Government Recruitment Programme for Unemployed Graduates and Issues: Lack of professional vision, mismatch of skills, and unsatisfied job roles
General characteristics of the process of appointing graduates to the government. Familiarity with the main problems and features of the state program of employment of unemployed graduates. Consideration of management decisions in the public sector.
| Рубрика | Экономика и экономическая теория |
| Вид | статья |
| Язык | английский |
| Дата добавления | 16.04.2022 |
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Government Recruitment Programme for Unemployed Graduates and Issues: Lack of professional vision, mismatch of skills, and unsatisfied job roles
Ramkrishnan Vivek
Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Business Studies Sri Lanka Technological Campus
Анотація
government employment public
Аналіз основних проблем функціонування державної програми працевлаштування безробітних випускників
Рамакрішнан Вівек, асистент викладача, технологічний кампус Шрі-Ланки, Шрі-Ланка;
Йогараджа Нантагопан, старший викладач факультету бізнес-досліджень Університету Вавунія, Шрі-Ланка;
Впродовж останніх років, після завершення президентських виборів у Шрі-Ланці, уряд дав передвиборну обіцянку працевлаштувати понад 50 000 випускників, яким була обіцяна робота. Проте, незважаючи на те, що ці зусилля заслуговують на похвалу, зіткнулися з багатьма проблемами з боку випускників через неякісне прийняття управлінських рішень у державному секторі, особливо серед політиків. Що стосується процесу призначення випускників в уряд, то випускники спочатку призначаються до відділень секретаріату, а потім наймаються на посади в уряді. Пропоновані посади не відповідають кваліфікаційному рівню претендентів, були запропоновані без відповідної співбесіди чи бесіди з кандидатом. Таким чином, пропозиції щодо подас, запропонованих урядом випускникам спричинили появу кількох практичних проблем, пов'язаних із перспективами подальшого кар'єрного росту випускників. Вибірка для дослідження складається з 20 випускників, які отримали нову державну роботу на Шрі-Ланці. У дослідженні були використані якісні методи: аналіз тексту, резюме та аналіз теми, що дозволило досліднику отримати більш повне уявлення про відповіді. Проведенне дослідження дало змогу виявими проблеми та отримати відповіді на запитання щодо перспектив подальшого карєрного росту випускників; відсутності професійного бачення, невідповідності навичок і незадоволеність отриманими посадами. Таким чином, дослідження практично сприяло ухваленню державними політиками відповідної системи та стратегій у державній програмі набору безробітних випускників.
Ключові слова: державна програма набору персоналу; призначення випускників; відсутність професійного бачення; невідповідність навичок; незадоволення посадою.
Abstract
In recent years, following the conclusion of the presidential elections in Sri Lanka, the government has launched an electoral pledge to employ more than 50,000 graduates who had been promised jobs. However, while the effort is laudable, it has run into many problems on the part of graduates as a result of poor governance decision-making in the public sector, particularly among policymakers. Concerning the graduate government appointment process, graduates are first assigned to the divisional secretariat offices and then recruited to fill government positions. The positions that have been offered are not consistent with the credential levels of the applicants, and the positions have been offered without a proper job interview or conversation with the candidate. Therefore, these graduate government positions raise several practical concerns related to the graduate perspective. The sample for the study consists of 20 graduates who have received new government jobs in Sri Lanka. The study adopted the qualitative methods; text analysis, summary, and topic analysis, which allowed the researcher to obtain a more complete understanding of the responses. The study has helped raise questions about graduates' perspectives, including lack of professional vision, skills mismatch, and unsatisfied job roles. Therefore, the study practically contributed to government policymakers adopting the appropriate system and strategies in the government's recruitment programme for unemployed graduates.
Keywords: government recruitment programme; graduate appointments; lack of professional vision; mismatch of skills; Article history: and unsatisfied j ob roles.
Introduction
The Sri Lankan government promised to address the unemployment problem faced by graduates by March 2020. After the government published letters of appointment for 40,000 unemployed graduates, the government has kept its promise (Daily News, 2020). A minister in the country said that "the previous government did not listen to protesters' complaints for many years." They were only treated with water and tear gas attacks, among many other things. Furthermore, the minister stressed that this government had no other measure than education and intelligence, and there was no discrimination as to whether the degrees were internal or external (Daily News, 2020). In addition, he said that the tea industry is going through its darkest era, and we have been able to address some of the issues facing the industry at this point. There should be no political parties involved in addressing these issues. We would expedite the concessions granted to this industry. " Likewise, the minister mentioned that we must twist it and turn it into one of the most successful income generators in our economy. However, there have been some problems due to the designation of these graduates in the country. This paper discusses the issues faced by graduates due to this government recruitment programme for unemployed graduates.
