DEVELOPMENT OF A CAREER READINESS ASSESSMENT TOOL BASED ON INTERESTS, POTENTIAL, AND SOFT SKILLS FOR VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36526/sosioedukasi.v15i2.7767Keywords:
Assesment tool Career readiness Development Soft skills Vocational high schoolAbstract
This study aims to develop a career readiness instrument for vocational high school students in the Software Engineering and Computer and Network Engineering programs. The instrument was developed by adapting three main constructs related to career readiness: career interests, individual potential, and soft skills. This study employs an instrument development approach that includes the stages of literature review, formulation of indicators and item statements, expert validation, as well as testing the validity and reliability of the instrument. Interest indicators were adapted from the RIASEC theory proposed by Holland, potential indicators were adapted from Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences concept, while soft skills indicators were adapted from work competency concepts relevant to industry needs. The developed instrument was validated by three experts, consisting of one guidance and counseling expert and two industry practitioners serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Human Resources (HR) professionals. After undergoing a revision process, the instrument was pilot-tested on 30 vocational high school students in the Software Engineering and Computer and Network Engineering programs. The validity test results showed that most items met the validity criteria, while several items were eliminated because they had correlation values below the specified threshold. The reliability test results showed a Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.946 for the interest instrument, 0.929 for the potential instrument, and 0.982 for the soft skills instrument, indicating a very high level of internal consistency. The results of this study indicate that the developed instruments are valid and reliable for measuring the career readiness of vocational high school students and can be used as tools in career guidance services in the field of information technology.
References
Aini, Y. N., & Purba, Y. A. (2022). Analisis Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja dan Program Link & Match pada Lulusan Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) Program Kelautan & Perikanan. Jurnal Kebijakan Sosial Ekonomi Kelautan Dan Perikanan, 12(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.15578/jksekp.v12i1.10339
Aryawan, F. N. (2023). Overcoming the Challenges of Vocational Education in Indonesian SMK: Ideas on Curriculum Improvement, Teaching Quality, And English Language Teaching. Journal of Practice Learning and Educational Development, 3(3), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.58737/jpled.v3i3.226
Bullock-Yowell, E., & Reardon, R. C. (2024). Holland’s RIASEC Hexagon: A Paradigm for Life and Work Decisions.
Darni, R., Harisman, Y., Sukma, D., Fitriana, E., Sulistiobudi, R. A., & Herayono, A. (2025). Work Readiness in Vocational Education: Perception and Correlation Between Measurement Level and System Integration. TEM Journal, 14(2), 1388–1397. https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM142-39
Davis, K., Christodoulou, J., Seider, S., & Gardner, H. (2020). The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2982593
Dolhopolov, S., Honcharenko, T., Dolhopolova, S. A., Riabchun, O., Delembovskyi, M., & Omelianenko, O. (2022). Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems for Determining the Career Guidance of Future University Student. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/SIST54437.2022.9945752
Fauziah, F., Iswari, M., & Daharnis, D. (2022). Peran Bimbingan Dan Konseling Untuk Meningkatkan Kematangan Karir Siswa Memasuki Era Society 5.0 the Role of Guidance and Counseling To Improve Students’ Career Maturity Entering the Society 5.0 Era. Multidisciplinary Journal of Counseling and Social Research, 1(1), 2962–8350.
Jokinen, H., Pramila-Savukoski, S., Kuivila, H.-M., Jämsä, R., Juntunen, J., Törmänen, T., Koskimäki, M., & Mikkonen, K. (2024). Development and psychometric testing of hybrid education competence instrument for social and health care, and health sciences educators. Nurse Education Today, 132, 105999. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105999
Kovalchuk, V., Maslich, S., Tkachenko, N., Shevchuk, S., & Shchypska, T. (2022). Vocational Education in the Context of Modern Problems and Challenges. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 11(8), 329–338. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v11n8p329
López, P., Simó, P., & Marco, J. (2023). Understanding STEM career choices: A systematic mapping. Heliyon, 9(6), e16676. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16676
Luo, D., Luo, D., Jiang, Z., & Tang, X. (2024). Research of Applying Artificial Intelligence to Vocational Education: Personalized Exploration about Career Planning and Training. 2024 International Conference on Orange Technology, ICOT 2024. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICOT64290.2024.10936954
Manu, B. D., Ying, F., Oduro, D., & Boateng, S. A. (2021). Student engagement and social media in tertiary education: The perception and experience from the Ghanaian public university. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 3(1), 100100. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100100
Morgan, H. (2021). Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory and His Ideas on PromotingCREATIVITY.
Mukhlason, A., Winanti, T., & Yundra, E. (2020). Analisa Indikator SMK Penyumbang Pengangguran di Provinsi Jawa Timur. JVTE: Journal of Vocational and Technical Education.
Murwani, F. D., Hitipeuw, I., & Rahmawati, H. (2020). Career interest data trends in era information technology of high school students at Surabaya , Indonesia. Data in Brief, 30, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.105480
Ngurah, D., & Laksana, L. (2024). Validation Instruments for Local Culture-Based Learning Media. Journal of Education Technology, 8(2), 264–274.
Noviana, A., Abdurrahman, A., Rosidin, U., & Herlina, K. (2019). Development and Validation of Collaboration and Communication Skills Assessment Instruments Based on Project-Based Learning 1. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity, 6(2), 133–146. http://jgedc.orghttp://gencbilgeyayincilik.com
Ogawa, K. (2023). The effectiveness of vocational secondary education on entry‐level job outcomes in Japan: Safety net for low‐educated youth in a vocationally weak educational …. Japanese Journal of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijjs.12154
Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/1080569912460400
Setiyana, A., Oktora, S. I., Tinggi, S., & Statistik, I. (2024). Analisis Horizontal Mismatch pada Tenaga Kerja Lulusan Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan di Indonesia Analysis of Horizontal Mismatch Among Vocational School Graduates in Indonesia. Jurnal Kependudukan Indonesia, 19(2), 2024. https://doi.org/10.55980/jki.2024.5513
Truong, T. H., Ogawa, K., & Sanfo, J.-B. M. B. (2021). Educational expansion and the economic value of education in Vietnam: An instrument-free analysis. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2, 100025. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100025
Waikar, R., Tamhane, S., Tale, T., Talekar, R., Tangde, A., Singla, T., & Kalokhe, T. (2024). Student Career Guidance Using Generative AI. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAIQSA64000.2024.10882269
Wei, R. (2024). Examining the influence of the RIASEC theory within the Holland code on students’ academic performance in their chosen disciplines among the context of higher education. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2391274
Yu, T., Li, X., Intelligences, M., Model, S. E., & Analysis, F. (2021). Creating and Testing of Multiple Intelligences Scale for College Students. International Conference Education and Management, (1994), 446–457.
Zhou, N., Tigelaar, D., Wang, J., & Admiraal, W. (2024). Factors predicting vocational teachers’ transfer of learning: A quantitative study in the context of work placement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 140, 104467. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104467
.png)
