HP8002- Working in the 21st Century
Assignment
Written by: Elicia Chong Yee Ling U1830573A
Keziah Gan Hui Xin U1830214B
Upgrading for the Future
In today’s rapidly globalizing world, the demands in myriad career aspects are
perpetually changing. Levels of education are constantly being upgraded, bringing
both the current and future generation to higher standards of professionalism. The
tide of a globalized century has thus threatened to sweep the current work force
under, thus it is absolutely crucial for many to update their skills exponentially and
seek various job opportunities, regardless of prior experiences, in lieu of stagnating
in singular occupational trajectories.
This essay aims to bring forth three case studies, individuals of over 20 years of
working experience, to highlight the importance of gaining from various career
fields through the use of career theories. In light of the constant need to upgrade
oneself during this vocationally turbulent century, we will discuss and analyse the
state of affairs that each interviewee has undertaken to depict the pertinence of
career theories, therefore debating the need to upgrade ourselves in preparation for
the future.
Proceeding to the interviews, let us call our Participants A, B and C.
Participant A, 55 years old, female, is an acting co-director of a local guitar
company.
Participant B, 51 years old, female, is currently engaged in three part-time jobs; all
of which differ greatly in the nature of their careers. Presently, her main job as an
industrial liaison manager takes up most priority, while she has converted her
formerly full-time career as a freelance graphic designer into one of lower priority.
Lastly, she also engages herself as a part time teaching assistant at an international
school on a fully flexible roster basis. Participant C, 65 years old, male, works as a
lifeguard at a local swimming complex.
All of our participants have switched jobs at least once, either staying in the same
industry or shifting to another. All of our participants are also married and have
settled in families with children. Needless to say, our interview with the three
participants have effectively proved the relevance of career theories to dictate
typical career trajectory, which will be further discussed later in the essay.
Participant A started her first job as a flight attendant at a major local carrier for 5
years when she was in her mid twenties. A special mention noted that she looked
up to her mother who previously worked as an air stewardess, thus posing as a
possible factor that proceeded to influence her choice in career when she reached a
working age. 1991 saw the opening of an additional flight terminal in Singapore
which was the golden period for the introduction of a local carrier. This course of
events eventually catalysed the creation of the now socially stereotypical Singapore
Girl, a highly desired and glamorous job for those who graduated from tertiary
levels of education. Therefore, we can probably assume that Participant A was
influenced by the given social conditions at that time and, coupled with the surge in
job opportunities, thus became a flight attendant. According to Leong (2010),
usually air stewardesses do not receive any maternity benefits in the past and
would have had to terminate their contracts with the airline in the event of the need
for maternity leave.
The cutthroat nature of the job eventually prompted Participant A to take on an
accounting job in the government sector, which she recalled as a stable career and
provided some semblance of financial stability after she wedded and started a
family. Combining prior academic experience in the accounting field for 24 years
with her husband’s active engagement in the music industry, she founded her own
company specialising in repairs and craft of vintage guitars, located in the heart of
Singapore. Her company was eligible for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) grants
by the government with its annual sales turnover less than or equal to S$100
million (Infocomm Media Development Authority, 2020). She was also holding more
than 30% of the local shareholding. Participant A took it a step further by
capitalising on the rapid rise of globalisation and technology to build an online
presence. As one of the country’s many Small and Medium Enterprises, there were
a lot of opportunities for growth as the Singapore government generously supports
and provides ample grants for small businesses and entrepreneurs who operate
locally (Asaul, 2019).
Utilising iSPRINT grant, it is easier for her company to obtain systems and solutions
such as point of sales systems, CFM software and accounting software from IDA’s
pre-qualified list of vendors. Such solutions are packaged with iSPRINT covering up
to 70% of the costs which greatly reduce company costs (iDA, 2010). Participant A
also mentioned that with iSPRINT grant, she was only required to pay an estimated
40% to the vendors.
By making her business available online instead of solely having a brick and mortar
store, she is able to connect her business with the rest of the world. With booking
services made easily accessible, it helps to earnestly build their branding and
catering tirelessly to customers in order to build trust, Participant A’s family
business quickly grew popular amongst those seeking to purchase, repair or resell
vintage guitars.
In the recent context of the rising issue of environmental sustainability, more locals
are looking into the industry of vintage guitars, given the pre-owned nature of the
business. People are more willing to recycle and buy second hand vintage guitars as
they are more durable due to their materiality. Vintage guitars cannot be acquired
first-hand anymore, since most of these species of trees which the guitar bodies are
made of have become endangered. Many of these trees take centuries to grow, so
they won’t be back and plentiful for a very long time. Also, importing the wood for
the manufacturing of guitars or even just importing the guitars, is illegal. On that
account, as the entire business revolves around the sale of second-hand items, the
rise in demand for vintage guitars would put a damper on that of new, non-vintage
guitars, which are often made from compressed wood and compromise in quality.