Several complaints have been received from the public and private organisations about the appointment of graduates. The National Graduate Centre (NGC) states that several candidates have been administered in selecting unemployed graduates for state jobs. Issuing a statement, the NGC said that the government has decided to issue letters of appointment, stating that the unemployed graduates were selected for the post of "development officers" (News First, 2020). There are a lot of arguments from the general public that should be noted that the government's overall graduate appointment programme is not efficient. It appears that the government's graduate appointment programme has not followed an appropriate scientific or strategic analysis. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the issues in government graduate appointments and make recommendations to the government to build effective systems and strategies in the future in line with the country's goals, both short-term and long-term.
Government policy was to recruit 50,000 unemployed graduates and create 100,000 jobs for those candidates who were selected from families from the lowest strata of society. The programme to employ 50,000 graduates and 100,000 low-income people was formulated a few weeks after the establishment of the new parliament. According to the government's policy statement on "vistas of prosperity and splendour," the goal of the programme is to transform Sri Lanka into a poverty-free country. The corresponding list of graduates eligible for employment has been published on the official website of the Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government. The respective ministry has letters of appointment for those who are selected immediately. The nominated candidates requested to appear before the closest Division Secretary. The programme to employ 100,000 low-income people has been implemented by the Task Force established solely for this purpose (Information and Communication Technology Unit, 2020).
Research problem
When considering the government's graduate appointment process, simply put, graduates are initially appointed to the divisional secretariat offices and then hired to fill government vacancies. Several practical problems can be seen in those government graduate appointments.
• The appointments assigned are not compatible with the degree of qualification of the candidates.
• These appointments have been awarded as electoral promises, and appropriate job duties and roles are not assigned to individuals who have been appointed under this program.
• A low salary of Rs. 20,000 is awarded to candidates who have degrees, and the salary of office clerks is higher than that amount.
• Most of the work done by newly appointed people is not productive for the country. For example, they have participated in the preparation of project reports, public data collection, etc., and the results of these activities are not used for the development of the country.
• Jobs have been given without a job interview and discussion with the candidate.
Therefore, the majority of graduates have not been satisfied with these graduate appointments due to appointments that created a lack of professional vision, skill mismatch, and dissatisfied job roles among graduates.
Literature Reviewю Genuine Commitment of the Government on Graduates appointment
Even though the idea of governance has been extensively debated among policymakers and academics, there is no important agreement on a single definition of governance and institutional excellence (Kaufmann et al., 2010; Fukuyama, 2016). Kaufmann and Kraay (2002) defined governance as "the traditions and structures through which power is exercised in a nation." They had three dimensions: (1) the procedure for selecting, monitoring, and replacing governments; (2) the government's ability to successfully develop and execute good policies; and (3) citizens and the state's regard for the institutions that regulate their economic and social relations.
The second component, which incorporates measures of government efficacy and regulatory quality, is very important in evaluating the quality of governance. The former covers views of the quality of public and civil services, as well as the degree of independence from political influence, policy formulation and execution quality, and the credibility of the government's adherence to such policies. The latter refers to the government's capacity to develop and execute good policies and regulations (Kaufmann et al., 2010). The third component emphasises the rule of law and corruption control. According to Rose-Ackerman (1999), corruption is the "misuse of public authority for private and political benefit." She sees it as an indication that something has gone wrong in the administration of the state and the institutions intended to regulate the interaction between citizens and the state. Instead, it is exploited for personal gain and to provide advantages to the corrupt.
According to Holmberg and Rothstein (2012), certain development outcomes, such as GDP growth and per capita income, are more strongly linked with the quality of state services, institutions, and governance than democracy. Similarly, it is said that people's satisfaction with government and service delivery is closely linked to the quality of government and bureaucracy (Dahlberg and Holmberg, 2014). According to Holmberg et al. (2009, p. 145), subjective health, GDP, per capita income, GDP growth, social security, happiness, and life satisfaction all have a positive connection with governance quality. By emphasising the Open Government Partnership and the Extractive Industries Openness Initiative, Fukuyama (2016) demonstrates the increasing importance of transparency and public engagement in governance as a method for enhancing institutional performance. This is based on the principal-agent theory and is intended to make politicians and bureaucrats responsible to citizens and voters.
