K-12 forces rethink on inexperienced candidates — JobStreet

EMPLOYERS are looking more closely at interpersonal and problem-solving skills and attitude, indicating a new willingness to hire new graduates with no work experience, JobStreet.com said.

In its Philippines Annual Fresh Graduate Report, JobStreet.com said in a statement that “for some employers, the shift comes with a readiness to hire the new batch of K-12 graduates this year.”

“Employers willing to hire K- 12 graduates noted that they’d be using similar metrics and factors as what they use with college graduates, to gauge the viability of K-12 candidates. They would primarily focus on attitude and work ethic, interpersonal and communication skills, knowledge of the field and industry, and academic performance as well as ( onthejob training) and internship experience,” JobStreet added.

It said 24% of employers said “they are ready to hire the new graduates.” These employers have confidence that K-12 graduates will be qualified for administrative (47%), customer service (44%), and sales and marketing ( 40%) positions.

The report covers industries like business process outsourcing ( BPO) ( 21%), manufacturing (16%), professional services (12%) and retail (12%).

On the other hand, 35% of the surveyed employers said they will not hire K-12 graduates, “primarily because a college degree is among their desired qualifications” JobStreet said. The remaining 41% of employers surveyed were indefinite and are still evaluating if they are ready to hire K-12 candidates.

JobStreet’s newest report also showed that Human Resources Personnel “may not be very knowledgeable on the nature of the K- 12 program” especially with the “K-12 Work Immersion Program specialized tracks and strands.”

“We believe that the new K-12 program can sufficiently prepare its graduates to be valuable contributors to the future work force,” Country Manager for JobStreet Philippines Philip A. Gioca said.

“We also believe that the education sector has done a great job in creating a valuable curriculum, but it needs to do more to disseminate information to employers about the kind of job candidate that K-12 creates,” Mr. Gioca added. —