First City Providential College

Brgy. Narra, Francisco Homes Subdivision, City

of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan

Graduate’s Employability : A Tracer Study for Bachelor of Science

in Office Management of First City Providential College

An Undergraduate Research Paper

Presented to the
College of Business Management
of
First City Providential College

In Partial Fulfilment of the

Requirement for the Degree of Bachelor
of Science in Office Management

Presented By ;
Gutierrez, Aliah Chante
Mula, Andrea Micaella
Ruzol, Jamby Joyce

Submitted to

October 2022
 CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

I. RATIONALE

For most Filipinos, education has been a significant investment. Everyone

finds ways to pursue and have a degree because it is regarded as a sign of
significant accomplishment as an individual in the country. The Philippine
Constitution states, "The State shall give priority to education, science and
technology, arts, culture, and sports in order to foster patriotism and
nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human development"
(The Constitution of the Philippines, 1987). Furthermore, graduate’s
employability is very crucial for most state universities and colleges nowadays.
Aside from being a directive from the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) to monitor graduates, it also serves a purpose to the HEIs concern
because it will assist them in assessing their statuses as well as their concerns.
Many initiatives have been documented in schools' efforts to monitor their
students. One of these is a tracer study, which has been one of the most
important activities in establishing the employment of numerous graduates from
hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the Philippines. It is critical to
note that this type of endeavour highlights the graduates' prominent strengths
and weaknesses and provides an avenue for how the institutions involved would
address these issues.

First City Providential College has developed an organised and strategic

career counselling and employment program to support students and young
alumni through the College of Business Management, especially the Office
Management Program. Establishing and expanding links with local and
international companies for possible placement and support is also an important
task of the institution. Today, First City Providential College enjoys fruitful and
continuous improvement in its program curriculum, teaching, and other
academic endeavours. Customer, Finance, Operations, Communications,
Information Technology, and Business Policy and Strategy.

A commonly used evaluation tool to assess the valid and ineffective

elements of a particular program or project is the tracer survey. According to

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Millington (2001), tracer studies are quantitative structural data examining the
careers and experiences of graduates. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct this
research especially in the College of Business Administration (COBM) for the
following reasons: In particular, provide adequate and appropriate information
regarding the employability and employment experience of graduates. It serves
as the basis for curriculum development. Comply with one of the required
documents of the accrediting body of higher education.

The researchers wanted to conduct this study in order to determine the

current employment status of BSOM graduates. Furthermore, given the current
global situation, the researchers wanted to validate the results of the previous
tracer study to see if they were still relevant to the employability of graduates.
This study is relevant to the researchers, who are in the same program as the
respondents, in order to obtain data on their future employability.

II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 1. shows the research paradigm of the study.

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III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This study adopted the Input-Process-Output Model framework. The

input included the demographic profile of the respondents such as: age, sex,
civil status and factors influencing employment which include educational
background, educational background, skills/talents and academic curriculum.
The output was their employment status on the nature of their work.

Figure 2. Paradigm showing the interplay of Input-Process-Output of this study.

IV. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study is conducted to determine the employment of Bachelor of

Science in Office Management Graduates of First City Providential College
from 2015-2022. Likewise, it shows and determines the relevance of the
curriculum they took as considered input to the revisions and improvement on
future undertakings relative to it.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions :

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of :

a. Age
b. Gender
c. Civil Status

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 d. Year Graduated
2. What is the educational background of the respondents in terms of their:
a. Reasons for taking the course or pursuing the degree
b. Continuing Professional Education
c. Professional Examination Passed
3. What is the employment data of the respondents?
a. Employment Status after Graduation
b. Reasons for Unemployment
c. Number of Months/Years before the got the first job after
graduation
d. Present Employment Status
e. First Job after College
f. Relationship of the course to the job
g. Place of Present Work
h. Length of Service in Current Employment
i. Industry Classification of Company
j. Reasons for staying the job
k. Source of Job Opportunities
4. What is the extent of the curricular program contribution to the
development of the graduates’ skills in terms of their:
a. Communication Skills
b. Human Relations Skills
c. Leadership Skills
d. Problem Solving Skills
5. What is the significant relationship of the employment status of Office
Management graduates and their perception on the curriculum relevance
of the program?

