Boot camp to help fresh graduates

AGF Consulting Group – Philipines conducted a study that gathered 244 selected respondents at random from different Universities, it found that 40 percent of the incoming fresh graduates do not know what to do after graduation and 45 percent say that they do not know where to find a job after graduation.

When asked what critical skills (e.g. effective communication, critical thinking, and initiative) would hamper them in landing a job, 47 percent answered effective communication.

Surprisingly, these numbers logically corelate with the succeeding ques- tions. When these incoming young professionals were asked what capability-building workshops they would be willing to invest on, among the top five answers were communication skills, leadership skills, time management skills, team working skills, and team work and collaboration.

Seventy-six percent of these students answered “yes” when asked if they would invest in soft skill workshops. This only means that there is an existing awareness on the need to further train these incoming young professionals.

Annually, about 700,000 graduates join the labor force but end up being underemployed because of this mismatch of the labor demand and supply. Some may have landed a job but fail during the probationary period because they fail to adapt to the demands of the position, which will most likely be adeptness in these soft skills.

This research is one way of validating the perennial gap between the industry and academe. Part of the company’s advocacy is to ensure that there is consistent availability of fresh talents entering into the workforce.

This industry-academe gap is what prompted “Win@Work”, a two-day training bootcamp happening on Jan. 27 and 28. This program is aligned with the study conducted, and is open to incoming fresh graduates. It aims to reinforce and develop critical skills needed to succeed in the workplace.