Thus, since her career centres on the resale of existing goods, the nature of the
vintage guitar industry in itself would already promote a more sustainable means of
acquiring an instrument, therefore providing a more feasible means to counter
environmental degradation from the production of other new guitars in the long
run.
A career in freelance graphic design had Participant B learning to adapt and change
her skills accordingly to the market’s constantly evolving needs and wants. In 1990,
many designers’ abilities to manipulate techniques were changed and improved due
to the release of Photoshop 1.0, which is the quintessential tool in the design
industry today. The role of a graphic designer has also been changing, most likely
due to the way we live and work. Design is always evolving and Participant B found
herself having no choice but to upgrade her skills to digital changes in order to stay
relevant in the industry.
In the past, companies wanted to make a huge impact with bold and complicated
designs through analogue means (Zikanni & Gideon, 2019). However, when the
impact of the digital revolution hit, many began to toy with the idea of digitally
produced designs, which is also known as user experience design. By bringing
products online, people from all over the globe are able to access the brand with
ease. Participant B mentioned that UX is a combination of graphic and interface
design, increasing a smooth and visually appealing appearance online. Participant B
was motivated to grow and change accordingly to what industry needed and
required.
Participant B’s father used to have a role in the arts as well; perhaps having her
creative genes being inherited from her father. Individuals who are artistically
creative tend to have a specific inherited gene that may have enhanced their
creativity (Summers, 2013). Exposure to design elements during formative years
might have shaped her cognitive reception to creative elements, thus aiding her
immensely in her (then) future career choices.
The two major career theories that influenced Participant C’s career development
are Donald Super’s theory of life and career development stages and Gottfredson’s
theory of circumscription and the act of compromisation.
Taking a look at Participant C, we observed that Super’s Theory immensely applies
to his career and himself. Super’s archway model is built on the basis that society
and one’s personality influences an individual’s self concept, which then in turn
proceeds to affect the choices one makes when choosing a career path. He
mentioned that he wanted to become a doctor as he was primarily interested in
saving people's lives. To him, it was both stimulating and interesting; a lifelong
passion fuelled by a simple desire to help others, hence we can infer that this was
part of his interest to be a doctor, falling under personal influences on self. He is
not greatly affected by societal values; however, he was affected by his parents’
livelihood- an environmental influence that was his familial background. In his
younger days, he helped out at his parents’ hawker stall and was keen to help his
father manage a small business selling fried noodles. With reference to Super’s
developmental stages, this could fall under the stage of exploration (Brown, 2002,
p. 172) as Participant C mentioned he was unsure of what to do before working
towards the path of a lifeguard.
It is mentioned in Super’s theory that there are developmental stages that will
occur in an individual’s life. We can see that Participant C cycled through the five
different development stages, given that he is the oldest participant we
interviewed. He is currently in Stage 5, decline, where he is preparing for
retirement or retrenchment and has changed the terms of his contract to that of a
yearly basis. The ever-changing economy threatens to bring about the obsolescence
of many careers in the coming age, thus the fear of retrenchment due to old age is
definitely a valid one. Despite Singaporeans showing desire to continue working
after the age of 62 due to the reliance on their salaries for daily necessities,
workers who are usually 50 years old and above have a higher possibility of getting
retrenched (Sajan, 2019). In order to keep himself relevant as a lifeguard in today’s
world, Interviewee C will be required to monitor his physical health regularly. In the
event of being redeployed within the organisation as part of career progression, he
can still keep up by attending workshops to reskill himself and matching his abilities
to the younger workforce.
Vocational choice is a search for a life career that fits one’s concept of self, both
socially and psychologically. According to circumscription and compromise theory
(Brown, 2003) , four developmental processes guide this person-job matching
process during the first two decades of life: cognitive growth, age-related growth in
cognitive ability; self-creation, increasingly self-directed development;
circumscription, progressive elimination of one’s least favored vocational
alternatives; and compromise, accommodation to constraints on implementing
one’s most favored alternatives. The influence of sexual stereotypes as well as
social valuation can be seen in the career choices our participants made.
The career that Participant A chose to delegate her time to when she was in her
prime display the characteristics of stage 3 and 4 of Gottfredson’s theory;
orientation to social valuation of career trajectories in the 1970s to 1980s saw the
rise in social value of holding a career in commerce, where many sought vocations
in that field due to high regard for its occupational merit. Stage 4 of Gottfredson’s
theory, orientation to her own unique and personal motivations, is shown in the
way she deliberated going back to accountancy after working several other jobsmodelling, flight attendant etcetera, thus confirming her passion and proficiency
with numbers and administrative capabilities.
