Career Counseling, Trends in the Labor Market - Coursework Example

Introduction Losing a job in today world is not a miracle; it is the normal operations of our organizations today which will need to restructure themselves of cut jobs in order to become finically comfortable in the society. Most companies are experiencing budget cuts in that many of their departments are facing budget decisions that results in staff reductions, layoffs, retrenchment and early retirement. While it is prudent that organizations explore alternatives to layoffs, in some economic and financial crisis, it is very difficult to escape this reality. Laying off more than 380 employees either in voluntary or induced terms is a decision that has taken into consideration the needs of the whole players in the company including the stakeholders, employees, owners, the aviation industry mangers and other groups such as labor unions. This paper will therefore explore a globally recommended program that is a suitable action plan the company can take after it has decided to layoff middle managers and seek voluntary early retirement from somewhat older employees. The program will that will be adopted in this paper will emphasize the need to train and educate such kind of employees not only for them to come back and work for the organization after the training but also to seek for greener pastures elsewhere. Career counseling therefore provides some kind of relief for the affected people in terms of psychological, professional, social and financial guidance for all those affected. There is usually a hypothesis that considers that many people believe that there are similar career aspirations among people in a company but this is not true at least with reference to career counseling. There are varied cultural traditions, socio-economic conditions and other factors that contribute to different individual career plans where preferences rule. The main aim for career counseling with regard to professional development after layoff include; boosting the self-esteem of the people affected, informing people on how they can champion for their rights when they are retrenched in the organization either in terms of social security or insurance packages. (Shaw and Shaw, 2006) This has been necessitated by increased cases of layoff for the last ten years across the globe. There have been instances where companies fail to remunerate the accumulated benefits for the employees resulting in legal implications against the company. This action is however not justified in that the persons affected may be poor and may not even in the first place meet the costs of engaging legal counselors. They therefore rely on the services of trade union and human right activists to come to their rescue. On the other hand, some companies come up with good plans that will ensure that the employees are build up morally and well prepared for the outside world. Such kind of programs will allow for personal development, arrangement and financial rearrangement order to help the individuals come to terms with the reality of not working. Those who will however be spared are those professionals such as pilots who are currently on demands because of the complexity of their profession. (Clark, Horan, Kovalsky & Hackett, 2000) In the airline industry, critical skills that are required in the airline include; the ability to a large number of work force, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, technical skills, commitment, result -oriented personality, excellent computer skills and the ability to meet strict deadlines. With proper education, knowledge gained so far and the managerial experience, an individual can use these skills to venture into other disciplines when there is a layoff or early retirement. In this case, the employees would have opportunities in sectors such telecommunication, transport, public service or even the military depending on the area of specialization. (Shaw and Shaw, 2006) Trends in the labor market There are certain trends that positively and negatively affect the retrenches’ career plan. In fact, a research conducted by the Australian Government late last year showed that the growth rate of the labor force is projected to be slower globally due to a reduction in the rate of natural increase with low birth rates. This will influence the number of employees or the size of the labor force which can be utilized at a time but it will not stop layoffs or retrenchment taking place. It will also mean that skilled workers will be unavailable due to the increase in their demand. However, age has been a factor that is considered as a recruiting tool for the many companies that are now expanding their investments and growth. When people are laid off from sectors such as the airline company, they will have limited opportunities in other airline companies but a great deal of opportunity lies in other sectors such communication and business. Today, more number of retrenches is getting self employment with severance packages given to them by their companies hence it is a nice idea to train people to handle family and individual businesses in order to generate income. With good training programs on how to utilize money effectively, it is possible that people will be stable in the society even after the pain of being laid-off. Another factor is the occupational employment prospects from other sectors. More people will tend to switch attention and concentrate greatly and even invest their education in rapidly growing sectors such as manufacturing, engineering, medical and tourism sectors but in this case, it would not be advisable to start a new career after serving under a single one for more than twenty years. This will be not only stressing but also