| Abstract: | This research aimed at identifying the factors affecting self-employment of TVET
graduates of the St. Mary’s University College, through survey method involving both
quantitative and qualitative tools. Thus, questionnaire and interview instruments of data
collection were utilized. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select
respondents (i.e. 182 graduates’ students were drawn for the survey using the
questionnaire). The results revealed that 77.7 % of the TVET graduates of the SMUC
were wage employed and only 7.4% were self-employed. The rest, 14.9% were
unemployed. Thus, SMUC is successful in producing demand-driven skilled manpower to
the labor market though self-employment rate is very low. As to the factors affecting selfemployment
choice, it was found that 88.3% of the graduates and most of the instructors
had addressed it to the ‘lack of start-up capital’ which pushed the graduates to wage
employment alternative. In fact, the graduates could not access the credit service
opportunities which had been provided by the support service system, and in addition,
lack of market familiarity, lack of viable concept of business operation, and lack of
experience in managing and running a business are the other factors mentioned by the
graduates. Instructors also believed that graduates’ attitude towards self-employment,
lack of self-determination, lack of risk taking behavior were the major factors for wage
employment. Graduates also mentioned that hard work (100%), the need to achieve life
goal (97.3%) and self-determination (96.6%) had been considered as the first three
important factors of personality traits for self-employment. All the informants in the
interviews agreed that the trainers had lacked entrepreneurial training skills. Vocational
guidance and counseling service was also rated as medium and low by 58.7% of the
graduates, which implies a perceived weak service. Based on the findings, possible
solutions were drafted and recommended to concerned stakeholders. |
