Search results

1 – 10 of over 7000
Article
Publication date: 24 March 2020

Ugochukwu Chinonso Okolie, Chinyere Augusta Nwajiuba, Michael Olayinka Binuomote, Christian Ehiobuche, Ntasiobi Chikezie Nwankwo Igu and Ogungboyega Suliyat Ajoke

This study explores how career training with mentoring (CTM) programs work in Nigerian higher education (HE) institutions to foster students' career development and employability…

3147

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores how career training with mentoring (CTM) programs work in Nigerian higher education (HE) institutions to foster students' career development and employability of graduates. It also explores how Nigerian HE curriculum can be adequately used to facilitate CTM as well as possible constraints to effective implementation of CTM programs in Nigerian HE institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on interviews with well-qualified and experienced experts from six Nigerian public universities (each from the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria), and 20 industries also within the same 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria that were selected for this study using a purposeful sampling technique. The study interviewed 33 experts comprising 21 senior academics at Nigerian universities and 12 industry executives to reveal substantial information about CTM programs in Nigerian HE institutions.

Findings

Drawing on the three key themes that emerged during the thematic analysis and linked to social cognitive career theory, it is clear that participants are convinced that CTM can enhance clarity about students' career ambitions, career interests, personal development plans and employability. Findings show that there are some career-related programs or activities that Nigerian HE students are presented with, but the programs have not been effective as to offer graduates quality career guidance and employability skills that employers demand. Acknowledging these, participants recommend establishing CTM centres in all Nigerian HE institutions to provide students with the opportunity to receive quality career advice, coaching and mentoring services while schooling.

Practical implications

The findings of this study shed light on varying resources required to cope with the demands of labour market in terms of supply of competent workforce that can contribute to Nigeria's economic growth and development. The findings are highly relevant for Nigeria and other developing countries' policy and research initiatives that aim to promote social inclusion and equity and improve better working conditions for all. The findings also have implications for career development and employability of HE graduates in developing world context.

Originality/value

Understanding the role that CTM programs can play in facilitating career development and graduate employability can arguably be of importance within the developing world context. This study, therefore, provides significant suggestions on how to build sustained HEIs and labour market partnership to foster career development and employability of HE graduates through establishing CTM centres in every Nigerian HE institutions.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 62 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2023

Naimatullah Shah, Safia Bano, Ummi Naiemah Saraih, Nadia A. Abdelmegeed Abdelwahed and Bahadur Ali Soomro

In the digital age, the development of students’ career intentions requires serious concentration since these are associated with the students’ future employment and, ultimately…

Abstract

Purpose

In the digital age, the development of students’ career intentions requires serious concentration since these are associated with the students’ future employment and, ultimately, their survival. This study attempted to demonstrate in Pakistan’s Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) the role of soft skills towards the students' career development (CD) and their future career intentions (CI).

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the researchers used a quantitative approach and a questionnaire to collect the data from the surveyed participants. Finally, the researchers based this study’s findings on 392 useable samples.

Findings

By employing the structural equation model (SEM), this study’s findings show that soft skills, such as Creative Self-Efficacy (CSE), Problem-Solving Confidence (PSC) and Teamwork (TW) have a positive and significant effect on CD and CI. However, while Critical thinking and Creativity (CRC) has a positive and significant effect on CD, it has no effect on CI. In addition, this study’s findings confirm, also, that CD has a positive and significant effect on CI.

Practical implications

This study’s findings assist policymakers and university administrators to understand the importance of soft skills in creating CD and CI. These promote the development of employability skills and fulfill its part in preparing graduates for the unpredictable job market. This study’s findings help, also, to develop logical reasoning in making decisions and in dealing with complex organizational issues.

Originality/value

In a practical way, in Pakistan, this study’s findings confirm the role of soft skills towards students' CD and CI.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 65 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 August 2022

Serene Lin-Stephens, Maurizio Manuguerra, Pei-Jung Tsai and James A. Athanasou

Stories of employability are told in employment and educational settings, notably the selection interviews. A popular training approach guiding higher education students to…

1207

Abstract

Purpose

Stories of employability are told in employment and educational settings, notably the selection interviews. A popular training approach guiding higher education students to construct employability stories has been the past-behaviour storytelling method. However, insufficient research exists regarding the method's effectiveness and optimisation. This study examines whether the method (1) increases the quantity and quality of interview narratives in story forms and (2) can be enhanced by image stimuli.

Design/methodology/approach

In a double-blind randomised control trial with repeated measures, participants submitted four weekly interview narratives. After receiving past-behaviour serious storytelling training in Week 3, they were randomly allocated to an exposure group using images and a control group using keywords as a placebo to continue producing interview narratives. The interview narratives were assessed based on the number of stories and quality ratings of narrative conformity, relevance and conciseness. Results before and after the training, and with and without the image stimuli, were analysed.

