Employability Skills for Technical Students

This assignment delves into the crucial link between employability skills and career adaptability among technical school students. It examines various research articles that analyze the development and importance of these skills in preparing graduates for successful careers. Students are expected to critically evaluate the presented studies, understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by technical institutions in fostering employability within their student population.

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Set of own responsibilities and performance objectives..................................................1
1.2 Evaluation of own effectiveness against the defined objectives......................................2
1.3 Recommendation for improvement..................................................................................3
1.4 Use of motivational techniques to improve the quality of performance..........................4
P2 Development of interpersonal and transferable skills................................................................5
2.1- Developing solutions to work based problems...............................................................5
2.2 Communication in variety of style at various levels and manners at various levels .....6
2.3 Effective time management strategies..............................................................................7
Task 3 Employees induction pack...................................................................................................8
3.1 Roles to be played in a team and achievement of goals..................................................8
3.2 Analyse team dynamic.....................................................................................................9
3.3 Alternative ways to achieve the task and achieve team goals........................................10
Task 4 Formal management report................................................................................................10
4.1 Evaluation of tools and method for development of solution for the employee turnover10
4.2 Appropriate strategy to reduce the labour turnover in the Travelodge hotel.................11
4.3 Potential impact of the strategy on the business of implementing the strategy..............12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
It is highly been accepted the employees should have some skills and potential that can
enable them to attain growth and development within the organisation. In the organisation every
job has contains different skills and responsibilities that require different kind of employability
skills. This report will have focus on the employability skills required in the Travelodge hotel to
perform the job in HR department. Here the role of employability skills in the HR department
has been explained in effective manner. Further the work based problems and their solutions has
also discussed in this report. The time-management strategies are also taken in to consideration.
At last the role of employees in a team has also taken in to special consideration.
1.1 Set of own responsibilities and performance objectives
In an organisation there are various set of responsibilities performed by the employees.
Each and every employee has a certain set of responsibilities according to their job position or
the flow of delegation of authority in the organisation ((De Guzman and Choi, 2013)
). These set of responsibilities are classified in various terms such as:
Personal responsibilities: Responsibility which has a direct or indirect relationship with
a person employee in an organisation. As a new employee in Travelodge hotel we have to
develop analyse the job responsibilities and has to set the criteria to achieve such performance
level. As an employee in HR department of Travelodge hotel we have developed some job
responsibilities related to work. Such as:
 Proper identification of requirement of manpower in the organisation.
 Development of job descriptions and specifications for each job profile.
 Hiring of qualified employees through proper application of Process of recruitment &
selection.
 Application of proper decision-making process and skills.
 Analysis of competencies of existing employees through various methods such as
performance appraisal (Benson, Morgan and Filippaios, 2014).
 Training and development of employees within the organisation.
 Development of proper communication at work place.
 Protection of employment rights and responsibilities.
 Development of rules and regulations at work place by analysing the legislations.
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 Development of ethical environment at workplace.
On the basis of above job responsibilities we have developed SMART performance
objectives for an employee of HR of Travelodge hotel. These such as:
 Recruitment of right personnel at the right job.
 To achieve the set standards.
 To monitor the employees in the organisation.
 To reduce the cost of the company (Jones, 2013).
 Retention of qualified personnel.
 Implementation of successful projects and initiatives.
 Achievement of the vision, mission, goals and objectives within a specified period of
time.
1.2 Evaluation of own effectiveness against the defined objectives.
After the development of responsibilities and performance objectives of HR employee of the
Travelodge hotel we have done an evaluation of effectiveness required to accomplish those
objectives. Effectiveness refers to the required level of knowledge, skills and abilities to perform
the job. There are various techniques to evaluate effectiveness such as;
Performance appraisal: It is a method used to evaluate the effectiveness and
performance level of the employee through:
 Review of performance of employee.
 Monitoring of performance objectives
 Analysis of salary level of the employee.
 Analysis of fringe benefits of employee.
 Identification of strength and weaknesses
Training need identification: It is a technique we have used to evaluate the
effectiveness of employee in the organisation. An identification of need of training to perform
the job to accomplish the defined objectives through:
 Through the observation of employee (Rao, 2014).
 Setting of performance appraisal criteria.
 Through proper communication with the employee. By taking interview of its line manager.
