Career Satisfaction following Technical Education

The effect of career and technical education in the Caribbean is an area of intervention research that needs more attention. This present research is the first of its kind within the region. The study benefits from a large sample size (N= 500) conducted among a non-traditional population in the field of career development. This paper reports on the contribution of a number of variables to the satisfaction of business management technicians (BMTs) with their career opportunities following technical education (TE) at state-run technical institutes (SRTIs) in a small country. Data was obtained from SRTIs and numerous semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders. A mixed methods approach involving qualitative analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation and multi regression analysis indicated moderate to high level job satisfaction with career opportunities with differential rates emerging for age cohorts and gender. Satisfaction with physical work environment and previous employer were the most important predictors of job satisfaction with career opportunities supported in a proposed model showing highest correlation (.58) with the present kind of work done. Generally respondents were concerned about the nature of career opportunities; a scholarship to study abroad was a priority. Given an overall respondent perception of rewarding and satisfying careers across a number of dimensions innovative approaches for career satisfaction and counseling are discussed and specific recommendations are proposed.