Rothstein (2011), Rothstein and Teorell (2012), and Holmberg et al. (2009) all support the novel concept of "quality of government" (QoG), which demonstrates how high quality of government may provide economic and social development advantages. They believe that access to government authorities is the most important aspect of democracy, but QoG goes beyond that. Furthermore, low economic development and corruption are the results of poor-quality government organisations that execute and implement policies and regulations (Acemoglu et al., 2001; Knack and Keefer, 1997; Mauro, 1995). Noneconomic factors like subjective human well-being, pleasure, contentment, fairness, integrity, accountability, responsiveness, and transparency seem to be significantly influenced by QoG concepts. According to Huther and Shah (2005), "governance is a complex notion covering all elements of the exercise of power via official and informal institutions in the administration of a state's resource endowment." Thus, the effect of power exercised on the quality of life experienced by its people determines the quality of government (Rothstein and Teorell, 2008). Thus, QoG is accomplished when government employees do not consider anything that is not specified in policy and legislation while executing laws, policies, and programmes "(Rothstein and Teorell, 2008; Rothstein and Teorell, 2012). When QoG principles are followed, studies show that it is more likely to reduce corruption and improve public confidence in the government, authorities, and political players. As a result, the political system and government policies gain credibility.
According to Werlin (2003), emerging nations suffer more from poor governance than from a lack of resources. According to Hope (2009), developing nations must improve governance to address key issues such as corruption and poverty. In general, ethno-social fragmentation and dividers provide a challenge to governance in developing nations, which function in the context of numerous stakeholders, fragmentation, and entrenched interests. At the same time, centralization, authoritarianism, hierarchy, and inflexibility restrict the ability of various players to participate in decisions and implementation in developing nations (Samaratunge and Pillay, 2011; Narayan et al., 2000).
According to Haque (2001), unfavourable perceptions of the performance and integrity of political and administrative institutions may undermine people's confidence in governance and legitimacy. It is reasonable to claim that poor governance, along with widespread corruption, seems to have a larger effect on emerging nations' economic,
social, and human development (Holmberg et al., 2009; Akcay, 2006; Kaufmann, 2004). This theoretical framework will aid in explaining the current condition of governance in Sri Lanka by emphasising institutional degradation, excessive politicization, corruption, and quality. The following question was used to assess institutional trust: "I'm going to list a few organisations and institutions." Could you please tell me how much trust you have in each of them? " We assessed the quality of governance and corruption based on people's perceptions of public officials' trustworthiness and characteristics such as impartiality, neutrality, fairness, kindness, helpfulness, responsiveness, and honesty.
Government Challenges of graduates' appointments
Despite the adoption of New Public Management (NPM) reform measures in Sri Lanka's public administration, the execution of numerous policies shows the characteristics of patron-client relationships, which are still prevalent today. This is a typical trend in South Asia, where paternalism and informal relationships are intimately linked and have become firmly established in government structures (Jamil et al., 2015; Haque, 2001). The primary concerns of the reformers have been to improve the quality of governance by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector, to make the sector more responsive to citizens' demands and aspirations, to reduce public expenditures, and to increase political and administrative accountability (Christensen and Lgreid, 2011).
Although Sri Lanka continues to be in a better position in terms of human development, the country is still underdeveloped (ADB, 2014). Public governance does not take into consideration the interests of the general public, and public officials are not held responsible for their deeds. Sri Lanka's governance performance, as measured by metrics released by the World Bank and Transparency International, falls significantly below the global average on several problems. Sri Lanka, which has endured three decades of brutal war and authoritarian government in the past, faces enormous difficulties as a result of this.
When looking at the performance of the government and the metrics for Sri Lanka, it is clear that governance changes have had a limited effect owing to the deep - rooted institutional crises and degradation that exist in the country. Institutional, legal, and policy gaps are detrimental to governance as a result of the impact of paternalism in policymaking, which is prevalent in poor nations, and as a result of the influence of corruption in government (Haque, 2001). The effectiveness or impact of governance- related changes carried out via policy and institutional-based initiatives has also been criticised as being unevenly distributed. Changes in government in Sri Lanka have a significant impact on the continuity of government and public administration policies. Since independence, the nation has been governed by two main political parties (the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party), both with opposing political and economic philosophies. After a change of administration, it is unlikely that policy steps to improve governance implemented by one party would be maintained by the next government. With the adoption of the proportional representation system in 1978, the size of the government and the number of ministries increased to garner support and satisfy political friends on both sides of the political spectrum. In addition, several of
these ministries have overlapping duties and are fragmented, with ambiguous mandates, roles, and responsibilities.
