Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1991

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Education

Major Professor

Roger Haskell

Committee Members

Walter Cameron, Randal Pierce, Siegfried Dietz

Abstract

This study described the job acquisition methods used by selected 1985 - 1988 graduates of the Electronics, Licensed Practical Nurse, Machine Shop and Office Occupations programs from four State Area Vocational-Technical Schools in East Tennessee. The Job-Seeking Methods Questionnaire, developed by Phillips (1980), was mailed to 566 graduates; from these, 244 usable completed questionnaires were returned. This study also investigated the graduates' awareness of selected job acquisition methods and assessed the effectiveness of the use of these methods in obtaining training-related employment. The graduates' age, gender and vocational programs were used as variables in evaluating their job search activities. Over 80% of the respondents located their first full-time jobs within three months of program completion, LPNs (93%) were significantly more likely to find employment sooner than those in the other three vocational programs. Over 70% of the respondents indicated that their first full-time job was related to their vocational training. Females (80%) were significantly more likely to find training-related employment than were males (63%) although this finding might have been skewed due to the gender-specific programs in this study. LPNs were significantly more likely (96%) to find related employment than were those from any of the other three programs. Electronics graduates were the least likely (50%) to find employment related to their vocational program. More than 65% of the respondents (63% males; 69% females) retained their first full-time jobs longer than one year. By program. Office Occupations had the highest percentage (72%) and Machine Shop the lowest (55%) percentage of graduates who retained their jobs longer than one year. Respondents from all four vocational programs used Personal Contacts to find their first full-time job significantly more than any other job acquisition method. Only 7% of the graduates indicated they relocated to find employment. Of those who moved, over 70% located training-related employment. Because there was no statistical significance in the job acquisition methods and job search techniques that all ages of graduates used to find employment, the development of special job placement programs for various age groups may not be warranted. For those programs whose graduates had low rates of training-related employment (e.g.. Electronics, 50%) it would be helpful to study the job seeking behaviors of others who have been more successful (e.g., LPNs' use of Letters of Inquiry). Due to the significant role that the use of Personal Contacts played in finding the first full-time job for all study participants, care should be given to include its application in vocational curricula. Although low cell sizes prohibited some post hoc analysis, it was apparent that the program graduates used different approaches to employment even though market demand for employees in the four occupations may have varied. For example. Electronics and Office Occupations students could improve their skill using Personal Contacts, including increased practice in interviewing and making telephone calls. There was some significance in the fact that of those who moved to find employment, the rate of training-related employment was extremely high. In the future, educators should insure that graduates realize that relocating may increase their opportunity to find related employment in the event that such jobs are not readily available . While the participants in this study did well in their search for employment, future research should be conducted to determine the link among the students' vocational training programs and training for the employment process. The contribution of vocational teachers to program completers' placement should be recognized as a critical part of the process. The present study should be replicated for use with more program completers in a wider geographic area, including an urban population, and should be expanded to include two groups of program completers, those who had participated in formal job search training programs and those who had not.

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