FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT PREDICAMENT AMONG COLLEGE GRADUATES IN JHARKHAND: A STUDY IN THE POST-PANDEMIC ERA – International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Review

FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT PREDICAMENT AMONG COLLEGE GRADUATES IN JHARKHAND: A STUDY IN THE POST-PANDEMIC ERA

Author: Dr. Avani Bharadwaj Alias Preeti Aagneya

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic is regarded as the most unthinkable, biggest, and the worst-affecting challenge that economies and societies all over the world have faced till date. It would be remembered as a period when everything came to a standstill. It impacted all the activities: daily-life, professional lives, leisure and travel, etc. (Vyas, & Butakhieo, 2021). The present study aims to examine the employment predicament among university/ college graduates in Jharkhand in the post-pandemic era and main factors for the same. The study is a mixed methods study, involving questionnaire survey, discussions, and personal interviews. The findings of the in-depth study suggest that the major issues faced by the graduates are related to access to employment information, conditions of employment search, occupational competency, professional advancement, employability, and social awareness and skills. Therefore, there’s an urgent need to improve the professional skills among the students so that their suitability to be included in the workforce is enhanced. This study puts forward six action plans which the colleges can take for fulfilment of the above-mentioned needs among their students.

Keywords: pandemic, graduates, employment challenges, Jharkhand, Covid-19

REFERENCES

Ali, M. A., & Kamraju, M. (2020). A Study On Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Unemployment In India (1st ed.). In Dr. R. K. Malhi, & Dr. S, Hasan (Eds.), Chapter 5, Re-imaging the New Normal- the transformational lens of COVID-19 (pp.50-61). The Bhopal School of Social Sciences. ISBN: 978-81-945302-8-2.
Bagchi, U., & Reddy, K. J. (2023). Current Trends in Career Decision in Youth: Opportunities and Challenges. Handbook of Youth Development: Policies and Perspectives from India and Beyond, 223-235.
Belle, M. A., Antwi, C. O., Ntim, S. Y., Affum-Osei, E., & Ren, J. (2022). Am I gonna get a job? Graduating students’ psychological capital, coping styles, and employment anxiety. Journal of Career Development, 49(5), 1122-1136.
Bhandari, B. (2021). The 3-E Challenge: Education, Employability, and Employment (No. 122). National Council of Applied Economic Research.
Das, K., & Barman, A. (2021). Posits of Workplace Competencies in Management Education Research-A review triangulation for discerning NEP-2020 (India)’s relevance. Psychology and education, 58(5), 2271-2308.
Dhar, S. (2019). Job preferences and career priorities. In Youth in India (pp. 13-25). Routledge India. Editors: Dr. Rasmeet Kaur Malhi & Dr Shumayela Hasan, Page No: 50-61
Etehadi, B., Karatepe, O.M., 2019. The impact of job insecurity on critical hotel employee outcomes: the mediating role of self-efficacy. J. Hosp. Mark. Manage. 28 (6), 665–689.
Gautam, S. (2016). Need of soft skills for undergraduate urban youth for career development. Journal of Training and Development, 2, 79-87.
Hien, H. T. N., & Khanh, N. P. G. (2021). Graduate employability in double challenge of post-covid labor market and digital transformation: The role of graduate’s capitals, 4.0 skills, attributes and perceived labor market. Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science-Social Sciences, 11(2), 85-107.
Jaiswal, A., Gupta, S., & Prasanna, S. (2022). Theorizing employee stress, well-being, resilience and boundary management in the context of forced work from home during COVID-19. South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 11(2), 86-104.
Jena, P. K. (2020). Impact of Covid-19 on higher education in India. International Journal of Advanced Education and Research (IJAER), 5.
Jharkhand Economic Survey 2023-24, Department of Planning and Development, Government of Jharkhand, https://finance.jharkhand.gov.in/pdf/Budget_2024_25/Jharkhand_Economic_Survey_2023_24.pdf
Khare, M. (2014). Employment, employability and higher education in India: The missing links. Higher Education for the Future, 1(1), 39-62.
Kumar, S., Shehreen, S. P., & Manisha, D. G. (2023). Student Perception and Campus Experience about Employability: A Primary Investigation of Higher Education Institutions in Western Uttar Pradesh. International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies IRJEMS, 2(2), pp- 397-403.
Mini, T. C., Christopher, A., & Janetius, S. T. (2020). Magnitude of career confusion among college students in India: An empirical report. International Journal of Indian Psychȯlogy, 8(2).
Nayak, K.V., & Alam, S. (2022). The digital divide, gender and education: challenges for tribal youth in rural Jharkhand during Covid-19. Decision Vol. 49, 223–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40622-022-00315-y
New graduate salary in India (2024, April 29). https://in.indeed.com/career/new-graduate/salaries
Number of Students: Jharkhand: Tertiary Education: Boy (n.d.). Accessed from https://www.ceicdata.com/en/india/number-of-students-tertiary-education/number-of-students-jharkhand-tertiary-education-boy
Nwokeji, D. C., & Ebirim, P. U. (2021). Unemployment In The Post Covid-19 Pandemic Of The 21st Century: Counselling And Educational Implications. Sapientia Foundation Journal Of Education, Sciences And Gender Studies, 3(3).
Poonyaporn, P. A. (2022). Challenges And Opportunities Of Finding The Jobs For Fresh Graduates In Thailand During Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis: Corporate Perspective. Reimaging the New Normal- the transformational lens of COVID-19. The Bhopal School of Social Sciences, 2020, ISBN: 978-81-945302-8-2
Sengupta, A. (2018, August 20-25). Understanding the Reasons Behind Failure of Higher Education in India to Enhance Employable Skill. [Paper presentation]. 35th IARIW General Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thomas, J.J. (2023). Employment Growth and Industrial Policy: The Challenge for Indian States. Ind. J. Labour Econ. 66, 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-022-00423-4
Vyas, L. & Butakhieo, N. (2021). The impact of working from home during COVID-19 on work and life domains: an exploratory study on Hong Kong, Policy Design and Practice, 4:1, 59-76, DOI: 10.1080/25741292.2020.1863560
Zhang Lei, & Li Xuemei. (2021). Research on the Impact of COVID-19 on College Students’ Employment and Countermeasures. China Social Science Research, 33(4): 22-29.