Furthermore, resistance from political parties, labour unions, and other stakeholders continues to be a hindrance to the reorganisation and improvement of governance. This applies not just to Sri Lanka, but also to other developing nations that are attempting to improve the overall quality of governance (Samaratunge and Pillay, 2011). Appealingly, the administrative culture is still strong and well ingrained in many nations, where unofficial conventions and beliefs promote malpractices while formal processes are completely ignored (Baniamin, 2019). Because of the deeply ingrained culture of paternalism, changing policies and programmes will be unlikely to result in significant improvements in this environment. Institutional revolutions are thus required. In the case of Sri Lanka, informal norms, relationships, and values have taken over as the rule of the game, and they have broken through all barriers to safeguard the interests of the ruling elite. Furthermore, paternalism is a characteristic of informal relationships.
According to Schick (1998), "informality" is a mixed gift. On the one hand, it cuts through red tape, unresponsive bureaucracies, and poor policies; on the other hand, it opens the door to corruption and inefficiency (which may occasionally become institutionalized). Most administrations in recent history came to office on the promise of reforms to enhance the quality of governance, make institutions more transparent, responsible to the people, and less vulnerable to corruption. But few of these changes have been implemented. In many parts of its policy manifesto, including accountability and openness, the Ten-Year Horizon Development Framework (2006-2016) emphasised inefficiencies and the need for reform in the public administration system (ADB, 2007). It was anticipated that this approach would aid in the reorientation of public service, the reduction of procedural delays and structural inefficiencies in public institutions, and the creation of responsiveness to the need for high-quality services. These pledges were not followed through in a way that would have assisted in improving the quality of governance and increasing people's confidence in the government.
Why Graduates joining in the graduates' appointments. Lack of skills
The current programme includes a three-month course that includes leadership training in Army camps, management lectures at universities, and a final project, which is not in line with the roles of graduates entering the public sector. Graduates require improved training to be prepared for their future work responsibilities, whether they join a public or private organisation (Chandrasekar, 2011). Training and development are about gaining understanding, information, skills, techniques, and practices. Training and development are essential in human resource management because they may improve individual, group, and corporate performance. Companies are increasingly concerned with organisational learning and, as a consequence, collective growth (Suthar et al., 2014). Sims (2002) claims that training and development benefit both the business and the employees. While training and development increase work knowledge and abilities at all levels of the company, it also promotes employee morale and helps employees identify with the firm's strategic goals. It helps employees make better decisions and solve problems more effectively. It helps them develop self-confidence and self-esteem. It helps them deal with stressful situations and resolve conflicts more effectively. It helps them achieve personal goals while improving their job satisfaction and recognition. Sims (2006). Furthermore, according to Barzegar and Shahroz (2011), training improves employee and organisational performance by increasing output quality and quantity, lowering costs and increasing profits. All of this may be achieved through updating one's behavior, abilities, and talents to better match future job needs.
Permanent job /job security
Orientation helps new workers learn their duties and the company's rules and procedures. However, no induction programme for new graduates has been established. When a new employee enters the firm, they are quickly introduced to the company's culture and procedures while also being made socially comfortable and informed of their professional responsibilities. The application form must be completed first to appropriately welcome new employees and prepare them for their duties. An induction is a programme that introduces new employees to the company's culture and shows them how interconnected they are. The hiring process varies depending on the sector, job type, and seniority of the incoming employee. Unlike onboarding, which is usually a long-term, logical process, this usually lasts a week or two. Induction training is designed to familiarise new employees with the company's systems and procedures. Introduce new employees to the business and they will feel more at ease and belong (Dragomiroiu, Hurloiu, and Mihai, 2014).
Because induction is the first training session for new employees, the business may save money and time. They give all the information required to commence their job. With adequate training, the person may quickly adjust to their new job and start generating results. This saves organisations a lot of money and time (Dragomiroiu, Hurloiu, and Mihai, 2014). As a result, employees are more likely to engage in good interpersonal relationships with co-workers. This process includes an introduction to his or her immediate boss, co-workers, and all other organisation members. Communication improvements will help them accomplish this objective. With proper induction training, a new employee may be seamlessly integrated into a company. Using the literature, problem descriptions, and other material in this paper, the following issues may be identified: short-term thinking; A long-term view is difficult in Sri Lanka since the country's policy changes with each new government. While one government develops and implements tactics, another maintains possession of those plans and utilises them to implement their policies. In the public sector, this deficiency affects the employment and career development of degree holders.
