Trends In Graduate Labour Market In Singapore - An Essay.

The Importance of Behavioral Skills for Organizational Development

Questions:

1. I would need to research on the graduate labour market for Singapore .(Foreign Talent, Wages, Individualism, Collectivism). About 10 to 15 references.

2. Would need to write about myself, and how the job i have choose has suited me. Just some examples for task 2 to indicate (Job Industry, Job/Career Propsect, How am i suitable for this job using the psychometric test (As attached, 4 test result), what are my strength and weaknesses (Johari's Window, as attached), Why do i suit that job (Able to reference to the appendices)) About 5 to 10 references.
 

The employees of an organization put their efforts by maintaining the proper behavioral skills. The progress foreseen due to such fruitful efforts is considered as the organizational development (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The betterment of the organization is even creating impact on the employees’ performance, which lead them towards developed and improvised position. It is to be indicated that the ‘labor market’ is considered as the linkage between employee and employer’s communication. Two major driving forces, such as supply and demands, often drive the complex and dynamic labor market (Burke & Noumair, 2015). It is to be noted that the graduate job market is not necessarily following the general employment trends. Therefore, it is necessary for the graduates to understand the emerging and growing market to get a job along with the necessary skills.

This section of the study will discuss about the current trends in the graduating market in Singapore. Depending on such current trends, the job seekers would identify the relevant career options that are suitable to develop their professional and personal life. The research based on the Singapore Graduate Labour Market informed that the job market for the graduates has been growing in a significant way to determine the growth in Singapore and other countries. Since, many of the employers seek for more confident career plan, the needs of recruiting the graduate candidates are growing accordingly. The market research has been signifying the job opportunities for the graduates in Singapore. More specifically, it is specifying the feasibility of the labour market that is creating the significant effects on the individual career.

The general overview of the global graduate labour market has been confirming the important links that are needed to be concentrated. The employers specify the required skills for the vacant places in the company. While recruiting the graduates in an organization, it is important to clarify the required skills that perceived by each employers. These necessary skills are-

• Team work
• Application of the numeracy
• Self Management
• Positive Attitude
• Business and Customer awareness
• Communication and literacy
• Enterprise/creativity

It is to be noted that the in the marketing industry, communication skills are the most required field. Every industry sets the organizational objectives to determine the productivity of the products or the services (Baker et al. 2014). It is important to note that the recent trends in the graduate jobs are focusing on the overall economic structure.

It is to be indicated that the Singapore has been transforming into a developed country by achieving the diversified trends in labour market. The modern industrial economy has been found in this current generation. The changes in the education system has introduced the uniqueness in skills in this business genre. The employers need to arrange the proper training and development session for the graduates to educate them about the necessary skills (Fraser-Thomas & Strachan, 2014). In providing the graduates the proper training session as per the required organizational skills, the employers offer the attractive training session to the graduates. The marketing jobs are mainly based on the effective communicational aspects. Hence, while providing the proper training session to the graduates, it is required to establish the transparent communicational scenario where the trainees can easily raise their concern about the programs (Abreu et al. 2015). The marketing industry is concerned with the customer satisfaction and the sales ratio that contributes effective growth in the economic structure. Some of the graduates are offered with several internship programs, which are on-job training procedure (Wilton, 2012). In these internship programs, the graduates get the stipend as their salary and can gather the experience of working in a corporate environment as well. In Singapore, besides these internship programs, the graduates can even join some of the specialized courses related to the required skills in the marketing industry.

Current Trends in the Singapore Graduate Labour Market

It is noted that the training programs are mainly improvising the communication and the necessary skills. Hence, once the graduates are under the training period, they can improve both the personal and the professional skills in a significant way (Bogoviz et al. 2013). The employers in Singapore have been evaluating the Graduate schemes to provide the efficient training session to the graduates. The larger organizations usually provide such facilities to the graduates to make them more skilled as per the requirements. These graduate schemes generally last for a year and sometimes it can be extended to 18 months or two years. The specific period is to be ensured for such programs and it signifies the differences with the ‘graduate job’. It is noted that a single employer can run one or more training programs. For example, in case of marketing industry, the training programs can be based on different operational areas including sales and marketing, customer care executives, and other mandatory fields.

