Post secondary employability: What counts for VET and TER students? Developing a survey instrument Masters of Education University of Western Australia Russell Trowbridge

Overview  Background of Research Question  Employability  Research Strategy and Design  Sample and Sampling  Data Collection  Data Analysis  The Challenges

Background of research question  Evaluation of alternative education programs  Defining success in a partnership  Youth unemployment in the Peel region  VET v TEE

Youth unemployment theories  Human capital theory  Segmentation theory  Signalling theory  Networking theory  Rosenbaum, Kariya, Settersten and Maier (1990)

Employability traits  Academic achievement  Job search skills  Personality characteristics  Work ethic

The Research Strategy  Question  The perceived importance of employability traits of school leavers in the Peel Region by their prospective employers.  Instrument – survey questionnaire

The Research Strategy  Independent variable – status of respondent  Dependant variable – employability traits perceptions  Sample – Peel region

The Survey Questionnaire Respondent’s score: 7 on a scale of 0-15 I would not employ a school leaver if they have not: Highly disagree DisagreeAgree Highly agree Completed year 9 Yes Completed year 10 Yes Completed year 11 Yes Completed year 12 Yes Completed a relevant tertiary qualificationYes

Data Collection  Procedures  On line questionnaire  Peel Chamber of Commerce  Peel Careers Expo  Webs search  Shopping centre stall

Data Analysis  Questionnaire Validity and Reliability  Rasch Modeling  How do perceptions vary?  Analysis of Variance

The Challenge  Starting with big ideas and expectations  Forming a research question  Focusing on what is achievable

Questions and Discussion