Status
Unnecessary political interference: Politicians and high-government officials have considerable influence and meddle in graduate selections. Important appointments are made based on political recommendations, and those nominated by politicians get special treatment. The existing systems are not fully suitable for the Sri Lankan scenario due to Sri Lanka's lack of a national framework. Reduced government-to- government integration: In Sri Lanka, strategic planning is done ministry by ministry, and the connections between plans are difficult to perceive from the outside. As a result, the government's numerous departments lack cooperation. Misconducted indoctrination and training: No formal induction or training was given for newly appointed graduates, instead of teaching centred on divisional secretariat offices. Because it is a general training programme, it is not customised to the specific role each candidate would play inside the business (Dragomiroiu, Hurloiu, and Mihai, 2014).
Issues of graduates' appointments
Sri Lanka's education system is not highly focused on the labour market, and there are many additional problems. As a result, graduates from state universities are unable to find work in the private sector because they lack the necessary skills that are in demand in the market. Many instances may be found in the field to demonstrate that problems exist in the educational system. In contemporary culture, there are many unemployed graduates, particularly those with arts degrees. Sri Lankan universities are overburdened with radical politics and needless conflicts; tertiary education curriculums are out of date; and so on. Many standards have been developed and implemented to address these concerns. Strengthening university ties, upgrading the curriculum to a particular level to suit labour market demands, public-private partnerships Introducing ICT abilities, English programs, and so forth. In the current context, tertiary education is confronted with three main problems, which comprise a lack of responsiveness of the education system to labour market requirements, disparities in access to quality education, and a lack of technical education and vocational training (Tharmaseelan, 2007).
During the past decade, there has been a great deal of attention paid to the mismatch between the abilities acquired via school and the needs of the labour market. The government has declared unequivocally that participation in the higher education system would be made available to the non-state sector, including the establishment of affiliated universities in Sri Lanka by international institutions of higher learning. In any case, there is a misalignment when it comes to rising unemployment among school graduates combined with an increasing need for skilled and semiskilled employees, and this misalignment is there. The majority of young school graduates find themselves in a less-prepared state, having received neither enough academic nor vocational preparation to be successful in the workforce. As a result, it is critical to reduce the disparity between work market abilities and educational qualifications. Steps may be taken by that government in the following areas: (Tharmaseelan, 2007; Perera, 2009). A significant shake-up of higher education institutions should be undertaken to improve quality, among other things. Re-establishing competition as a critical element in filling faculty positions, creating and vigorously enforcing a higher level of quality for new higher education institutions; and re-establishing competition as a critical component in filling academic positions.
Despite significant inequalities in access to high-quality education, Sri Lanka has managed to attain a high level of literacy via the provision of high-quality educational facilities. Sri Lanka does not have a good level of proficiency in science, mathematics, and computer literacy. Sri Lanka's efforts have been mainly focused on basic education, especially secondary school, with considerably less attention being paid to higher education levels. The nation will need to enhance its ICT-based educational system, as well as its effective teaching methods and higher levels of education in key topics for the associated workforce. At present, there is nothing available to those who do not possess ICT expertise. As a result, everyone must learn how to use a computer.
Several initiatives have been undertaken as part of the "Education for National Plan Sri Lanka" to enhance the quality of education. School Rationalization is a step in the direction of the universalization of education. It is the exercise of school rationalization, which has been carried out on a phased-out basis since the year 2000 and represents a significant shift in the whole country's educational system (Tharmaseelan, 2007; Perera, 2009). As a result of the scarcity of technical education and vocational training (TEVT), the current TEVT system, in general, is not directed toward the development of market - oriented skills, resulting in many graduates being jobless for extended periods after finishing their training programmes. Because of the confluence of an ineffective education system and diminishing job opportunities, students are increasingly inclined to advance further up the educational ladder in an attempt to obtain employment in urban areas, as job opportunities become scarcer as regards the number of applicants. Students, on the other hand, are increasingly joining the ranks of "educated unemployment" with each passing year. In 2013, the government designated the school's new A/L subject stream as a technology stream, intending to create individuals who are both in need and competent in the area of technology (Tharmaseelan, 2007; Perera, 2009).
Methodology Research design
A qualitative research design was used in this study. Data under the qualitative research design has been analysed using texts, summarization, and thematic analysis.
Moreover, the qualitative research design was selected since it makes it easy to collect data from graduates and analyse them. Moreover, qualitative research design does not limit the answers of the respondent, and through interviews and open-ended questions, a more broad view of the responses can be obtained (Jilcha, 2019; Adedoyin, 2020).
Research approach
As identified in the previous section, a thematic framework has been developed by the researcher using existing sources: lack of long-term vision, unnecessary political intervention, Sri Lanka does not have its own structure.Inadequate integration of government, institutions, and departments; inadequate induction and training.That means data collection and analysis for this study has been limited to those five variables. Then, the deductive approach was used in this study (Jilcha, 2019; Adedoyin, 2020).
