on a permanent status. The present study entitled â€Å"Employment Status of Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics Graduates in Pangasinan State University, Lingayen Campus, S.Y 2010-2014† will provide feedback to the Nutrition and Dietetics and Livelihood Education Department regarding the performance of BS Nutrition and Dietetics graduates. Statement of the Problem This study will determine the employment status of the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics graduates of Pangasinan State University, Lingayen Campus, Lingayen, Pangasinan from batches 2010-2014. Specifically, it will seek to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics graduates from the batches 2010-2014 in terms of the following: 1.1 Age; 1.2 Gender; 1.3 Civil status; 1.4 Year graduated; 1.5 Eligibility; and 1.6 Additional course(s) taken 2. What is the employment status of the BSND graduates 2.1Employed a.Type of employment b.Nature of employment c.Present monthly salary d.No. of month/ years before graduates were employed e.No. of institution/ agencies applied before finally employed 2.2 Self employed a. Kind of business b. Monthly income c. Year the business started 2.3 Unemployed a. No. of months/years of being unemployed 3. What are the problems encountered by BSND graduates in finding employment? 4. What recommendations can be proposed to help solve the problems of the BS ND graduates in terms of employment? Significance of the Study This study is significant to the following: Nutrition and Dietetics and Livelihood Education Department. This will help them determine the strength and weaknesses of the Nutrition and Dietetics program. It will also determine what specific areas should be focused in order to make the program more responsive towards the needs of the global market. For teachers, this will serve as a guide on how they will improve their skills, strategies and principles in teaching for more effective learning of the students. Incoming College Students. This study will help them decide on what course to take in college upon knowing the employment opportunities and status of the graduates of BS Nutrition and Dietetics. BS Nutrition and Dietetics Students. This will help them realize whether the knowledge and skills developed in the program would be useful to them in their future careers. It will also encourage them to appreciate and pursue the course that they ventured. Graduates of BS Nutrition and Dietetics. This  will provide them insights about the status of the employment of graduates of BS Nutrition and Dietetics. It will also inspire them to make initiatives on how to further enrich their knowledge and skills in the field to make them competitive in the global market. Scope and Delimitation of the Study This study will focus on the employment status of BS Nutrition and Dietetics graduates of Pangasinan State University, Lingayen Campus from batches 2010-2014. The respondents of the study will be limited to the BS Nutrition and Dietetics graduates of Pangasinan State University, Lingayen Campus of the years 2010-2014. It will not include the graduates from the other years and other universities and colleges offering the same program. Definitions of Terms To make the study more comprehensive, the following terms are hereby defined. Age. The amount of time during which a thing has existed  Bachelors Degree. Rank given by a college or university to one who has completed a prescribed course in the arts or sciences. Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. A four year course offered at Pangasinan State University, Lingayen Campus, Lingayen, Pangasinan. Civil Status. Refers to the standing and condition of the respondent’s whether single, married, separated, widowed or divorced. Eligibility. .It refers to whether the BSND graduates are board passers or not. Employment Status. Refers to the standing or condition of the graduates of BSND with regards to their employment. It includes whether they are employed, self-employed and unemployed. Employed. Refers to the graduates doing job for which they are paid a fixed wage or salary as means of livelihood. Self-Employed. One who make use of his skill to earn a living without aid of an employment. Unemployed. Refers to an individual who finished a Bachelor Degree of any of the private or public institutions and who has no permanent or stable job. Franchise. It is a business system in which private entrepreneurs purchase the rights to open and run a location of a larger company. Gender. Is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity. Graduates. A holder of an academic degree or diploma. Limited liability. It is where a person’s financial liability is limited to a fix sum, most commonly the value of a person’s investment in a company or partnership. Nature of Appointment. It refers to an individual who is employed whether they are permanent, temporary and casual. Casual. It is the nature of appointment of position wherein the worker is only given 1-6 months working duration. Permanent. It is the nature of appointment of position wherein the worker or employee has security of tenure. This applies to private or public office or school Temporary. It is the nature of appointment of position wherein the worker is given longer working duration but not yet a permanent appointment. Nature of Employment. This refers to the nature of employment of the graduates whether it is course related job or not course related. Course-Related. This refers to the jobs that are related to the finished degree course of the graduates. Not Course-Related. This refers to the jobs that are not related to the finished degree course of the graduates. Partnership. It is a single business where two or more people share ownership. Personal Profile. This pertains to age, gender and civil status of the graduates. Problem. It is any difficulties encountered in applying for an employment of BSND graduates. Pre-testing. It is the administration of data collection instrument with a small set of respondents to identify problems and to find possible solutions before the actual administration of data collection instrument with the actual total number of respondents. Unemployment Rate. It is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labor force. Salary. It refers to the monetary taken from the respondents from their work or their living. High Income. It is the salary income above thirty thousand pesos. Low Income. It is the salary income below fifteen thousand pesos. Middle Income. It is the salary income between fifteen thousand pesos and thirty thousand pesos. Slovin’s formula. It allows a researcher to sample the population with a desired degree of accuracy. It gives the researcher an idea of how large his sample size needs to be to ensure a reasonable accuracy of results. Sole-proprietorship. It is a type of business entity that is owned and run by one natural person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business. Stratified random sampling. A method of sampling that involves the division of a  population into smaller groups known as strata. In stratified random sampling, the strata are formed based on members’ shared attributes or characteristics. A random sample from each stratum is taken in a number proportional to the stratum’s size when compared to the population. These subsets of the strata are then pooled to form a random sample.