uneconomical. However, an aircraft mechanic can study computer skills and designs such as modeling and simulation so he or she can be able to handle more complex situations (Shaw and Shaw, 2006) Severance package Apart from any action plan that the airline will choose, there is the usual severance packages that come with early retirement and layoff. It includes all the benefits that the employee has been in service since the time he or she was employed in the company. The severance package includes; i. Payment of unused paternity, maternity, sick, annual or any other leave allowances entitled to the individuals ii. Retirement benefits iii. Stock options iv. Assistance in searching for new job opportunities v. Medical insurance vi. Payment in lieu of notice given in the process of lay-off Career development proposal Post-layoff program-Further training and development program Reducing staff in the organization is one of the challenges that managers face while they are in the office. That is the point where career counseling comes-in in order to supply the necessary professional advice not only to the management but also to the victims. In a bid to ensure that there is little negative impact on the apart of the organization and the affected individuals, I would as a professional career counselor recommend training program for the victims. This program will take a period of not less than 11/2 years to complete but depends on the course the individual will take. Advancing in education is very important in this twenty first century. This is because there is technological advancement in almost all kinds of professions. There is the need to get the skills and the knowledge in order to be effective in service provision, within the respective organization. We live in a world full of competition and if one does not advance education then he or she is not suited fro the labor market. Early retirees and middle managers need to advance on their education so that they can be competent enough in accomplishing even the managerial duties. As the saying goes ‘the greatest room for improvement is through education and training’. They will also get the opportunity of looking for better jobs in other sectors which may even be well-paying compared to their former one. (Goss and Anthony, 2003) In addition to this, the airline company needs to identify and collaborate with a nearby college that can offer further training to the retrenched employees. The early retirees will be given the opportunity to choose the courses they would want to pursue in the college. The courses that may be studied and are suitable for the airline workers include; computer classes, human resource management, entrepreneurship, economics, business management, mechanics among others. (O’Halloran, Fahr & Keller, 2002) Requirements for the enrolment of the program Proof of unemployment Paper work from the company Family income report Individual career plan Goals of the program i. To introduce basic computer skills to those who are not yet computer literate ii. To training the mechanics and other technical workers from the company on the innovative approaches in the aviation industry used today in order for them to be able to meet the challenges of this industry iii. Teach skills such as time management, leadership concepts and planning that is suitable for career development and personal growth iv. Improving communication skills v. To cope with the retrenchment reality Budget for the training program The total budget for all the 380 employees who will be interested in joining the college will be as follows. This is subject to verification from the employees themselves because some of them may not want to continue with education or training for the time being but would prefer to attend colleges of their choice and may even engage themselves in self employment. This program will not be entirely free of charge but it will be subsidized in that, part of the expenses must come from the individuals themselves. In this case, it will be on a 50-50 basis between the company and the affected employees Figure 1. Budget for the training program Details Cost $ per year per person Tuition 5,000 Registration 300 Classes 200 Examination 340 Practical 1000 The basics that will be stressed by the program for low grade retrenches Career Skills i. Resume writing ii. Achieve global curriculum in terms of specialization in the area of choice iii. Interview skills iv. Job search skills v. Team building and communication vi. Dealing with change and difficult work situations Computer skills i. Basic Computer Training i.e. typing ii. Microsoft PowerPoint iii. Introduction to Computers iv. Microsoft Excel v. Basic Operating Systems i.e. Microsoft Windows vi. Online job search and the internet vii. Microsoft Word Characteristics of middle management and early retirees The middle management in the airline industry is responsible for the operations of the organization. They are a group of people who are active and still young and in fact, the average age for this special category of employees is between 48-55 years old. These are peopling who still have to do in future in terms of their careers and especially when it comes to management. The major characteristic that defines their role within the organization is the fact that they are literally responsible for all the duties within the organization (O’Halloran, Fahr & Keller, 2002). In order for the middle level managers to meet the demands of top management as well as that of subordinates they should fully define their roles to avoid conflicts that may arise in the course of work. They also offer proper leadership and good communication skills in order to achieve the organizational effectiveness even without the top