Research strategy
A survey research strategy was used in this study. In a survey, a predefined population or sample should be available, and data should be collected from such a sample. In this study, graduates who get new appointments from the government constitute the population, and the researcher will collect data from 20 respondents in Sri Lanka.
Population and sample.
In this study, for graduates who get new appointments from the government, the researcher collected data from 20 respondents in Sri Lanka.
Data collection and data analysis.
Data has been collected from 20 respondents using interviews. The data will be analysed using the summarization method initially, and it will summarise the responses made by 20 graduates.
Then, it has been categorised into themes following the thematic analysis. (Castillo, 2014; Adedoyin, 2020).
Ethical considerations
Under ethical considerations, respondents will be given the right to withdraw from the survey at any time, and the researcher will not collect any identifiable data from respondents. Moreover, collected data has been used only for academic purposes; it has not been used for any political or commercial purpose (Castillo, 2014).
Findings and Discussions
Data for this study was gathered using an open-ended questionnaire from twenty (20) development officers who were recently appointed to the government job intake. The researcher recorded the interviews and transcribed the voice recordings into English texts. Then the researcher carefully analysed the transcriptions for coding to identify the themes.
Thematic Analysis (TA) is a method for identifying and analysing patterns of meaning in a dataset. It illustrates which themes are important in the description of the phenomenon. The result of a thematic analysis should highlight the most salient constellations of meanings present in the dataset. Such constellations include affective, cognitive, and symbolic dimensions. If one were looking at how those who do not take up the services of mental health professionals view them, for example, a thematic analysis of interviews with a carefully chosen sample of such people would reveal how they represent the various mental health professionals. This, in turn, would reveal what keeps them away from the services offered by those such as psychotherapists and psychologists. Thus, thematic analysis can tap into the manifest and latent drivers concerning an issue such as the uptake of mental health professional services.
Since a TA refers to themes, the notion of a theme must be examined more closely. A theme refers to a specific pattern of meaning found in the data. It can contain manifest content, which is something directly observable, such as mentions of stigma across a series of interview transcripts. Alternatively, it can contain more latent content, such as references in the transcripts that refer to stigma implicitly via mentions of maintaining social distance from a particular group, such as certain mental health professionals. Specific criteria for what can and cannot be coded within such themes must be specified; otherwise, this type of content is highly subjective. Themes are thus patterns of explicit and implicit content. Thematic analyses tend to draw on both types of themes. Often, one can identify a set of manifest themes that point to a more latent level of meaning. The deduction of latent meanings underpinning sets of manifest themes requires interpretation. Verbal interview (or focus group) data or textual newspaper data tend to be at the root of thematic research. However, open-ended responses to questionnaire items, diaries, video material, images, and essays can also be thematically analysed (Joffe, 2012).
Based on the TA, the researcher identified the below themes through this study.
Figure 1 - Themes based on Thematic analyses
Lack of career vision
A country's development depends on its education, and the development is reflected in the country's wealth and prosperity. The main goal of universities is to develop and produce individuals with the soft and hard skills needed to meet career expectations. Universities also play a vital role in producing intellectuals, inclusive of both academic and professional needs (Ambepitiya, 2016). According to the participants, most of the recruitment of trainee development officers (DO) had unspecified job roles.
One respondent stated, "Soon after the recruitment, all trainees were included in organised training in the public sector, projects, and leadership. The trainees were divided into groups to follow the above training. But due to the pandemic situation, only one phase of training was conducted. Trainees were asked to provide the relevant tasks by the departments. However, the departments informed us that we would be recruited again for teaching, yet that also didn't happen until the time of this interview (R1 PV).
Another respondent stated, "According to the schedule, trainees are expected to complete their training by this September. Then only would we know whether we are placed in the Trainee DO position or moved to teach. Until then, trainee DOs are required to stay in the DS offices and meet the allocated tasks then and there without any schedules (R5 PV).
The researcher identifies that career vision at the crucial point in the designation itself and for the recruited individuals as well. According to the review of the interviews, careers are filled just to fill the carders' positions, and in some places, they are overwhelmed with recruitment. The supply via recruitment didn't match the demand in the government sectors. If so, the recruited positions would have been designed with career visions, and the proper objectives and selection must have been screened to match the individual's career vision as well as the scope of the designations. However, not all the interviewees had the same experiences as above.