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Rating Methods: These are the methods which are used to assigned rating and for the
evaluation of effectiveness of employee towards the defined objectives or goals. These rating
methods are as follows:
 Ranking method: It is traditional method which used to evaluate the effectiveness. In
this method we have to assign rank to the employee from the highest to lowest level of
performance.
 Paired comparison: In this method we have compared the employee of HR of
Travelodge hotel with each and every employee. The number of times the employee is
compared as better with others will determine its final ranking.
 Checklist method: In this method of evaluation we have prepared a series of statement
containing question with yes or no (Tymon, 2013). This check list is presented to the rate
to tick as appropriate answers given by the employee. On the basis of that result
effectiveness is evaluated.
 Management by objectives: This is a modern method of evaluation which have used. In
this we have analysed the four main steps such as goal setting, performance comparison
and periodic review of effectiveness.
1.3 Recommendation for improvement
After the development of responsibilities and performance of the employee of the HR
department of Travelodge hotel. We have done an evaluation of effectiveness of employee with
the objectives which we have defined. For the improvement of this process we have to introduce
the various things such as different methods to understand the performance level of the employee
and by providing him feedback we can enhance its effectiveness. In this method of evaluation we
have to introduce another methods such as:
 Grading Method: This is a traditional method we should use for correct evaluation of
performance of the employee. In this method we should provide grades to the employee
on the basis of three categories such as: outstanding, satisfactory and unsatisfactory
(Deeley, 2014). On the basis of grades evaluation is being done.
 Field review method: For the correct evaluation of performance we can use this method
of evaluation. In this method a proper review of employee performance while working at
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the field or its work place. This is the most appropriate method to understand the
performance level of employee.
After an analysis of these methods we have recommended that a manager should use
these methods to improve the performance level or the level of effectiveness of the employees in
the organisation. For the improvement of performance level of the employee or for the
attainment of predetermined objectives we accomplish correct evaluation so that the task must be
accomplished and level of performance must be achieved. We should use these methods because
the other methods which are used sometimes get inappropriate results, time consuming,
irrelevant in evaluation of performance.
1.4 Use of motivational techniques to improve the quality of performance
Increasing motivation of employees at the workplace is necessary to improve the level of
effectiveness, competencies, capabilities and increase in quality of performance level of the
employee. For the purpose of improvement of performance of the employee of HR department of
Travelodge hotel we have used certain techniques of motivation to improve the quality of
performance. These motivational techniques are mentioned above:
1. Compensation: This is a most important technique of motivation. For the improvement
of the quality by this technique we should give proper compensation to the employee.
We will provide monetary and non-benefits to the employee. We will provide him fringe
benefits other than salary to improve the quality (Sung and et.al., 2013). The travel lodge
company must be aware about the compensation paid to the employee. An increment in
compensation must be given to the after some time break such as quarterly, half yearly,
yearly.
2. Recognition: In all the organisations the recognition of employees is most significant.
With relevance to the travel lodge hotel, for the improvement of Quality of performance
of the recognition is must be necessary. It means that we have to recognize the efforts,
strengths and have to ignore his weaknesses. Every employee must have an aim that the
company must recognise his efforts and should appreciate him about his performance. So
for the improvement of the quality of performance of the employee we must provide him
recognition at the board meetings or either by organising some activities.
3. Engagement: Another technique used to motivate the employee towards the job.
Participation of employee is significant to understand the requirement of employee from
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the job. In this context, we will engage the employee of HR in the activities of hotel so
that it may provide some suggestions. His suggestion must be important to reduce the
cost of company. The employee must get motivated if his ideas must get some
recognition or acceptance.
 Independence or freedom: The employees must get motivated if the company provide
him freedom to perform his task or job role. The independence at work means the
employee must an opportunity to take decision or give some task to the subordinates or
his peers to perform (Abas-Mastura, Imam and Osman, 2013). In the Travelodge we
should provide this technique so that the employee must perform at high level. We will
provide him freedom to take the decisions related to be other employees so that he must
take some decisions to retain the other employees. By the delegation pf freedom he will
get motivated his quality of performance will improve.
P2 Development of interpersonal and transferable skills.
2.1- Developing solutions to work based problems
There are many solutions which are being developed to resolve the work based problems.
An efficiency in the verbal and nonverbal communication such as openness, correct body
language, proper response are used to solve the work related problems. To resolve the conflicts
or problems proper feedback must be given or taken from our peers. We should use information
communication and technology to develop an effective communication. After conducting an
analysis of the hotel we found two work based problems which are most common at work place.
