New Ideas Concerning Arts and Social Studies Vol. 7

The 21^st century job market requires graduates to possess both strong employability skills and relevant technical knowledge. Employers seek candidates with skills that directly meet their needs, demanding that educational institutions shift from simply imparting knowledge to fostering comprehensive skills development. Biliran Province State University (BiPSU), a Level III institution, offers a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries program, formerly known as the Bachelor of Science in Fishery Technology, established on February 28, 2002. BiPSU utilises internal tracer studies to evaluate curriculum effectiveness and graduate employability, primarily for internal evaluation and accreditation purposes. The primary objective of the study is to analyse the employability of BS Fisheries graduates (2016-2020), examining their socio-demographic profiles, employment status, and job-related competencies. This study evaluated the employability of 32 fisheries (BSFT/BSFi) graduates from Biliran Province State University-Biliran Campus (BiPSU) (formerly Naval State University) between 2016 and 2020. This study employed a descriptive research design. Questionnaires were distributed to all listed graduates. Data collection utilised a tracer questionnaire developed by the Commission on Higher Education. Data were encoded into Microsoft Excel, collated, and summarised. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, including frequency counts, percentages, and means. This study found that the majority of responding BSFT/BSFi graduates (62.6%) were male, reflecting a similar gender imbalance in BiPSU's fisheries program enrollment (37.5% female). Among employed graduates, human relations skills were most prevalent (40%), followed by critical thinking (26.67%), communication (20%), problem-solving (6.67%), and entrepreneurial skills (6.67%). The majority (73.33%) of employed graduates held contractual positions, indicating a lack of job security. The most common employment sectors were sales (26.67%), financial intermediation (20%), wholesale and retail trade (20%), education (13%), public administration (13.33%), and manufacturing (6.67%). A significant proportion of employed graduates (40%) had only 1-6 months of job experience, while another 33.33% had worked for a year or less. Only 26.67% had been employed for two years or more. The study suggests that enhancing career services and placement support for graduates is essential for improving employment outcomes and job security. A key limitation of the study is that many participants had less than one year of work experience, restricting the assessment of their job competencies. Therefore, future studies could focus on the graduates with more than one year of work experience to better evaluate their employment status and more accurately identify their job-related competencies.