There was only one respondent who stated, "that the position has scope. The interviewee said that being an accountant was her career goal, and the position was also provided to the accounts department. Therefore, the interviewee felt the recruitment had fallen into the right place. There are many branches in the accounting department; therefore, the position is given on a shift basis to visit all the branches to learn. Therefore, it is easy to learn from other departments as well as to gain knowledge in each sector of this department. The interviewee further expressed the trust that during the permanent appointment, the placement would be suitable for the subject related. This interviewee's opinion was that these kinds of trainee DO recruitments intend to know every sector in the government departments to fit in whenever required (R10 LCV).
Another interesting factor identified in this theme was the geographical location of the interviewees. DOs from Eastern provinces revealed that, based on their study, most private sector opportunities are concentrated in Western provinces. Private job scope is very small in the eastern province. Though it is considered to be a coastal area and has been identified for tourism, the hotel sector is only recently developed here. Businesses or activities related to event management and tourism do not have a proper market. Because of the personal commitments towards the family, the job preference was forced to be selected in the Eastern Province. The degree was specifically for event management. However, without any choice, the DO recruitment forced me to choose between general management or administration. Hence, there isn't any scope for a career at the personal level. This recruitment has less contribution to achieving personal and positional career growth.
The interviews identified few DOs who were willing to learn new things and adapt to new scopes in their recruitment apart from the study fields. This seems to create new career opportunities with their desires. However, gender also had an impact on having a career vision. Because marriage is considered to be a challenging decision to make, whether to continue the recruited position or to continue the personal vision. When transfers are offered in this DO recruitment, there may be opportunities to terminate the position.This is evident in terms of gender, where power in decision-making has the negative influence of getting hold of their desired career or creating a career path after recruitment. On the other hand, because of their age, youngsters tend to rush into recruitment without having a proper career plan or vision. Until the age limit for applying to the government, young people preferred to work in the private sector, and then, as a retirement plan for pension and permanence, they changed their exposures to government opportunities.
Regardless of the career path and career vision, elections also play a vital role in recruiting trainee DOs in the DS offices to show that they have met the social unemployment issues. So when the government rules, unemployment protests or problems will not rise to disturb their political agenda. This bulk recruitment increases the crowded environment inside the office spaces, and the trainee DOs are recruited for five years, which is normally the ruling period of the government. Recruitment for trainee DOs took place last year in March, and temporarily they were asked to stay back due to the pandemic situation until September. However, the salaries were also not paid as promised.
When the career focus is not in place, trainee DOs try to use the opportunities whenever they get to get a government job. For example, one of the interviewees stated that
"Myprevious aim was to become a doctor, but unfortunately, during my secondary school I didn't pass in the bio stream. I sat for a second time and failed again because of the conflict in the country. Then, for the third time, I changed my mind and did my exam in the Arts stream and received good results in that. Now the aim is to become a teacher. However, now I have been recruited as a trainee DO. I think this trainee position will provide the opportunity to achieve my aim, but even if I don't get such a teaching opportunity, I will go ahead with this. "
According to the researcher, this statement shows a lack of career guidance, career focus, and career path in achieving one person's aim. Our school education system does not allow students to work based on their capabilities and desires. Most of the time, they are preoccupied with their exam results rather than contributing to the decision-making process that will lead them to their goal. Especially when it comes to stream selection at advanced levels in the school system, students are guided to select the stream based on peer pressure or parental influences. Therefore, it sometimes clogs the personal abilities of another stream. Therefore, students tend to select streams and opportunities depending on the context that they have to pass on.
It was also noticed that until foreign migration, there was a desire to get experience in the government field. similar to job hunting in other sectors to have better jobs immediately after recruitment. Based on the interview, the lack of a screening system to provide an opportunity to the most suitable candidates based on their scope when recruitment occurs.
Stability of employment
Many respondents pointed out that the government job has job security as it is a permanent job. The trainee DOs had the perception that within government recruitment, employees can get different jobs in different ways through sitting for service exams. The exams are designed to be open and limited. Anyone under 30 years of age can enter the open competitive exams.
According to the participants, the exams are quite tough for individuals who are under 30 years of age. Another way to sit for the service exam is to take the limited exam. Limited exams extend eligibility for staff who are already in government jobs. According to the DOs within those 5 years, this DO experience was also taken into account. Though the interviewed DOs thought they had some scope in these, their main objective was to have this job for pension purposes.
Participants also felt instability about establishing their own business due to this pandemic, which pushed them to accept the opportunity in the government sector. Due to the pandemic, DOs preferred to work in their home towns. Therefore, even though the scope is in other districts, especially in western provinces, participants were willing to take these DO positions as it is cost-effective to work from their districts with permanent settlements and job security, whether they like the job or not. However, the
interviewees stated that their current employment is a trainee position and they will be designated as DOs after a year of experience, at which point the work will be permanent. Therefore, the main intention is to be permanent in the government sector. Some trainee DOs were waiting approximately 5 years to get this job.