managers in the organization. Middle level managers have a greater need to understand organizational behavior in order to achieve the organizational objectives and particularly in upcoming companies and much attention should be directed to people, structure, technology and the environment. Organizational value can only be achieved if the middle management is be able to incorporate good leadership, motivation, a well defined organizational structure, forming group dynamics and setting up good structures for communicating in the workplace. The organizations should also be flexible in the sense that they should be ready to cope with change without affecting their output. (Goss and Anthony, 2003) This implies the way in the way in which they transfer the urge to lead and manage certain things in life a part from the families themselves. It is in fact, more critical to have these middle mangers who have gained education and practical experience to wallow in the ‘desert’ without a job. This will not solve anything and that companies should come up with programs such as the one mentioned above for them to utilize the untapped resources and the capability of these people. On the part of the early retirees, it is also important to note that there is great potential that should be wasted through layoffs and retrenchment. (Clark, Horan, Kovalsky & Hackett, 2000) Needs of the middle managers and early retirees Middle managers and early retirees in this case are still young people below the age of 50 years who still have a lot for their future in terms of their career development. To start with, these people do have various classes of needs in the society i.e. social needs including their families, loans, communities, educational training and development for them (O’Halloran, Fahr & Keller, 2002) 1. Family Since most of the middle managers are beginning to nature their families with a view to making stable families in future. The young men and women in this company who have been earning approximately 3,000 dollars per month will be in a depressed position whereby they cannot be able to meet the needs of their families. First of all, the basic needs i.e. food; shelter and clothing are a necessity for them when it comes to their salary. As a matter of fact, some of them just graduated from university the other day meaning that they have not invested a lot in their families. It is usually very painful for a breadwinner to lose his or her job at a time when the family needs them. In order to clearly stem out any gap that may widen in the financial provision for the families of those who are affected, the company can offer severance packages to all the middle managers (Clark, Horan, Kovalsky & Hackett, 2000) On the other side, the early retirees are people who have actually worked in the company for some time and may be 5 to 10 years to their retirement age. This group of people will require little support from the organization when it comes to family matters. They are assumed to have invested some type of investments while they were working for the organization. However, they will need to have the retirement packages that are usually not equal to the retirement package offered after an employee reaches the formal retirement age. The age of the children for this group of people is slightly higher than that for the children n for middle managers meaning that they have at least invested in the health, education and other needs of their children. However, they still have many other requirements that the family setting would want from them. The first thing ids the health matters that usually come with old age. (Goss and Anthony, 2003) 2. Loans Loans are usually things that cannot be avoided in an individual’s lifetime. There are loans that accumulate right from the time the workers undertake their education at the university and college level. The status of these loans may withstand till the time employees are laid off. It is therefore paramount that employees. Some financial institutions have actually been forced to sell properties belonging to the retrenched employees due to their failure to remit the loans back after layoff. 3. Mortgages Mortgages are apart of life in today’s world where the employees take mortgages from the mortgage institutions and when they get early retirement or layoff, it becomes difficult for them to meet the needs of these institutions. Some people have even lost their houses when they have actually paid half of the cost of the house. (O’Halloran, Fahr & Keller, 2002) 4. Insurance Medical insurance cover is usually offered by an organization to its employees who are permanently employed in the company. In case, there is a retrenchment, the medical insurance is affected in that some companies may field to provide that after-employment provisions. (Shaw and Shaw, 2006) 5. Premiums Premiums are also like loans but are paid monthly by those who have applied for them. They are usually deducted from the basic salary of the individual and will accumulate in future. They are some kind of savings that will be paid out by the financial institution that has been deducting the salary for the whole period. 