The employers usually promote their graduate schemes on different portals and publications. As concerned by Singapore Graduate Labour Market, the graduates can find the suitable scheme for their career development in the corporate world. Prescott (2015) defined that these graduate schemes are beneficial for the new recruits to settle down in a professional work environment. It is noted that the Singapore has the free market economy and has captured the significant place in the list of least corrupted nations. The lower rate of the global downturn is also inviting more graduates for their career opportunities (Prospects.ac.uk, 2016). The training programs associated with the different employers are improvising the professional and personal skills of the graduates as well as providing them the required experiences for the corporate world (Akhilesh, 2014). In fact, these programs are beneficial enough to make the fresher more skilled in working as a team. In this current generation, Singapore has been specifying the dependency on the foreign talents for the treated skills of the migrant workers. Therefore, Singapore is much depended on such foreign talent structurally by ensuring the benefits derived from the Government.

The individuals would be able to work on different assignments and sometimes they even get the opportunities to work overseas and in different locations. It is important note that since the demands of the jobs are highly increasing, the graduation scheme is time specific. One of the major concerns is the ‘wages’, which is very low for the interns in Singapore. It is seen that during the shortage of workers, graduates usually ignore working under some of the employers due to low wages. The employers even look for the skills to be matched with the aspirations of the graduates.  If the employment is down, the wages will be equally down for the graduates in Singapore. Many trainees have to face the heavy workload during their OJT (On-job-Training) period. This signifies the Collectivism aspect during the internship programs, which determines the huge pressure on the graduates. The collective numbers of works sometimes even create the negative impacts on the graduates. 

The Required Skills for Graduate Jobs in Marketing Industry

Unlike others, I have structured my career plan by focusing on the Marketing Industry. I have learnt that marketing industry is a wider sector, which requires the skillful attributes of each candidate. It is noted that since the marketing industry has been dealing with the customers, the improvisation in the communicational aspect is necessary (Foote & Ryan, 2015). Some of the necessary skills are taken into consideration in determining the job specification in marketing industry. These necessary skills are as follows:

• Reading comprehension- The candidate needs to understand the written sentences and paragraphs associated in the work related documents.
• Complex Problem Solving- It is very important for the candidate to identify the complex situation and review the relevant information to resolve those critical scenarios.
• Active Listening- The candidate must be a good listener who will pay attention to the others’ concerns and will remain responsive in time of needs.
• Critical Thinking- If I should make progress in my career in marketing industry, I need to use my humor to understand the underpinning strengths and weaknesses. Depending on such recognition, I shall be able to find out the alternative solutions or approaches to the situational incidents.  
• Writing- Since, in the marketing industry I need to deal with the customer satisfaction, I have to concentrate on the writing documents for convincing the customers or communicating with them.
• Speaking – The major skills associated with the marketing industry is to communicate properly. When I shall be engaged with the customer relationship process, it would be my responsibility to communicate with the customers properly. It helps them understanding the product or service specifications. More specifically, the effective communication skills are necessary for convincing the customers, increase the sales ratio, and retaining the customer support for the longer term.
• Judgment and Decision making- One of the most significant skills that I need to acquire is to consider the relative costs. Azevedo et al. (2012) suggested that since, the graduates need to be accustomed with the corporate world; it is required to deal with the situational crisis. More specifically, the ability of making any decision and coming to a judgment is most important. Therefore, I need to be much focused towards such aspects.

The recognition of these skills is useful for a graduate and for me as well. The marketing industry is a wider area where I can avail many opportunities. Moreover, the marketing industry involves the direct dealings with the customers. Hence, I need to improvise my communication skills to deal with these customers. It helps in increasing the communication skills, which is the most necessary aspect for every industry. Since, I have been pursuing such course; I need to justify the suitability of my position through formulating the Johari Window.