Similarly, before settling down as a lifeguard till his 60s, Participant C worked many
odd jobs, notably an assignment in constructive labor and also plumbing works in
the past. These occupations carry a strong social stigma; they are often deemed as
masculine jobs, which Participant C tended to incline towards. As he lacked
certification in tertiary education, it meant that he had to adjust his aspirations
accordingly to his personal self, replacing his ideals with more realistic job scopes.
In the 80s and 90s, a higher education certificate was seen as a golden ticket to a
brighter future, often opening doors for more options in career trajectories. One will
be guaranteed a high paying job as a degree was a potential sign of good hires (Ho,
2017). With no proper higher education, Participant C had to compromise for the
“lower prestigious” or more accessible jobs given his previous qualifications.
We then go on by utilising Holland theory to analyse how our participants’ career
choices are derived from their relationship between themselves and their working
environment. By scrutinizing the six personality types, often which one individual
possesses one dominant and two other less dominant, we can categorize our
interviewees after Holland’s six models to determine the reason for their current
career trajectories. Amongst our three participants, we are able to see two
dominant occurring Social and one dominant Enterprising.
Holland theory is applicable for Participant B, where she held many similar career
pathways in her lifetime. Her personality type is most likely to fall under Enterprise;
a classification that describes individuals as one who enjoys getting acquainted with
new and different people while also influencing others. In the past, Participant B
worked in the software support and development sector in a private design
company for five and a half years before switching minorly to freelance her services
instead.
Freelancing helped hone her interpersonal skills to a higher degree, while she also
gained traction in her business as companies would seek her assistance in projects
such as standee and poster designs. When her clients started to outsource their
production team in effort to reduce their production costs, Participant B realized
that her income might be jeopardized, ergo, she deliberated the pertinence of
switching careers and decided for it. She applied for a part time teaching assistant
position in an international school, recommended by a close acquaintance, and
eventually went on to take on another part-time as an industrial liaison manager,
all while scaling down on her initial business in design services. All three jobs are
subliminally dependent on soft skills, i.e. people skills, where the need to utilise
covert interpersonal competence is paramount to their nature. For instance, a
liaison manager will require socialising skills in order to liaise between two
companies or departments to coordinate activities. She will also be required to
handle public communications which range from negotiation and public
presentations since she is part of the company representatives.
As a public communicator, one will have to adapt the mindset of a lifelong learner
in order to enhance their social skills. Participant B took on Skillsfuture classes
when she was working in a private company, thus managing to develop computing
skills as well as some levels of proficiency in business through Networking and
Business Relationship Building courses provided by her company.
Despite adopting the role of a full time liaison manager, Participant B is also a
flexible worker, occasionally having to juggle her prior and concurrent work loads in
order to keep all three. Despite being bound to an organisation in her full time job,
she keeps her daily schedule flexible as she needs to accommodate for time for her
own and her family, which ranges across several parameters, crossing different
industries, therefore transforming her career into an unrestricted one.
Participant C can also be analysed using Holland theory, wherein the nature of his
job revolves around interpersonal skills and is somewhat in the range of customer
service. A career as a lifeguard is an umbrella term for the smaller prints in
managing the water safety of civilians; Participant C had also noted the long
withstanding, semi-part-time job he had as a registered swimming instructor. In
order to educate the public on the finer points of safe water practice, Participant C
had adapted into the Social aspect of Holland’s theory, where he values helping and
enlightening those around him for a near helpful measure. The social aspect of
Participant C mentioned in one of six of Holland theory can chart him up to the
measure he takes to build a repertoire between customers at the local swimming
complex, students across varying age groups and even colleagues, in order to fulfil
the altruistic, friendly and trustworthy side in himself.
His previous experience in labor intensive jobs can also place him under the
Realistic type in Holland theory’s analysis. The inclination towards such jobs could
have stemmed from the innate interest in manual labor and craftsmanship; given
his brief hobby and study in ITE in wood carving, it can be said that Participant C’s
fascination with planning and execution with the aid of tools (carving tools and
thereafter manual tools) makes him a realistic, practical person who likes to
perform tasks relating to tangible materials.
All three of our participants agreed that with the change in the global economy,
complex computer technologies such as Artificial Intelligence will soon take over
many labor-intensive industrial jobs due to cheaper, more efficient, as well as more
durable, source of production, as compared to human labour. They note with
certainty that in the future, the elderly will have a harder time catching up with turn
to a cashless society that we are undergoing in today’s society, as elderly are often
slower on the uptake and are not as well educated with technology usage. Despite
Singapore’s stable economy now, many predict that we might soon face increased
competition in the global economy against other quickly developing southeast asian
countries such as Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam. This ultimately leads to the
exponentially urgent need for a rise in research capabilities with and regarding the
use of technology.
