Role of information and communication technology in the provision of career information in higher technical and vocational education institutions

Abstract

The development of 2.0 web applications and the need to transform higher technical and vocational education (HTVE) in order to respond positively in a global market demand for an “ICT-capable” workforce underlines the importance of identifying and profiling the roles of ICT-based career information (CI) to HTVE programs. Therefore, this paper observed, digested, and extracted from the existing literature on the application of ICTs in the provision of CI, specific concepts that can make a significance contribution to HTVE programs. Specifically, the paper discussed the literature on career information that has a significant relationship with HTVE, due to its peculiar characteristics that are different from other areas of specialization. Several documents were consulted and scrutinized; information was extracted explaining the topic under discussion. The documents used included: textbooks, journals articles, conceptual papers, and technical reviews, which were downloaded through the A-Z online databases of the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) library. It was found that ICT-based career information is of great benefit to students of HTVE in providing information about: (a) the current trend in the world of work, (b) the knowledge and skills requirement for various jobs, (c) how to match skills with jobs and (d) updating labor market information (LMI). The paper concludes that HTVE institutions should apply ICT tools in order to give students and career counselors a sense of continuity with regard to current happenings in their area of specialization.