These two problems must be recognised always which are as follows:
A) Lack of coordination at workplace: Coordination in the organisation is the key to
success. If there is a lack coordination in the work between the employees then it will affect the
level of performance or accomplishment of task or responsibilities. As an Employee of HR of the
Travelodge hotel, it is recognised that there is a lack of coordination between the employees. To
improve the coordination between the employees we have developed some solutions (Ju and
et.al., 2014).
B) Lack of communication: This is a most common work based problems which we
have identified in the Travelodge hotel that there is no proper communication between the
employees. Communication is most important factor in the organisation. If the employees will
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not communicate with each other it will affect the work of the hotel and also effect the level of
performance of employees also.
For resolving this problem of communication gap we have develop some solutions such
as:
 Development of understanding between the employees.
 Organizing various activities which requires team work.
 Conducting a proper communication between the employees.
 Development of interpersonal relationship.
 Providing equal opportunities to the employees at the same level.
2.2 Communication in variety of style at various levels and manners at various levels
To,
The Senior manager,
Travelodge hotel,
Subject: Communicating information about the work based problems.
Respected sir,
As per the above mentioned subject it is to inform you that as an employee of the
HR Department of this hotel. It is our duty to manage the employees of this hotel. We have
conducted an analysis of work in the hotel to identify the problems which are faced by the
employees in the organisation. And after conducting the analysis we have recognised that there
are two main work based problems which are faced by the employees (McKinnon, 2013).
A) Lack of coordination between the employees at work place.
B) Lack of communication between the employees of the hotel
And we have also recognise that these problems if not considered and resolved earlier then it will
affect the work of the hotel and also affect the relationship between the hotel staff.
So after an analysis of these two problems we have applied some solutions to resolve these
problems. And we want to convey you the solutions.
 Organizing various activities which requires team work.
 Conducting formal and informal communication between the employees of hotel staff.
 Development of interpersonal relation between the employees.
 Providing equal compensation to the employees at the same level.
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 Developing understanding between the employees.
So these are the steps which are taken by us and have been communicated to you.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully
Team HR
Memorandum to employees
Date 25/07/17
Subject Informing about the work based problems.
From HR Department
Company Travelodge hotel
To All employees
Company Travelodge hotel
It is to inform all the employees that we have conducted an analysis of work at the hotel. And we
have two issues that there is lack of proper coordination and no effective communication between
the staff. And we have identified the solutions to resolve these issues. Which will we
communicated to you shortly.
2.3 Effective time management strategies
To,
The line manager,
The Travelodge hotel,
Sub : Report on time-management strategies at work place
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Respected sir,
As a Human resource manager of the Travelodge hotel it is the responsibility to
manage the time of the employees at workplace. Time management in the hotel is significant in
accomplishing the work at the required time period. For the time management in the hotel we have
identified some effective strategies such as:
 Starting the day with the clear focus: Determination what the employee we have to achieve
and we absolutely must accomplish. Setting clear focus for the day will save the several
hours of wasted time and effort.
 Preparing a task list: It is strategy in which we have to capture the task and activities
according to the priorities which will help in taking a quick overview of everything that's
urgent and important.
 Focus on high value tasks: identify and focusing on the major task so that the work burden
will get reduced (Chavan and Surve, 2014).
 Minimize interruptions: For the effective time management of work we have to minize the
interruptions at work like: avoid checking email, answering the phone calls etc.
 Stop Procrastinating: Setting the deadline for the targeted work. It is also effective to
complete the most unpleasant task early.
 Limit multi-tasking: By planning the day in blocks, setting specific aside for the meetings,
returning calls we can avoid the multitasking.
 Review of the day: We must spend some minutes to review the task list every day before
leaving the office.
So these are effective time management strategies which can help in managing the time at the
hotel. And we have to communicate these strategies to the staff.
Thanking you,
yours faithfully
HR- Manager
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Task 3 Employees induction pack
3.1 Roles to be played in a team and achievement of goals
In every organisation there employees are divided in team of their field. Team work is
most important in managing the work on time. Each and every individual in a team will play a
significant role in accomplishment of objectives of the organisation. While working in a team
every employee has to focus on the achievement of objectives of the team rather on individual
objectives.