6. Education Education is all-round in that everybody, the young or the old would want to study even further after their formal education at the university level. This is very important for individual career development and in this case the need to prosper professionals. Some organizations provide training and development programs for its employees who in turn help them in developing themselves in future and will be able to meet the demands of the labor market when they are laid off or retire early. (O’Halloran, Fahr & Keller, 2002) Supportive environment to introduce the new program The supportive environment that will support this program in the company will be the government and the identified college that will be used as the training ground for the dismissed employees. This will mean that the identified college will work together with the management of the company to ensure that services are passed on from the institutions to the persons. The labor unions in this sector can also come up and boost the training in the company (Goss and Anthony, 2003) Assessment criteria for the new program Evaluation and assessment is the ability of an organization to informally judge the performance of a retrenched prior to a set criterion of education. This kind of assessment overlaps the formative assessment in that, it requires a quick judgment and no tests is usually carried out. Since diagnostic assessments provides institutions with information on their learners’ misconceptions about the process, then it can be used to change the tactics and approaches for future programs in case layoffs and retrenchment occur. The company can seek for potential employers who can offer programs such as internships and training. Another adaptation tactic would be the teaching of a topic that will be mostly used in detail during the next topic. A topic like communication skills can be taught so that the middle managers can equip themselves with the necessary techniques to meet their future employment requirements. This kind of assessment t will also be done by the college in which the students are enrolled in whereby apart from the normal institutional tests, the company can request for further monitoring in order to get to know the employee’s personal cognitive behavior outside the workplace. (Goss and Anthony, 2003) Monitoring of funds for the program In order to assess whether the retrenched employees are really interested in the program or rather the professional development, there is need for an individual assessment to ascertain whether it is really important for the employees. In this case, assessment criteria that will be utilized will be the use of assessment questionnaires distributed to the 380 retrenched employees. (Shaw and Shaw, 2006) This will be used to gauge; The demand for career development Career counseling and assistance Personal reflections and views about the whole thing The developments that are going on within the context of the college for those taking part in the training In order to fully achieve the benefits of such a program, it will be prudent to monitor the use funds that are allocated for this program. This will entail the utilization of services from the accounts office, auditors and the human resource department in order to ensure that misuse of money is not tolerated at all. There could also be a complaint system where the people can come to seek for help when they feel like. This customer service desk can be placed in the company so that all people get to access the services here. In other words, the company would be in a better position to handle all grievances for the affected people. This program will benefit the whole group including transparency within the identified college and the company at large. The concept of rewards and attainable goals Rewards are usually the best motivational tools that can be used to evaluate the performance of the employees while under training. This will make it possible for the company to look for jobs within their jurisdiction to employ the individuals who will have shown greater achievements while being monitored in the college. For reward schemes to be effective and to improve the performance of employees, then administrators need to put in place meaningful measures and realistic ones. (O’Halloran, Fahr & Keller, 2002) This is because when the measures are not attainable then the employees’ performance will not improve. Managers have to be sure that that the measures are very realistic this helps employees to strive to achieve them. But once they realize that the laid down measures for them to get the reward are just not attainable and realistic, then it just doesn’t become effective. Another aspect is that the performers or employees always need to see that that the reward opportunities in the organization are directly linked to the effort that they make. Conclusion Human being like new challenges in their life, challenges makes an individual to be able to become more creative and innovative as he/she looks for new ways to overcome new challenges. Thus if any employee retires early or get laid off, it takes the courageous to meet the challenges of the whole world. There are two programs in addition to the training program that this airline can utilize to ease the way for career development of the retrenched employees. The airline can pay tuition fees for the children workers i.e. those who have voluntarily retired early- up to four years that will include a sweetening $ 20,000 bonus for each one of them. For those people who had professional qualifications apart from their bachelor’s degree, the organization will be able to receive awards for excellent performance. Reference Clark, G., Horan, J. J., Kovalsky, T., & Hackett, G. (2000): Interactive career counseling on the Internet. Journal of Career Assessment, 8, 56-73 Goss, S. and Anthony, K. (2003): Technology in counseling and psychotherapy. A practitioner’s guide: New York; Palgrave Macmillan. O’Halloran, T., Fahr, A., & Keller, J. (2002): Career counseling and the information highway; heeding the road signs, The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 240-255 Shaw, H. and Shaw, S. (2006): Critical ethical issues in online counseling; Assessing current practices with an ethical intent checklist. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84, 41-53. Read More