Career Trajectories of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education Graduates: A Post-Graduation Tracer Study

Tracking the whereabouts of the graduates provides empirical data on the employment profile of the graduates. This study was conducted to gather data on the employment of the graduates of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education program of Palompon Institute of Technology Tabango currently renamed to Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education. 58 out 74 (or 78 %) graduates of Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education from year 2016-2019 participated in this study. The instrument used by the researchers in the data gathering was the Graduate Tracer Study developed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Findings make known that 76% (or 44 out of 58) of the respondents are employed. Moreover, 61% (or 27 out of 44) perceived that their current job is related to the program that respondents took up in college. Furthermore, 55% (or 24 out of 44), 9% (or 4 out of 44), 34% (or 15 out of 44), 2% (or 1 out of 44) has a regular, temporary, contractual, self-employed employability status, respectively. When asked the reasons why some graduates are not yet employed, top 1 reason is they did not look for a job, followed by no job opportunity, lack of work experience and family concern, then, advance or further study, and last of all is the health reason. Also, when asked what skills learned in college did the graduates find very useful in their job, top 1 is human relation skills, followed by communication skills, information technology skills, critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and lastly, entrepreneurial skills. To further improve the employability rate of the BTVTED program, among the researchers’ recommendations is that the administration should tap linkages to other agency or companies that can provide employment opportunities to the graduates and may conduct a job fair in partnership with the LGUs, NGOs, and other governing bodies. The administration should also establish linkages in the industry and create a student immersion program to develop the human relation skills, communication skills, IT skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving and entrepreneurial skills. Revisit of the curriculum is also recommended to ensure that the courses offered are relevant to the nature of their job in the future and in order to find some areas that needs improvement.