With reference to this, we have described roles of an employee which he can have in a
team of hotel staff such as:
 Problem solver: This can be a role of an employee which he has to fulfil is a team
assigned by the team leader or superior (Lau and et.al., 2014). In this role the employee
has to resolve the problems of the other team members related to work.
 Mentor: An employee can play a role of mentor in the team of the hotel. He can provide
guidance to other team members and help them in completion of their roles.
 Subordinate: An employee play the role of subordinate in a team under the superior or
accomplish the task assigned by the superior.
Employees of the hotel staff can work together for the accomplishment of the shared
goals by taking these points in to consideration such as:
 With an effective communication they can work together and achieve the team goals and
objectives.
 By sharing the work experience with each other, employees can work together and attain
the shared goals and resolve the issues at work.
 By providing suggestions to each other employees can work together as a team and can
help each other in completion to task and realizing the shared goals (Zhang and Zou,
2013).
3.2 Analyse team dynamic
Team dynamic is considered as a state where all members have collective working in
regard to have sustainable development. This particular concept of relating to the team dynamics
is occurred because of the following points which are called as the personalities within team,
nature of the team work, working relationship with the other people. By having an effective
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consideration of team dynamic principles the HR manager of Travelodge can easily advance the
overall performance. With an assistance of this, coordination level among members can be
advanced. It is also significant for managers to have proper understanding of cultural values so
that better strategies can be framed. In order to have better values the responsibilities allocation
also need to be referred properly.
In addition to this, it can be said that there are four key elements which are need to be
consider in order to have dynamic team. Classification of activities can be as forming, storming,
and norming, performing and adjourning (Ito, 2014). At the initial level the members mainly
focuses on the identification of needs and attributes. Along with this, it can be said that storming
also need to be considered because it allows to resolve the conflict situations. In norming stage
the members get habitual to each other and develop relationships. Moreover, the measures also
need to be framed by the HR manager in regard to have improvement in performance. Such
aspects are being covered under performing stage. Afterword’s, the adjourning means the new
team is being framed in order to meet the new objective.
Moreover, dynamic team can be framed by management of Travelodge through
application of Belbin’s team role. With an application of 9 key roles of Belbin team role the team
work effectiveness can be advanced. Classification of team roles can be as plant, resource
investigator, coordinator, shaper, evaluator, team worker, implement or, completer finisher and
specialist. By having an effective application of such values the issues can be overcome in
desired manner. It brings an innovative work style among members so that goals and objectives
can be accomplished.
3.3 Alternative ways to achieve the task and achieve team goals
As an HR manager in the Travelodge we have to find the alternative ways through which the
task of the employees must be completed and the employees should achieve their team goals. It
is to acknowledge that the goals of a team could be reached if the team members have effective
communication skills and interaction. If there is any gap in the communication between them,
then it is impossible to resolve the conflicts and will affect the sharing of information between
the employees related to work. Ineffective communication process will lead to employee
demotivation and must affect the performance of the employees. Thus the alternative ways which
are used to achieve the task are:
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 Establishment of proper communication.
 Creation of the feeling of respect among the team mates.
 Development of sense of responsibility towards the work.
So these are alternative ways we have suggested will help in building the healthy relationship
between the individuals and team mates.
Task 4 Formal management report
4.1 Evaluation of tools and method for development of solution for the employee turnover
Employee turnover is a most important problems in every organisations. Employees are main
asset of the company which in accomplishment of objectives in the organisation. Employee
turnover in the organisation means the employees are leaving the job continuously. It is most
important to reduce the problem of employee turnover in the organisation. And to retain the key
performers in the organisation. Retention of employees is necessary to reduce the cost of
company in hiring the new employees. And consuming time in training the new employees
(Jones, 2013).
With reference to this there are some tools and methods which we have used to develop
the solutions to reduce the employee turnover in the Travelodge hotel such as:
 Exit Interview: This is most suitable method to identify the actual reasons why
employees are leaving the job. Exit interview is being taken by the managers from
the employees of the hotel at the time of leaving the job. On the basis of the feedback
from them we can develop the solutions for the employee turnover.
 Monetary rewards: Monetary rewards are those which are paid extra other than
salary to the employees. It work as a tool for the HR manager of the hotel to identify
the actual reasons of facing the employee turnover. Rewards are being paid to the
employee who give information about the reasons of dissatisfaction of other
employees towards the job. So that correct solutions can be developed.