Johari Window is a tool that is helpful for understanding the personal traits and the psychological assumptions. Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham introduced such particular technique that is initially used in corporate setting and self-help groups (Holmes, 2013). The description of the technique is presented further: 

The structured Johari Window has been explaining several areas involved within the personal attributes. These specified areas are Public Area, Blind Area, Closed Area, and Unknown Area. In keeping focus on personal attributes, the discussion of these areas is presented further:

Public Area: This particular quadrant has been signifying the open area that is reflected outside and the world can see these traits. The open area has been highlighted and people know about these personality traits. After analyzing, I could sum up several areas of my personality traits, which are shown to world. I am a person who is trustable, friendly, humorous, and practical. I maintain the transparency and flexibility while communicating with the people, which make me easy to talk and deal. I like to face the challenges and it is quite helpful in making me more competitive while making any decision regarding my job. I am much enthusiastic and like to learn innovative process. These traits are much visible in my personality attributes.

Blind Area: According to Lim & Jamil (2013), some of the personality traits are not visible to others but people want such traits to be foreseen. I have several traits included in the blind area and these can create some of the disadvantages for me. I am much impulsive, which provokes me to take the instant decision without thinking about the consequences. I am trustable and reliable, which sometimes weakens the self-trait. The childish nature sometimes create the hazardous situation when I cannot be strict to people. Hence, the blind area reveals the strengths and the weakness hidden inside my personality attributes.

Closed Area: The closed area represents the personality trait, which is known to self by unknown to others (Tran, 2016). Each person has some of the hidden identity, which is not revealed to the world. Similarly, my hidden traits are my emotions, temperament, and situational nature. In some of the situational cases, we need to control our emotions and act strongly, but I sometimes feel it too difficult to tackle such situation. This attribute is considered one of my biggest weaknesses. However, despite of being childish, I can deal with the serious situation with much maturity, which is important.

Training and Development Programs for Graduates

Unknown Area: The unknown area defines the personality traits, which are invisible to self and others (Oreopoulos et al. 2012). I have realized few unknown traits in me, which determines the negative influence on the surroundings. I am easily hurt in a promising situation, over sensitive, and trust people very easily. These attributes may create the negative impact on the corporate surroundings.

I conducted the survey session with my colleagues who helped me in identifying these personality traits. I derived the outcome after gathering their responses and analyzing them with the situations faced by me in real life. The internal communication process with the people is also much helpful in such context. In the next segment, I would discuss about my strength and weaknesses, which will be helpful for formulating the personal development plan. 

While entering to the corporate world, it is necessary to recognize the personal strengths and weakness. One may not skilled with different attributes and therefore, it is required to identify the capabilities and the underpinning weaknesses that will create effects on the various organizational functions. The identification of the different segments made me realize my internal strengths and weaknesses, which are discussed further:

Strengths	Weaknesses
·         I am a good listener ·         Communication capability ·         Good at handling situational incidents ·         Good learner ·         Adaptable ·         Strong analytical power ·         Reliable ·         Responsible	·         Sensitive ·         Impulsive ·         High temperament

Table 2: Self-Strengths and Weakness

The above analysis of self-strengths and weaknesses has been highlighting the potential strengths and the weaknesses, which will help me to form the Personal Development Plan. It is noted that the strengths are the useful skills that are required for the graduates while they are entering into the corporate world. Simultaneously, the identified weaknesses can be harmful for the career development. The personal development plan is structured by focusing on the major weaknesses. The development of these weaknesses would be beneficial for my future progress. However, the recognized 

What are my development Objectives?	Priority	What activities do I need to undertake to achieve my objectives?	What support/resources do I need to achieve my objectives	Target date for achieving my objectives	Actual date of achieving my  objectives
High Temperament	1	Advices from the experts, Meditation, Anger management	Internet resources, consulting psychologists, wider and calm place to sit for the medication, senior professionals, suitable environment	1 week	2nd to 3rd week
Impulsiveness	2	Anger management, deep breathing activities, expert’s advice, game playing	Instruments for arranging games, different environment, calm place for deep breathing activities, internet resources	2 week	1st week to 3rd week (continuous practice)
Sensitive	3	Consulting the psychologists, experts advice, talking to the senior professionals	Support of the human resources	1 week	1st week to 2nd week
Review Date:					End of the month