Findings

Training increased the number of stories. Training and repeated practice also increased narrative quality ratings. However, the image-based intervention was the strongest predictor of improved quality ratings (effect size 2.47 points on the observed scale of 0–10, p < 0.01, 95% CI [1.46, 3.47]).

Practical implications

A pre-existing ability to tell employability stories cannot be assumed. Training is necessary, and intervention is required for enhancement. Multi-sensory narrative interventions may be considered.

Originality/value

This study is the first known double-blind randomised control trial with repeated measures evaluating if storytelling training and image stimuli improve interview narratives.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 64 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 January 2021

Ugochukwu Chinonso Okolie, Chinedu Ochinanwata, Nonso Ochinanwata, Paul Agu Igwe and Gloria Obiageli Okorie

This study investigates the relationship between perceived supervisor support (PSS) and learner career curiosity and tests the mediating role of sense of belonging, engagement and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the relationship between perceived supervisor support (PSS) and learner career curiosity and tests the mediating role of sense of belonging, engagement and learning self-efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a three-wave repeated cross-sectional data collected from 509 final-year undergraduate students of 11 Nigerian public universities, who had completed the compulsory work placement to analyze the influence of PSS on learner’s career curiosity via a parallel mediation involving sense of belonging, engagement (behavioural, emotional and cognitive) and self-efficacy.

Findings

The results show that engagement mediates the path through which PSS influences career curiosity. However, the authors found no evidence that sense of belonging and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between PSS and learner’s career curiosity in this population.

Originality/value

The findings of this study highlight the importance of PSS as a resource that influences learner’s career curiosity, particularly during a work placement.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 June 2021

Oluyemi Theophilus Adeosun, Ayodele Ibrahim Shittu and Temitope J. Owolabi

As the 4th industrial revolution (4IR) unfolds, there is an increasing awareness that its implications for workforce transformation and shifts in workforce demand will profoundly…

4107

Abstract

Purpose

As the 4th industrial revolution (4IR) unfolds, there is an increasing awareness that its implications for workforce transformation and shifts in workforce demand will profoundly impact the future of work. Specifically, the paper seeks to answer the following research questions: i) how does Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) equip young people for the real world of work, especially in the era of the third industrial revolution?; ii) does SIWES support the exposure of young people to the world of digitalization?; and iii) what are the effects of the SIWES exposure on the employability of young people? This paper aims to evaluate the University Internship system and preparation of young people for the world of work in the 4th industrial revolution.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used a mixed method to unravel the objectives of this study, that is, quantitative and qualitative methods. For the former, structured questionnaires were used to elicit a response from 249 young people drawn from tertiary institutions across Lagos State, Nigeria. The latter used an in-depth interview method conducted among 45 respondents (25 employers of labor and 20 lecturers).

Findings

The findings reveal that: SIWES contributes meaningfully to the advancement of knowledge and capacity building among young people; SIWES exposes young people to the world of digitalization, depending on the organization where the internship takes place; and SIWES pays little attention to financial rewards and more attention to the acquisition of skills that are relevant to the world of work. The practical and policy implications of the findings are critically discussed.

Originality/value

This paper critically evaluates the SIWES policy amidst the growing threats of widening skills gap, greater inequality and broader polarization.

Details

Rajagiri Management Journal, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-9968

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Yaw Owusu-Agyeman

Scholarly studies on mentoring have mostly focused on traditional mentor–mentee relationships, with little or no emphasis on how institutionalized mentoring activities that…

Abstract

Purpose

Scholarly studies on mentoring have mostly focused on traditional mentor–mentee relationships, with little or no emphasis on how institutionalized mentoring activities that include different pedagogical approaches could be used to enhance the professional development of academics. To address this knowledge gap, this article examines how an institutionalized multilevel mentoring program could be used to enhance the professional development of early-career academics and academics in designated groups in a South African university.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for the study were gathered from 18 mentees and 2 program administrators using semi-structured interviews. The data gathered were assessed by way of thematic analysis that involved a detailed process of identifying, analyzing, organizing, describing and reporting the themes that were developed from the data set.

Findings

The findings revealed that when mentees participate in different mentoring and professional development activities that are structured based on different pedagogies, they can engage in higher-order thinking processes and develop multidisciplinary experiences within an expanded professional learning community. Enabled by the situated learning setting, mentees can negotiate the meaning of their professional practice within a professional community and comprehend the nuanced pedagogical approaches including scaffolding learning used by mentors to shape their career trajectory and guide them to secure promotions.