 Proper communication: Effective communication with the employee will help in
development of mutual understanding and identification of the sources to resolve the
problem.
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4.2 Appropriate strategy to reduce the labour turnover in the Travelodge hotel.
As we have discussed earlier that the employee turnover is the difficult problem to be
resolve by the managers. The organisation or a company want to retain its employees because
there is a lack of experienced person in the organisation and if the employees will leave the job
the work will get affected. The major responsibility of the managers to develop strategy which is
essential and should affect the employees positively.
Employees will get the motivation at work and they will not leave the organisation.
After recognising this, we have developed a strategy for reduction in employee turnover
rate of the Travelodge hotel (Tymon, 2013). We used the strategy of providing increment more
than the industry average. And also used the strategy of development of informal relationship
between the employees. By giving more increment in the current financial year as compared to
the previous year we will reduce the turnover of staff of the Travelodge hotel. It will affect the
profitability but we will enrich the job of the employees. And another we are using is developing
informal relationship between the staff by organizing various activities in the organisation. This
kind of strategy will motivate the employee towards the work and develop the feeling of job
satisfaction.
4.3 Potential impact of the strategy on the business of implementing the strategy
The strategies which are implemented in the organisation must have a financial and non-financial
impacts on the organisation. The impact of the strategies must be can be either positive or
negative. Appropriate strategies must be used which results in a positive impact.
In this context, after the application of the strategy of increment more than industry average in
the Travelodge hotel. We have done an evaluation that how the strategy will affect the hotel
financially and non-financially. And after the evaluation the impact of strategy we had
recognised that there are some positive and negative impact such as: The cost of the employees
in the Travelodge hotel has increased and profitability of the employer has been reduced
Employability skills – Skills You Need for a Job, 2017. But on the contrary, we have recognised
that the rate of employee turnover has been decreased and the employees are motivated towards
the work and the quality of performance is increasing continuously. Impact on the profitability
will be low but it will remove the cost of hiring the new employees and also remove the cost of
training of the new employees.
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CONCLUSION
By above study, all the dimensions related to the work within the Travelodge hotel have become
apparent. First of all the roles and responsibilities on Human resource department suggest the
attentiveness and most importantly focusing on the time management strategies. Other than this
the work base problems like lack of communication and coordination has been discussed with
the possible suggestions. Further the outcomes of this study are to get intellect about the team
work that is most important employability skill.
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REFERENCES
Journals and Books
Abas-Mastura, M., Imam, O. A. and Osman, S., 2013. Employability skills and task performance
of employees in government sector. International Journal of Humanities and Social
Science. 3(4). pp. 150-162.
Benson, V., Morgan, S. and Filippaios, F., 2014. Social career management: Social media and
employability skills gap. Computers in Human Behavior. 30. pp. 519-525.
Chavan, R. R. and Surve, A. Y., 2014. Assessing parameters of employability skills: an
employers’ perspective. Asian Journal of Management Research. 5(2). pp. 254-260.
De Guzman, A. B. and Choi, K. O., 2013. The relations of employability skills to career
adaptability among technical school students. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 82(3). pp.
199-207.
Deeley, S. J., 2014. Summative co-assessment: A deep learning approach to enhancing
employability skills and attributes. Active Learning in Higher Education. 15(1). pp. 39-51.
Ito, H., 2014. Challenges Towards Employability: Higher Education's Engagement to Industrial
Needs in Japan. Higher Education Studies. 4(2). pp. 1-8.
Jones, E., 2013. Internationalization and employability: The role of intercultural experiences in
the development of transferable skills. Public Money & Management. 33(2). pp. 95-104.
Ju, S. and et.al., 2014. Employability skills for entry-level employees with and without
disabilities: A comparison between the perspectives of educators and employers. Journal
of Vocational Rehabilitation. 40(3). pp. 203-212.
Lau, H. H. and et.al., 2014. Impact of participation in extra-curricular activities during college on
graduate employability: an empirical study of graduates of Taiwanese business schools.
Educational Studies. 40(1). pp. 26-47.
McKinnon, S., 2013. A mismatch of expectations? An exploration of international students'
perceptions of employability skills and work-related learning. Cross-Cultural Teaching
and Learning for Home and International Students, Internationalisation of Pedagogy and
Curriculum in Higher Education. pp. 211-225.
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