Academic and Career Development Employability

Question: Undertake a critical review of the literature regarding employability. Consider the current market place for graduates and choose a career path informed by career theory Answer: 1. Graduate Employment New figures have suggested that more UK graduates are presently at work than any time since the recession. Among 82,000 people who have graduated in the year 2011, about 88% of them are already working. Remaining percentage of this population is engaged in the Higher Education. Coetzee (2012) has shown that more than half of the UK graduates believe that they do not require any special degree at the place they have been working. It has been found that after the recession, the job opportunities for the graduates have increased largely that many that the graduated believe that their education has prepared them so well for the world of work. On the contrary to the situation, it has been seen that one third of the working population have took their jobs as cleaners, office juniors and road sweepers just after six months of leaving the university (de Oliveira de Castro, 2010). Therefore, it can be said that the statics of UK graduates employability is in sharp contrast. After passing uni versity, many graduates were in the non-professional roles that have been working in the areas like administration and secretarial, skilled trades as well as caring industries along with sales and customer service. 2. Graduate Labor Market Coetzee (2012) has said that the labor market is one of the key parts of the economy as well as the long term tendencies have one of the foremost insinuations not only for the financial system, but also for the society in general. Several changes have come to the UK labor market over the recent decades that take into account the growth in size of the labor force in the market, increasing number of women population in the marketplace, lessening in the size of the industrialized sector and some more. In this particular text, focus would be shed on employability considering the market place for the graduates. Moreover, career theory would be discussed as well to understand the situation carefully. It has been found that the leading employers expect to recruit importantly more graduates in the year 2014 and have offered them 8.7% more than the basic entry-level vacancies than the last year. Therefore, it has been seen as the biggest annual rise in the graduate recruitment for the last fo ur years (Finnie Meng, 2007). 3. Job Vacancy for graduates Over the last few years, the economic condition of UK economy has been gradually recovering and thus many firms are increasing their recruitment intake, therefore, it can be easily said that the demand for the graduates in UK has been increasing. Few years back, at the peak of the recession, hundreds of people were there, who chased jobs in several industries in UK, but with the enhancement of the economic condition, the jobs of the nation have gradually prospected. Kirton (2015) has said that the graduate employment at the Britains top managers is set to reach the uppermost level for more than a decade this year. It has been found that the demand for the nurses has been always high in demand in UK and the expert nurses has been working in operation theaters as well as neonatal intensive care units largely (Richard 2013). 4. Graduate Salary The median preliminary salaries at UK for the countrys foremost employers are anticipated to increase 30000 for the graduates of this year. It has been observed that the equipment is fast moving with plenty of probability of endorsement as well as the demand for the IT professionals are gradually surging. From the market tends, it has been observed that the graduates with the strong Java knowledge and the Java developers with minimum one or two years of experience has the authority to demand an annual salary of 35,000 (Trought, 2012). However, just a year ago, they were looking at salary of 28,000. Therefore, it can be easily said that the demand for the graduates in the market is gradually rising. The staff nurses in UK earn around 22,000 a year and this amount rises with experience. The salary structure at the most higher-ranking level can reach the level 100,000 (Marsh 2012). 5. Required skills that employers want From various market analysis, it has been found that the presently the skill demand for the employees in UK are in the fields of verbal communication, commercial awareness, analyzing and investing, initiative based on the self motivation, written communication, planning and organizing. These above-mentioned are some of the skills that employers want for the employees who have been looking for jobbing (Marsh 2012). It has been found that the employers want the employees to have more critical decision-making power, ability to solve the problems, develop respect as well as gradually become strong ambassadors for the organization. These are considered as some of the high employability skills that the employers expect from their employees in the organization (Kirton, 2015). 6. Graduate Employment opportunities Reports say that huge numbers of employees enter into the fiercely competitive market and most of them were desperate enough to secure a position in any of the Britains top most firms (Saunders Zuzel, 2010). With the gradual increase economic condition in the nation, the opportunities for the graduate employees has been gradually increasing (Saunders Zuzel, 2010). 7. Competitiveness of graduate labor market Competition in the job market is high, as the university leavers face the toughest job markets since the depths of recession. It has been found that the competition is so fierce that the employers of the top most companies are receiving 56 applications per graduate vacancy and from this statics, it is clear that the completion in the labor market is high (Stevens, 2013). 8. Conclusion In this particular text, focus has been shed on employability considering the market place for the graduates. Several aspects of employability have been discussed as well to understand the situation carefully. The theories mentioned in the text have helped the aligned the text with the addressed research topic carefully. The market trend of the employees has been discussed as well to analyze the situation critically. References Coetzee, M. (2012). Developing student graduateness and employability. Randburg, Republic of South Africa: Knowres Publishing. de Oliveira, E., de Castro Guimares, I. (2010). "Employability" through curriculum innovation and skills development. Higher Education Management And Policy, 22(2), 1-20. Finnie, R., Meng, R. (2007). Literacy and employability. [Ottawa]: Statistics Canada. Kirton, H. (2015). Young peoples employability skills top agenda at Conservative Party conference. London: SAGE Marsh, R. (2012). Skills for employability. Wrexham: Christal. South Africa: Knowres Publishing. 12 (1), 22-38 Richard, K. (2013). Participation in social action initiatives can help boost employability skills. (2013). England: Pearson. 15(3), 92-178 Saunders, V., Zuzel, K. (2010). Evaluating Employability Skills: Employer and Student Perceptions. Bioscience Education, 15(1), 1-15. https://dx.doi.org/10.3108/beej.15.2 Stevens, M. (2013). HR urged to visit schools to improve employability skills. Trought, F. (2012). Brilliant employability skills. Harlow, England: Pearson.