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Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life

This study examined the influence of work experience on polytechnic students’ expectations of working life, and the extent to which these expectations resemble known characteristics of Generation Y. The survey involved 147 polytechnic students (62.6% with and 37.4% without work experience). The resu...

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Main Authors: Ooi, Kien Bee, Ting, Su Hie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ISLAMIC WORLD Network for Environmental Science and Technology 2015
Subjects:
HM Sociology
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14293/1/Su-Hie%20Ting.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14293/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290998429_Work_Experience_and_Polytechnic_Students'_Expectations_of_Working_Life
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spelling my.unimas.ir.142932023-11-02T06:54:36Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14293/ Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life Ooi, Kien Bee Ting, Su Hie HM Sociology This study examined the influence of work experience on polytechnic students’ expectations of working life, and the extent to which these expectations resemble known characteristics of Generation Y. The survey involved 147 polytechnic students (62.6% with and 37.4% without work experience). The results showed that their salary expectations were unrealistic. Most of the polytechnic students believed that they would find their first job through job advertisements or personal contacts but those with work experience were more likely to work for someone they knew. Both groups believed that qualification, English proficiency and personality are important in securing their first job but they considered family background to be irrelevant. The students with work experience were more correct in their assessment of the importance of work experience to their would-be employers. The results showed that the polytechnic students exhibited the characteristics of Generation Y, and there are no significant differences between the two groups. They expect their employers to guide them in their new job and to provide affirmative feedback. They also expect to engage in more group work than individual work. However, they have not given much thought to whether they would make sacrifices to meet project deadlines or whether they would be leaders or followers in their new workplace. The findings suggest that Generation X employers may have to accommodate to the expectations of their Generation Y employees, rather than expect them to fit into the old ways of working. ISLAMIC WORLD Network for Environmental Science and Technology 2015 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14293/1/Su-Hie%20Ting.pdf Ooi, Kien Bee and Ting, Su Hie (2015) Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life. Journal of Technical and Vocational Education, 1 (2). pp. 1-8. ISSN 0888-8639 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290998429_Work_Experience_and_Polytechnic_Students'_Expectations_of_Working_Life
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
building Centre for Academic Information Services (CAIS)
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
content_source UNIMAS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://ir.unimas.my/
language English
topic HM Sociology
spellingShingle HM Sociology
Ooi, Kien Bee
Ting, Su Hie
Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life
description This study examined the influence of work experience on polytechnic students’ expectations of working life, and the extent to which these expectations resemble known characteristics of Generation Y. The survey involved 147 polytechnic students (62.6% with and 37.4% without work experience). The results showed that their salary expectations were unrealistic. Most of the polytechnic students believed that they would find their first job through job advertisements or personal contacts but those with work experience were more likely to work for someone they knew. Both groups believed that qualification, English proficiency and personality are important in securing their first job but they considered family background to be irrelevant. The students with work experience were more correct in their assessment of the importance of work experience to their would-be employers. The results showed that the polytechnic students exhibited the characteristics of Generation Y, and there are no significant differences between the two groups. They expect their employers to guide them in their new job and to provide affirmative feedback. They also expect to engage in more group work than individual work. However, they have not given much thought to whether they would make sacrifices to meet project deadlines or whether they would be leaders or followers in their new workplace. The findings suggest that Generation X employers may have to accommodate to the expectations of their Generation Y employees, rather than expect them to fit into the old ways of working.
format Article
author Ooi, Kien Bee
Ting, Su Hie
author_facet Ooi, Kien Bee
Ting, Su Hie
author_sort Ooi, Kien Bee
title Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life
title_short Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life
title_full Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life
title_fullStr Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life
title_full_unstemmed Work Experience and Polytechnic Students’ Expectations of Working Life
title_sort work experience and polytechnic students’ expectations of working life
publisher ISLAMIC WORLD Network for Environmental Science and Technology
publishDate 2015
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14293/1/Su-Hie%20Ting.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14293/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290998429_Work_Experience_and_Polytechnic_Students'_Expectations_of_Working_Life
_version_ 1781710370440740864
score 13.211869

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