V. HYPOTHESIS

The null hypothesis of this research:

There is no significant relationship between the employment status of

Office Management graduates and their perception on the curriculum
relevance of the program.

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VI. SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The scope of this study will only cover the employability and employment
status of the graduates to determine the development of their skills. Prior to this,
research will be conducted to guide and support the implementation of this study.

This study is delimited only to the Bachelor of Science in Office

Management Graduates of First City Providential College during the academic
year 2015-2022.

VII. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will help and be beneficial to the following:

Researchers

The study will provide knowledge for the researchers in terms of

providing information on what are the different challenges that BSOM
Graduates are facing today in terms of employability. Through surveys, the
researchers will enhance their communication and public relation skills. The
study is not only for the researchers to complete with their graduation
requirements but to have contribution to their institution and community as they
seek to determine relevance of the curriculum they took as considered input to
the revisions and improvement on future undertakings relative to it.

Faculty/Trainers/Professors

In connection to this, faculty members, trainers and professors of the

institution shall have ideas on what knowledge and skills that different
industries need. This matter could help them to have improvements and
developments on the current delivery of the curriculum to help students and
graduates be prepared in their employment and become ready with the demands
of the industries today.

Graduates

The research's main objective is to seek answers on the relevance of the

curriculum they took and the employment they are having today. This study also
provides facts for the graduates as their guide in searching for the most in

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demand opportunities today for the graduates of Bachelor of Science in Office
Management in First City Providential College.

Students

The students of the institution shall have their ideas not only on the
process of researching and studying a certain important issue, but also ideas on
the current demand of the industries and the knowledge and skills that a
graduate must possess to become highly qualified for employment. It will also
help the students in the realisation that they must prepare themselves as they
acquire knowledge and skills from the institution as it will become their
instrument of how effective they can be as future employees in the world of
industrialization.

Future Researchers

The study can be a reference for future researchers which studies are
related to this study. This will also serve as a basis of information gathering in
which it tells how the researchers gathered facts to meet the requirements of the
study. This will also help future researchers through statistical data analysis of
the current employment demand and employment of the graduates of degree
programs and skills-base courses.

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VIII. DEFINITION OF TERMS

To facilitate the understanding of this study, different terms are defined herein.

BSOM - In this study, this acronym refers to Bachelor of Science in Office

Management

Employability - This term refers to a demonstrated level of knowledge, skills,

abilities, work behaviours and attitudes necessary to become successful labour in
the market.

Employment Status - As used in this study, this refers to the status of a worker
in a company on the basis of the contract of work or duration of work done.

Paradigm - It is defined as a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns,

including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what
constitute legitimate contributions to a field.

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 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

I. CONCEPTUAL LITERATURE

According to the "Employment Status of English Graduates 2006-2008,"

Campus, Nuyda, and Icaranom. The purpose of this study was to present a
feedback mechanism for the department and college in order to develop a more
productive, competitive, and effective program for students. "This research
presents possible reasons for graduates who are unemployed and employed. The
authors want to showcase how programs are used to provide BSOM graduates
adequate skills to help them in professional careers; however, the program must
be open to changes that will effectively lead graduates to better employment.

Also in 2014, Gines conducted a tracer survey of 2009, 2010, and 2011
PNU graduates. The purpose of this survey was to determine the degree of
satisfaction of graduates with the university's services, learning environment and
facilities. We also investigated the extent to which different curriculum programs
contributed to improving communication, interpersonal, leadership,
problem-solving, and research skills in graduates. Evaluate the degree of
effectiveness, relevance and relevance of university curricula.

As noted by Yang et al. (2015) and Seth and Seth (2013), employability
skills are more likely to lead to increasing the chances of an individual's
employability (Sumanasiri et al., 2015; Su & Zhang, 2015). The value of
employability can be associated with the way companies function in modern
times (Helyer & Lee, 2014). In order to design jobs today, individuals are in
need to interact and work with teams to accomplish their organizational
objectives (Matsouka & Mihail, 2016; Poon, 2014).

Studies that are similar to this topic exist. Additional studies by other
experts reveal that young people who are intrinsically motivated are motivated by
their interests in particular professions and by personally fulfilling jobs.