Legal issues have reared their heads in Participant A and C’s career experiences. In
the case of Participant A, the business revolving the resale of vintage guitars has
had more than one case of theft and accusation. Participant A recalls one of the
major lawsuits that her business had been subjected to, where a trusted customer
sold stolen vintage guitars from his own vintage guitar company to her, then
accused them of theft. The case was insisted to be fought for by Participant C, who
is her spouse, in protest of her company’s innocence and eventually won at the
steep price of a financial shortcoming. In deterrence to future issues of the like,
Participant A installed CCTVs in the entire vicinity of her shopfront, although she did
note with a tinge of resignation that surveillance cameras could only provide as
much cold comfort to a certain degree. For freelancers, there are multiple legal
obstacles especially copyright issues. In this digital age, designs can be easily
stolen and claimed as their own. Without any organisation protecting the
freelancers’ rights, the freelancers will have to be aware of what is going on in the
industry and be equipped with legal knowledge.
In the future, not only is technology predicted to advance further, but even the way
work is carried out might be affected. More people will start to work from home
instead of commuting to and fro to their designated workplace. Office jobs or other
deskbound jobs, could have the possibility of relocating to employees’ homes as a
means of raising the efficiency within companies. Virtual office is a very real
possibility; where the local economy can seek to increase the general workforce’s
productivity while replacing their physical distance with a virtual one, via the
worldwide web.
Participant A also mentioned that employees will be required to learn multiple skill
sets across different disciplines. Job scopes are not narrowed in one particular area
of specialization anymore and instead broadened and often interlace with other
areas of specialisation, tending to touch on various different areas. One will need to
look at relevant courses to prepare his or her abilities for the future in order to be
flexible in myriad specializations. The Singapore government has not only provided
subsidies and support systems to those entering the workforce today and
tomorrow, but also going a step further to even offer training courses for current
working Singaporeans to attend. Consequently, the government is vigilant and
ready for the tide of the globalising economy, hence the provision of ample sources
that the working adults in Singapore can easily access in the event of a mid career
path switch. This readies the workforce for any changes that might displace them
from their current vocation and is thus absolutely important for one to deter against
career obsolescence.
Our interviews with the three individuals have brought more insight to us pertaining
to the various modus operandi in different professions and vocations;
notwithstanding the paramount need to upgrade oneself in the very real event of a
globalised and globalising economy. The world is changing as we know it, many
people are losing their jobs. Yet, there are also many doors opening, pathways to
new sectors of careers that are catalysed by the very culprit of current day
retrenchment. Technology is displacing opportunities as we continue to evolve its
capabilities, new careers are founded as others adopt the transition into vieux jeu,
thus rendering them dated. In hindsight, we can definitely label it as a
double-edged sword, where we are made to constantly upgrade our skills in order
to meet the demands of the global and local market. Of course the practicality of
the situation in the present and future will definitely prove as an onerous task,
especially to the ones subjected to it. All that can be said is to persuade one to
possess an open mind and a keen and enthusiastic outlook on the subject of career
paths.
APA References:
1. Asaul, N. (2019, October 17). How to profit from Singapore grants for small
businesses. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from
https://e27.co/how-to-profit-from-singapore-grants-for-small-businesses-20
191017/
2. Brown, D. (2002). ​Career choice and development​ (4th ed.). San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
3. Brown, D. (2003). ​Career information, career counseling, and career
development​ (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
4. Ho, T. (2017, January 10). Why A University Degree In Singapore Is No
Longer A Golden Ticket To Success (And What You Should Be Doing Instead).
Retrieved March 18, 2020, from
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-university-degree-singapore-no-233
045044.html
5. Infocomm@SME Programme. (2010, March). Retrieved March 18, 2020, from
https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/imda/files/inner/archive/news-and-events
/news_and_events_level2/20071119143631/sme.pdf
6. Leong, S. H. (2010, September 17). SIA stewardesses have to quit if
pregnant [Singapore]. ​Why Discriminate,​ pp. 24–24. Retrieved from
https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/newpaper2010091
7-1
7. Sajan, C. (2019, January 7). Scrapping retirement: the case for tapping the
senior workforce. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brunch/scrapping-retirement-the-case-fo
r-tapping-the-senior-workforce
8. SMEs Go Digital. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2020, from
https://www.imda.gov.sg/SMEsGoDigital
9. Summers, J. (2013, September 20). Is creative ability determined by our
DNA? Retrieved March 18, 2020, from
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/09/20/is-creative-ability-determinedby-our-dna/
10.THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN. (2019, June 1).
Retrieved from
https://medium.com/@aorthar/the-past-present-and-future-of-graphic-desin
e-20b869b297a