Originality/value

The current study contributes to the scholarly discourse on situated learning by showing that mentoring could be planned and implemented as a pedagogical endeavor with diverse learning activities and structured as a form of professional development program within a professional community.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1999

Adelina Broadbridge

This paper assesses the incidence and contribution that mentoring has to the career development of retail managers. Previous research has identified the benefits that mentoring…

2281

Abstract

This paper assesses the incidence and contribution that mentoring has to the career development of retail managers. Previous research has identified the benefits that mentoring relationships have for the protégé, the mentor and the organisation, although none have compared the experiences and attitudes towards mentoring within the retail environment. Drawing on a sample of 132 UK retail managers, this research found that half the sample had experienced being a protégé in a mentoring relationship. No significant differences were found between a respondent’s sex, age, position in the organisation and whether they have been mentored. Mentoring was found to play an important role in the development of a protégé’s current job, career and self development. It was less apparent whether the incidence of mentoring affected retail managers’ ultimate career ambitions. However, it appears that the advantages of mentoring as a management development tool far outweigh any disadvantages for the protégé.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2009

John Burgess and Sharlene Dyer

The purpose of this paper is to present a case for the importance of mentoring programs in addressing the disadvantage of minority groups in the workforce. Also, to report on a…

4447

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a case for the importance of mentoring programs in addressing the disadvantage of minority groups in the workforce. Also, to report on a workplace mentoring program conducted for indigenous Australians at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with program participants.

Findings

Indigenous Australians are marginalised in the Australian workforce. Governments have developed many special labour market programs for indigenous Australians, the majority of which are based on public sector employment. There is potential for more extensive private sector participation in developing workplace programs to support indigenous Australians. Workplace mentoring, especially through indigenous mentors, is important in assisting indigenous employees sustain employment and enhance workforce attachment. The case study demonstrated how culturally appropriate mentoring programs can be successful in attracting, training and placing indigenous Australians into employment.

Research limitations/implications

Confined to a single case study organisation, but the findings are in keeping with North American research on mentoring indigenous workers.

Practical implications

Mentoring has a strong role to play in assisting disadvantaged minorities improve labour market outcomes.

Originality/value

There has been no previous research in the Australian context on mentoring indigenous workers.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

David Cameron and Anna Grant

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which external subject-specific mentoring can influence the professional identity construction of early career physics teachers…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which external subject-specific mentoring can influence the professional identity construction of early career physics teachers (ECPT).

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology evolved from the evaluation of a mentoring project, involving semi-structured interviews with a number of early career teachers. Responses from 18 teachers, which related to the impact of the mentoring relationship on their professional identity development, were subject to a process of iterative thematic coding in the context of interpretative repertoires via a collaborative “developmental dialogue” between the managers of the mentoring project and its external evaluators.

Findings

The analysis of participants’ responses suggested that the nature of the relationship between early career teacher and mentor played a role in the emergence, or suppression, of their professional identities as physics teachers at the start of their teaching careers. In some cases, mentoring provision was little short of a “lifeline” for the teachers.

Practical implications

Mentors need the opportunity to develop their professional practice and identity through contact with the community of teacher educators. The practice of training, mentoring and coaching teachers should be valued at least as much as teaching itself and should be recognised as its own professional practice.

Originality/value

This study builds on a number of well-established pieces of research and concepts relating to the challenges facing early career teachers and their professional identity construction. It provides insight into the challenges facing ECPTs specifically, which includes the risk of isolation and unrealistic expectations from colleagues. It not only confirms the merits of external mentoring, but also demonstrates the significant responsibility, which comes with the mentor’s role and the negative impact on teachers’ professional identity construction caused by deficiencies in mentoring.

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2019

Elly Quinlan, Trevor Crowe, Frank P. Deane and Meredith Whittington

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a peer mentoring relationship may support provisional psychologists engaged in postgraduate education in Australia. The theoretical…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a peer mentoring relationship may support provisional psychologists engaged in postgraduate education in Australia. The theoretical lens for this study draws from the real relationship framework and significant events literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained via a web survey from a sample of 23 mentors and 41 mentees. Participants had engaged in a one-year peer mentoring program on a volunteer basis. The survey contained measures of functions of mentoring, perceived genuineness and realism in the relationship, and overall satisfaction with peer mentoring. Participants also provided accounts of helpful events, hindering events and open feedback.

Findings

Perceived satisfaction was significantly correlated with greater genuineness and realism in the relationship. Satisfaction was associated with psychosocial and clinical functions of mentoring for both mentors and mentees, and career functions for mentees only. Qualitative findings indicated that the most helpful events included psychosocial support, mutual understanding and skill development. The most frequent hindering events were logistics/time, lack of structure and mentor technique/activity.

Practical implications

Peer mentors show great promise for supporting provisional psychologists. Recommendations for higher education providers include providing peer mentors with guidance regarding the importance of psychosocial support, clinical skill development and creating genuine and real relationships. Peer mentor training would also benefit from the inclusion of career development strategies and psychoeducation on transference.

Originality/value

This study is the first to apply the real relationship framework and significant events analysis to the psychology peer mentoring context.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 7000