Table 3: Personal Development Plan

In structuring Personal Development Plan, I have set three major objectives, which I need to improvise for eliminating my weaknesses. I have selected my high temperament as the first priority. It is important to control the temperament when it comes to the organizational situation. It is important to be much flexible and respond professionally in the situational incidents. Managing the temperament is very important and some of the significant activities I need to undertake to eliminate such traits. In the first case, I need some advices from experts, psychologists, and senior professionals who can guide me in achieving right attitude towards the different situations. I can take the help of meditation and several practices. However, for undertaking such meditation practices, I need a calm place, empty surroundings, and calm environment. The help of the human resources is also much required for this purpose. I may take one week time to practice these activities and I expect to get the result within 2-3 weeks.

In the second priority, I have put my impulsiveness to be rectified. In many situations, it has been seen that people are being so much impulsive that they have been taking several impulsive decisions. I have faced the similar scenario many a times, which I think is against my morale. However, generally such impulsiveness comes from anger and incapability of handling different situations. I can consult some experts regarding such matter and keep the focus n my anger management. I think the deep breathing activities are helpful in this regard. While undertaking such activity, I would require the advices from the experts and the seniors who have already dealt with similar incidents. Apart from the human resources, I can also use the internet resources to learn more about the process of keeping the mind calm. I need two weeks time to complete the practices and within 3 weeks, the results can be foreseen.

The third priority is to manage the sensitiveness. It is to be indicated that one of my major weaknesses is my sensitiveness, which sometimes cause disadvantages for me. I think, in this regard, I need to talk to my senior professionals for deriving the personal knowledge. The help of the human resources can be useful for mitigating such negative traits. A week’s practices would be helpful for me in this case and it may take two weeks time to get the required outcomes. The final review will be presented in the end of the month. The review list will be confirming the progress report of developing personal development plan. 

Conclusion

In the first section of the study, the review of the job opportunities for the graduates has been explained. It has been seen that the graduates have many opportunities to enter into the corporate world. Similarly, some of the training programs are also undertaken to train these graduates and making them accustomed with the corporate world. In the second section, the application of the Johari Window has been confirming the different personality attributes that are hidden and revealed. The recognition of the strengths and weaknesses is helpful for structuring the personal development plan. The review of the entire process would be helpful enough for my career planning and future progress.  

References

Abreu, M., Faggian, A., & McCann, P. (2015). Migration and inter-industry mobility of SINGAPORE graduates. Journal of Economic Geography, 15(2), 353-385.

Akhilesh, K. B. (2014). Interpersonal Relationships, Teams, and Team Building. In R&D Management (pp. 141-167). Springer India.

Azevedo, A., Apfelthaler, G., & Hurst, D. (2012). Competency development in business graduates: An industry-driven approach for examining the alignment of undergraduate business education with industry requirements.The International Journal of Management Education, 10(1), 12-28.

Baker, K. L., Perkins, J., & Comber, D. P. (2014). International students and their experiences of Personal Development Planning. Active Learning in Higher Education, 15(2), 129-143.

Bogoviz, A. V., VSingaporeovich, G. G. E., & Stroiteleva, T. G. E. (2013). Motivation of staff in the corporate sector industry. World applied sciences journal, 25(10), 1423-1428.

Burke, W. W., & Noumair, D. A. (2015). Organization development: A process of learning and changing. FT Press.

Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Foote, C. L., & Ryan, R. W. (2015). Labor market polarization over the business cycle (No. w21030). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Fraser-Thomas, J., & Strachan, L. (2014). 2 Personal development and performance?. Health and Elite Sport: Is High Performance Sport a Healthy Pursuit?, 38, 15.

Holmes, L. (2013). Competing perspectives on graduate employability: possession, position or process?. Studies in Higher Education, 38(4), 538-554.

Lim, M. G. K., & Jamil, H. (2013). Certification paradigm of johari window human capital. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 4(3), 303.

Oreopoulos, P., von Wachter, T., & Heisz, A. (2012). The short-and long-term career effects of graduating in a recession. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 4(1), 1-29.

Prescott, D. (2015). Critical personal reflections on professional development within a complex learning environment. Mystery Train 2007.