Abstract:

How do recent college graduates handle their transition into a professional milieu?
According to Blasko, Brennan, Little, and Shah (2002); Hillage & Pollard (1998); Holmes (2001); Knight and Yorke (2002); and Pierce (2002), as cited by Beaumont E., Gedye S., and Richardson S. (2016), many academic researchers expressed concern about college graduates’ employability. In fact, the job market is extremely competitive, particularly for entry-level roles, making it challenging for recent graduates to be employed and gain valuable working experience in their chosen career. This could be due to numerous underlying factors; thus, this phenomenon led to the inception of this study, which highlights academic achievement, emotional intelligence (EQ) and 21st century skills as predictors of field experience satisfaction and career readiness of graduating college students. This is a descriptive correlational study. Data was collected from 172 graduating college students of Adamson University, who successfully completed their internship. The standardized tests include: Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, 4Cs of 21st Century Skills Test, Work Experience Questionnaire (WEQ), and Career Confidence Scale (CCS) to measure emotional intelligence, 21st century skills, field experience satisfaction, and career readiness respectively, while academic achievement was assessed through the grade point average. This study shows which among the independent variables (academic achievement, emotional intelligence and 21st century skills) would likely have a significant positive relationship with field experience satisfaction and career readiness; indeed, which could mostly predict field experience satisfaction and career readiness. Through Pearson Correlation Coefficient, it was revealed that among the said independent variables, the 21st century skills have a strong significant positive relationship with field experience satisfaction (r= .72; p=.001) and career readiness (r=.74; p=.001) with a significance level of .05. Furthermore, through multiple regression analysis, it was discovered that the 21st century skills exert statistically significant predictor of field experience satisfaction (B= .78; p=<.001) and career readiness (B= .74; p=<.001). It is concluded that 21st century skills are mostly essential for field experience satisfaction and career readiness; thus, these findings serve as the framework for the proposed career development program. Since there is not enough recent research on the great practices to adequately sustain these new objectives, this program needs to be given priority. For that reason, this study is being done to help educational institutions make career development a fully recognized priority.

Keywords:

Academic achievement, emotional intelligence, 21st Century Skills, Field experience satisfaction, career readiness, career development program.