Based on the no unemployment in this country concept by the new government, newly recruited trainee DOs received government jobs. The goal of these recruitments was to alleviate graduates' struggles with unemployment. the interviewee's point of view, during the previous government, they failed to keep their promises. The trainees were requested to report to work even during pandemic situations, and other staff were on the roster. This motivated the trainees to believe that their positions would be permanent.
According to the trainees, the private sector is more pressured, and government jobs are less under pressure. Therefore, the trainees' perceptions were to work leisurely to complete their work in the government sector. Getting paid on time in the government sector attracted private sector youngsters to apply for these trainee positions. However, the positions will be permanent after a year from the trainee's appointment. Though the private salary scales are higher than in the government sector, the lack of job security pushed the youngsters to apply to the government sector.
According to Liyanage, Kumara, and Withanawasam (2017), after graduation, many studies have suggested that the average waiting period is from 5 months to 5 years to have a stable job opportunity. The employment rate was calculated to be 58% in 2017, which was soon after the graduates passed out. Based on the research by Liyanage, Kumara, and Withanawasam (2017), it takes nearly a year to find employment related to their degree-level qualification.
Academic qualification and working skills mismatch (Underemployment)
Employability can be defined as the propensity of students to obtain a job (Ambepitiya, 2016). The trainee DOs had internal and external degrees in the streams of B. Com, B.A, accounting, hospitality, tourism, and event management. However, due to unemployment and as a fresher to getting into private employment, when the government pulled the graduate appointments, regardless of the academic backgrounds and skills the trainees gained in the universities, getting employment for many personal conveniences other than skills and age limits encouraged the trainees to get into the DO recruitments.
The researcher found that the employment didn't deploy the trainees based on the expertise area, nor was it already planned for such positions in the departments. The job responsibilities were irrelevant, so the recruitment was not relevant to their degrees. However, only a few took this as a positive and showed their interest in learning about other related jobs apart from the field where others had dissatisfaction with their job responsibilities. The relevant job function in the future is also a question mark for many trainee DOs. Some trainees stated that they are willing to move to other relevant departments based on their skills, while others hoped that they would get a suitable job for their academic qualifications during their permanency.
In the meantime, according to the trainee DOs, after the recruitment, the procedure of dividing the trainees for filed jobs to work with field staff such as GS and other field officers also didn't occur through proper criteria. So they broke into teams randomly to work in the fields, so the trainee DOs felt their learned skills were abundant in the application at the field level. Here, researchers understand that the government's cost of 13 years of education and nearly 4 to 5 years of academic education was not applied in an effective way to get sustainable output through the trainee DOs. On the other hand, the efficacy of the workforce will have a negative impact when the trainees begin to learn new things that they have never learnt or learned during their academics.
The trainee DOs' perception is that government jobs are mainly administrative- related jobs. Therefore, they believe that even though they are provided with different irrelevant tasks, they will be given related administrative jobs. At the same time, they also confessed that there is no guarantee that they will get such opportunities in the future. The current trainee period jobs include tasks such as completing or compiling documents for licence work, document preparations, report writing, and data collection. There isn't any set of tasks given to do it daily. According to the trainee DOs, the tasks are given then and there. Therefore, they have to open themselves to learning at any time.
They ask us to do things like licence works, write documents, and write reports in our department.Are you asking about that or not? We are new to our department. We don't know what work we need to do there. So, we need to work on self-learning. On the other hand, the trainees expressed that they are discouraged from doing such work and are unsatisfied with their jobs. There is a division among the internal and external degree holders in these appointments. The internal degree holders pointed out that external degree holders are eligible to have these kinds of employment opportunities as they mostly study from home rather than spending full time on their education. So, external degree holders are expected to learn in the fields as well. Internal degrees are much more in-depth in education; therefore, holders of internal degrees must have more specific jobs.Anyhow, based on the research data, the researcher identified that regardless of the type of degree, such as internal or external, any individual who is active, energetic, and with a motivated mindset may also gradually go into a negative stage due to internal appointments with a lack of scope.
OKAY!Most of the time, that is not possible; in our government system, providing suitable jobs for all is a question, but if they say yes, we may be done.generation knows and has some ideas about the government system, so it may be possible in the future. Yes. It is suitable for us. It's mostly just like that. Someone can be suitable who has completed an external degree. To me, that job is not suitable. Half of us (internal degree students) will say something like this. because they might be working in an interesting job or because they expected the interesting job to help them achieve their goalFrom my words, I am not satisfied with this job.
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