Call centers draw science, technical graduates

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Call centers have become big employers even for graduates in science or technical courses.

For want of employment, these graduates find work in these support service entities. However, they move on when the jobs suited to their fields of specialization come along.

This was attested by a study titled “The Theory of Expectancy in the Analysis of Placement of 2000 and 2005 BSA Graduates of UP Los Baños” done by Haydee Lasco, who earned her doctorate in Agricultural Education from the University of the Philippines Los Baños in school year 2007-2008.

Lasco’s respondents were 219 Bachelor of Science in Agriculture graduates at UPLB from 2000 to 2005.

The study is aimed primarily to determine the trend of manpower placement of 2000 to 2005 UPLB-BSA graduates. The latest study on BSA placements was conducted in 1986.

“Findings from this study can be the basis for the formulation of policies and changes that will make the agriculture sector more responsive to the social and economic challenges in the country,” the researcher said.

Of Lasco’s respondents, 45 percent were employed in agricultural jobs, 41 percent in non-agricultural jobs, and 14 percent were unemployed.

The graduates’ major employers were the private sector (77 percent), while only 10 percent were working for the government. The average waiting time for a BSA graduate to get employed was 9.2 months.

In terms of employers, 28 percent of the graduates were employed in manufacturing and production companies, 18 percent in support services (particularly call centers), 17 percent in research and development, 10 percent each in government offices and local government units (LGUs) and marketing and sales offices, nine percent in educational institutions, and four percent in both technical services. Others have become self-employed.

Lasco averred that with the number of graduates that landed in managerial, sales, and call center jobs, it can be inferred that UPLB has provided its graduates with excellent communication skills. Nonetheless, the findings underscore the necessity of strengthening communication skills in the BSA curriculum.

Asked why they pursued non-agricultural jobs, some of the respondents cited good compensation as the primary reason, followed by the need to have a job.

As one respondent stated: “There are very few jobs in agriculture and even if there are, they would require experience which I, as a new graduate, certainly don’t have.”

Lasco noted that 38 percent of the respondents were highly satisfied in their current jobs. “Nonetheless, the study also indicated that 67 percent would like to leave their present jobs” for career advancement, desire to have agriculture-related jobs, and to work abroad.