The Influence of 'Promoting for Value Ranking' on Career Choices of Youth in the Gulf Arab World
Keywords:
career choices, youth, middle east, attribute valuesAbstract
The unequal distribution of qualified youth in different career disciplines is regarded by research as one of the main reasons for the severe labour market gaps as well as a shortage of opportunities for youth specialized in career disciplines with an exceeding labour supply for the labour demand. Recent studies show that a lack of synchronization of attribute values sought after and career choices, results in youth in the Gulf Arab world choosing career disciplines that are usually not in line with labour market opportunities that would satisfy those sought after attribute values. This study explored the influence of ‘prompting for value-ranking’ on career choices of the youth in the Gulf Arab world. This intervention was tested using the following criteria enabling career decisions that would bring about better choice outcomes and higher decision quality, in terms of satisfaction, confidence and perceived fit of career choice with the decision maker’s preferences. Contrary to predictions based on existing research in the United States and Europe, career choices of Arab youth are likely to satisfy sought attribute values that were chosen when not prompted to rank values prior to making the decision, compared to those choices when prompted.
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