Employability Skills of Senior High School Tech-Voc Students: A Measure of Industry Preparedness

Abstract

Senior high school for technical-vocational education is one of the highlights of the enhanced Basic Education Curriculum of the Philippines. The relevance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the economic growth of the country has increased the need for quality technical workers who should be industry-ready. Thus, this study sought to find out the industry preparedness of Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) students of a senior high school in the Philippines as a measure of their industry preparedness. It was identified based on the perception of the students and their immersion supervisors using four skill category areas namely general work habits, communication skills, technical skills, and technology literacy. The respondents were one hundred TVL students and twenty industry representatives. The instrument used was a checklist type of questionnaire; weighted mean and Chi-Square Tests were used as statistical treatment. Students perceived that they were well-prepared in terms of General Work Habits, Communication Skills, and Technical Skills; yet, marginally prepared in Technology Literacy. The supervisors, however, perceived the preparedness of the students as “Marginally Prepared” in Technical Skills and Technology Literacy while “Well-Prepared” in the remaining category. The conclusion of this study revealed that the TVL students were prepared to face the labor industry in terms of all the four-skill categories but needed to focus more on technology literacy and technical skills. The research has recommended that the TVL program should continue and maintain good performance in instructions and laboratory; that the program should continue utilizing the technical skills and technology literacy to the students and must focus on enhancing the students’ acquisition of general work habits and communication skills.