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II. RESEARCH LITERATURE

Tracer study is an approach which is widely being used in most

organisations, especially in educational institutions, to keep track of their students
once they have graduated from school. A tracer study allows an institution to
assess the quality of education provided to their graduates by being aware of their
graduates' applications and positions in the society that can later be used as a
benchmark for producing more qualified and competitive graduates. So, tracking
the graduates is essential. Because it can provide concrete evidence that will
enable the higher ups and the wider public to evaluate schools’ most important
product–the graduates–in many ways. For monitoring and easy access to the
graduates of the school, the researchers are to study "Graduate’s Employability :
A Tracer Study for Bachelor of Science in Office Management of First City
Providential College”.

In Arcelo and Sanyal’s book, the Employment and Career Opportunities

after Graduation tackles about the presence of a large number of educated
unemployed can cause political instability in a country, because they being
among the educated class and aware of the benefits society can provide, feel
doubly deprived. In this regard, an analysis of the unemployment situation in the
Philippines revealed that young graduates are still in the job-search stage. 'This
book might be for BSOM graduates who will be looking for work after
graduation. Also, whether or not the program's training and learning will be
applied to jobs that are suitable for them.

In another research, Pascual (2014) found out that students' top priority
when selecting a course in college is whether or not they would have
employment upon graduation. The majority of the students who chose to enrol in
courses that are related to scientific related courses, were popular in Filipinos.

Specifically, a research on graduate employability in the Philippines

posed several questions to identify parameters for describing employment and
employability aspects of university graduates. Through systematic sampling the

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results showed that graduates of Philippines comprehensive university did not
have to wait long to find regular employment. Furthermore, these graduates
were employed through walk-in applications and recommendations. It also
revealed that graduates employability was not attributed to the academic honors
of graduates. Rather it was due to the assets of knowledge, skills and attitudes,
and the way these were developed in the workplace. It provides structural
procedural implications for universities in the Philippines (De Guzman and De
Castro, 2008).

These research literatures serve as springboard to prove or disprove the various

concepts of employability after the study was completed. These support the
many ideas which were all product of research activities that are found relevant
and significant to this study.

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 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN

I. RESEARCH METHOD USED

This study will utilise quantitative - survey research method to obtain the
statistical data analysis of this research, which focuses on the employability of
the graduates of First City Providential College.

II. LOCALE OF THE STUDY

This study was conducted at First City Providential College. It was

founded by Leonardo D. Simon. It offers programs from basic education to
tertiary education. It promotes the core values of the school which is the
“FCPCIAN” which stands for Faith in God, Creativity, Perseverance,
Collaboration, Intelligence, Altruism, Nationalism.

The researchers find the locale appropriateness of the said study. As it

determines the results of the tracer study that was conducted in BSOM students
and obtain data on their future employability of the graduates.

III. RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY

The respondents of the study were the graduates of the College of

Business Management particularly under the program of Bachelor of Science in
Office Management from 2015-2022. A total of respondents participated in this
research.

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IV. INSTRUMENTATION
The main tool used in this study was an online questionnaire using Google
Forms made by the researcher to gather the data. A modified research instrument
was used in this study. A survey questionnaire was designed to answer the
research problems. This survey questionnaire was also subjected to validity and
reliability tests.

Part I is the demographic profile of the respondents; Part II is the

educational background of the respondents; and Part III provides information on
the employment status of the respondents.
And lastly, Part IV provides information on the extent of curricular
program contributions to graduates skills particularly communication, human
relations, leadership, and problem-solving. Each statement was given one set of
seven choices, ranked as:

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 V. DATA GATHERING PROCEDURES
The researchers had allotted vigorous time, effort, and cooperation in
developing or creating the questionnaire so as to serve its intended purpose. The
survey was created using questions that were modified from related research and
individual questions formed by the researchers. In the questionnaire,
demographic information was used to determine the data of the study. After the
professor approved the questionnaire, copies were distributed to the 40
respondents for the graduates of Bachelor of Science in Office Management.
Respondents were given enough time to respond and the researchers will tally
the results the next working day.

The data gathered from this research instrument were tallied for
interpretation according to the frequency of items selected by the respondents.

VI. STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF DATA

The following descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data gathered
from the respondents: frequency, percentage, and mean. The profile of the
respondents was analysed using the frequency and percentage and this goes with
the analysis of the respondents’ educational background and employment status.
The extent of curricular program contribution to graduates’ skills was analysed
using the mean.

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