The Current Status of the Transition of High School Vocational Education Graduates to the Labor Market
2. The Status of Work Adjustment of High School Graduate Employees At its simplest level, work adjustment can retain the status of being employed. The
“Theory of Work Adjustment,” which was posited by René Dawis and Lloyd
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Lofquist, described the process of achieving and maintaining a correspondence between the individual and the work environment. Work adjustment resulted in tenure (Dawis, 1996). In this respect, various statistical data could indirectly show the status of work adjustment of early career employees with a high school diploma. Various preliminary studies suggested that early career employees with a high school diploma had more difficulties in adjusting to the work environment than those with a college or university degree (Kim and Shin, 2007; Park, 2012; Yoon and Shin, 2012). This indicated that early career employees that graduated from high school felt lower satisfaction with their working conditions and the maintenance of current jobs than those from colleges and universities. According to the Supplementary Results of the Economically Active Population Survey by Employment Type by Statistics Korea, the proportion of early career employees with a high school diploma was lower than that of those with a college/university diploma and junior college graduates in terms of the voluntary retention of work. In particular, many respondents said that they remained at their jobs because of pressing economic conditions (see [Figure 7-2]). In addition, fewer early career high school graduate employees worked at regular jobs or with permanent employment than their counterparts with a junior college degree, and most of them tended to be employed at small-sized businesses (see [Figure 7-3]). High school graduate employees were paid less than junior college or university graduates, but there was no significant difference in working hours per week by educational attainment group.
Such results may be explained in large part because early career high school graduate employees tend to enter industry sectors or jobs with unstable working conditions, or because in all industries or occupational fields, the working conditions of early career high school graduate employees are not stable.
(Unit: %)
Source: Statistics Korea (Each year a).
Figure 7-2 ❙ Voluntarily job retention of early career employees (wage workers) and ratio of regular workers by education attainment
(Unit: %)
Source: Statistics Korea (each year b).
Figure 7-3 ❙ The ratio of permanent workers and individuals employed at companies with fewer than 30 employees among early career employees (wage workers) by education attainment
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In that regard, early career employees with a high school diploma faced more difficulties than those with a college/university degree. So the reasons will take shape in various ways as follows:
First, it is supposed that early career high school graduate employees will face difficulties because they consider their employment status and conditions in the current workplace to be poor. Indeed, the preliminary studies found that the current status of employment of high school graduates was poorer than that of junior college graduates and college/university graduates. High school graduates had a lower level of work satisfaction than junior college graduates (Kim and Shin, 2007; Park, 2012;
Yoon and Shin, 2012). In addition, dissatisfaction with working conditions and wage- related matters are major contributing factors for early career high school graduate employees changing their jobs.
Second, early career high school graduate employees may encounter difficulties because they feel that they have few career development opportunities in the current workplace. Indeed, they scored the lowest marks in potential for personal development, dissatisfaction with the personnel system, and the autonomy and authority of jobs, which are closely linked to personal career development. This was also found in other preliminary studies (Jang et al., 2008; Jang et al., 2007), in which there was an increasing demand for career development from early career employees from colleges and universities. In this context, it can be assumed that early career high school graduate employees also demand more career development, but it turns out that businesses fail to properly provide it. One aspect of this is that early career high school graduate employees lack learning opportunities in the workplace (Park et al., 2010). Moreover, more and more early career high school graduate employees tend to work in the fields of service and sales, as technicians, in jobs with mechanical skill, and simple manual labor jobs, and these types of work may have relatively fewer career development opportunities than others (Kim and Shin, 2007; Park, 2012; Yoon and Shin, 2012).
Third, early career high school graduate employees may face difficulties because the level of work in their current workplace is lower than their educational level.
According to the 2011 High School Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Information Service (2012), a higher proportion of early career high school graduate employees was perceived to have a lower level of work than their educational level. A large majority of them responded that their work did not match their majors, and in the same manner, they also considered that the knowledge from their majors did not help them handle their tasks. However, one of the biggest contributing factors to early career high school graduate employees facing difficulties in work adjustment was the acquisition of work skills. A study by Lim (2012) found that high school graduates were considered to have fewer skills than college/university graduates. This is a contradictory situation because high school graduates are perceived to have a lower level of work than their educational level, whereas they are perceived to have a higher level of work than their skills. Accordingly, further discussion is needed. In many cases, specialized high school graduates in particular were considered to have less skill. So, a follow-up study is needed on whether the perception results from the characteristics of the employment fields, or whether it arises from a shortage of learning opportunities (Lim, 2012). It is necessary to figure out how the educational level of early career high school graduate employees, the discrepancy between skill level and work, and the experience of participation in educational training have an influence on work adjustment.
Fourth, early career high school graduate employees may face difficulties because they encounter interpersonal difficulties. The 2011 High School Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Information Service (2012) found that relationships with superiors and coworkers were the biggest difficulties in work adjustment. For females in particular, relationships with superiors and coworkers was second, followed by the acquisition of work skills.
When it is natural for early career high school graduate employees to face the acquisition of work skills, relationships with superiors and coworkers can be a direct contributing factor. Lim et al., (2010) pointed out in a study the feeling of wariness of skilled workers toward new high school graduate employees in terms of their learning
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skills and the shortage of time for career development. In particular, if high school graduates did not overcome a reprimand that was rooted in the interaction between a predecessor and a successor, they tended to change their jobs. Oh (2011) analyzed that besides formal participation in learning, the group under high school level shared various experiences and knowledge that occurred in the workplace with coworkers to improve skills, therefore leading to a higher level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In other words, for early career high school graduate employees, interpersonal relationships in the workplace are closely related to work adjustment.
Fifth, among early career high school graduate employees, males are statistically more likely to face difficulties in work adjustment than females. This results from the fact that males scored lower marks than females on such indicators as level of job satisfaction and conformity of educational level and work, and is the main reason for changing jobs. There are many factors, but the problems of career discontinuity due to military service for male early career high school graduate employees, making a smooth entry into the workforce after being discharged from military service, and the securing of jobs emerge as common challenges for the military and society as a whole (Kim et al., 2012). In a study, Lim and Choi (2008) found that the main motivation for students to select a tailored curriculum was special cases of military service. To this end, the government provided an industrial technical personnel system, allowed students to delay joining the military and encouraged technicians to enter the military.
However, further analysis is needed as to whether male early career high school graduate employees will actively use such a system.
Considering the whole discussion up until now, among early career high school graduate employees, when a person works for a company with relatively unstable working conditions and carries out tasks unfit for his/her educational level, he/she feels dissatisfied about the employment. He/she is highly likely to have a negative perception of career development, a lower level of job satisfaction, and difficulty in interpersonal relations. In addition, such dissatisfaction leads to the need for advancement to university and a turnover intention, therefore prompting early career high school graduate employees to encounter difficulties in work adjustment. Under
the circumstances, Park, D. Y. and K. M. Lee (2012) suggested that, with regard to the work adjustment of high school graduates entering careers as technicians at an early stage, both the possible work placement leading to organizational commitment and external rewards, including bonuses and commendations, would drive early career high school graduate employees to adapt to their work. Such suggestions, in turn, could create an environment in which early career high school graduate employees are committed to their work, and improving employment conditions such as wages may contribute to their work adjustment.