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EEP
Module 3 © 2020
Department of Languages and Literature
MODULE 3

English for Employability

English Enhancement Program (EEP) is a supplement delivered by the Department of Languages and Literature
(DoLL) to enhance and to improve students’ English language proficiency level with focus on academic, communicative,
intercultural and job enabling competencies putting high premium on productivity in the academe, workforce readiness
and various social domains. This module manual is created by the department to encourage the development and
sharing of learning knowledge, resources and technologies.

© 2020 Resources for English Enhancement Program

Module 3 – English for Employability
Department of Languages and Literature
College of Arts and Sciences
Caraga State University
Butuan City
Acknowledgements
The Department of Languages and Literature acknowledges the contributions of the following in the development of the
Resources for English Enhancement Program (REEP) in the English for Employability module:

Myron T. Cubillan (Unit 1); Janine S. Gelaga and Aquessa R. Piamonte (Unit 2); Eric Jhon E. Auguis and Meldy A.
Acabo (Unit 3); Gomer Jay S. Legaspi, Petervir A. Paz, Mark Vincent G. Vergara, Maricel L. Cenabre and Dr.
Enrique F. Taragua (Unit 4)
Contents
Unit 1
Understanding the Industry 4.0 Labor Market
Lesson 1 Introduction to New Metrics in the Industry 4.0 Labor Market

Unit 2
Optimizing Skillset for Work
Lesson 2 Soft Skills

Unit 3
Implementing Personal Branding
Lesson 3 Selling the Self (face-to-face and online)
Selling the Self (laboratory)

Lesson 4 Personal Statement Writing / Statement for Work Interest (face-to-face and online)

Unit 4
Exploring Toolkit for Workforce Readiness
Lesson 5 Application/Cover Letter Writing (face-to-face/online)
Application/Cover Letter Writing (laboratory)

Lesson 6 Resume/Curriculum Vitae Writing (face-to-face/online)

Resume/Curriculum Vitae Writing (laboratory)

Lesson 7 Acing Job Interview (face-to-face/online)

Acing Job Interview (laboratory)
About this module manual
English Enhancement Program
Module 3 – English for Employability
This module manual has been developed and produced by the Department of Languages and Literature,
College of Arts and Sciences, Caraga State University.

How this module manual is structured

The module overview
This module manual provides you ways and strategies in enhancing your employability skills you need to be
job enabling English proficient and work-ready. This is structured as a personal journey starting from
understanding the present labor market, optimizing skillset necessary for decent and sustainable work,
implementing personal branding, and exploring toolkit for workforce readiness. The goal of the module is to
expose you to key concepts relative to workforce readiness and apply these concepts learned into
applications through various simulations and performance tasks. Be ready to be a career-ready!

The module content

The module is broken down into four (4) units, as outlined below:
Understanding the Industry 4.0 Labor Market
Optimizing Skillset for Work
Implementing Personal Branding
Exploring Toolkit for Workforce Readiness

Each unit comprises:

an introduction to the unit of study,
unit objectives,
key concepts to be learned
learning outcomes of each lesson,
core content of the lesson with a variety of learning tasks,
laboratory for simulations, and
a set of tasks for workforce readiness portfolio
Welcome to Module 3
English for Employability

This third-and-last EEP module is a supplement helping you learn needed

marketable and value-added skills to improve your employment prospects in the
Philippine labor market and beyond. It combines English study with employability
Introduction lessons designed for you who are willing to learn tools and techniques related to
finding employment. The primary objective of the module is to enhance your job
enabling English proficiency and to develop such skillset needed to make you
employable.

Upon completion of this module, you shall have:

 demonstrated competence of job enabling English;

 illustrated and executed skillset learned for workforce readiness;

Module Outcomes  communicated and used relevant resources directly to becoming work-ready;
 committed and assumed responsibility to improving your employment
prospects;
 produced toolkit and adapted needed skillset to diverse contexts of the
Industry 4.0 labor market; and
 completed with confidence, performed well, and improved efficiency in
simulations relative to workforce readiness.

You will need approximately 22 contact / classroom hours to finish this module –
two hours a week for eleven weeks. We encourage you to engage yourself in
formal and self-directed study to complete all the follow-up activities and to meet
Time Allotment the recommended simulations for optimum navigation of the module contents and
performance tasks.
As an adult learner, your approach to learning will be different and must be
challenging. By stimulating your higher-order thinking skills around recommended
learning tasks and simulations, you will most likely be getting the most out of
‘workforce-ready’ learning experiences. Keeping fraction of your time to develop
Cognitive Challenge your critical thinking skills and to engage in collaborative tasks is therefore very
important.

The most significant and rewarding part in each lesson is the laboratory. You will
be exposed to simulations for a real-life learning experiences. These performance
tasks are meant to make you more competent and knowledgeable as to using
Workforce Readiness your relevant resources to improve your employment prospects in the future.
Hence, we recommend you to take yourself seriously as a job enabling
English proficient and workforce-ready.
UNDERSTANDING THE
UNIT 1 INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

UNDERSTANDING THE
INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

T
his unit introduces you to the Industry 4.0 labor market. It explores human capabilities and skills
development as the new metrics needed by future-ready workforce. In light of highlighting skills, not job
titles, as the new currency in the labor market, you will be led to understanding the importance of
relevant skills you need to be employable and to find job placement.
Relative attention is given to English language proficiency and its dialectical relationship to the concept
of employability. Given with the changing dynamics of global labor market, it is an imperative to put
premium on skills for productivity—communication and soft skills, in particular.
Provided that various literatures consider communication and soft skills as important attributes to
graduate’s employability, the concluding section lays down the foundation of significantly optimizing
your English skills to become workforce-ready.

Upon completion of this unit, you shall have:

 demonstrated confidence in defining and describing Industry 4.0 labor market;
 demonstrated ability to understand the importance of skills in the present-day labor
market; and
Unit  identified and described characteristics necessary for the future-ready workforce.
Objectives

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UNDERSTANDING THE
LESSON 1 INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

Lesson 1
Introduction to the New Metrics in the Industry 4.0 Labor Market
At the end of the lesson, you shall have:
 discussed the nature and processes of the labor market;
 identified and described new metrics or skills needed in the Industry 4.0 labor market; and
 demonstrated ability to assess yourself in tailoring these new metrics to finding job placements.

W ithhasthea rapid changes in contemporary society brought about by technology, the changing nature of work
‘disruptive impact on workers, labor markets and organizations’ (Ernst & Young, 2018). This
paradigm shift informs the necessity of workers and organizations to adapt. The future-ready workforce
needs to be exposed in reimagining and rethinking the importance of skills for jobs of the future with this
changing dynamics of the Industry 4.0 labor market.

New Metrics: Skills as the New Currency

As argued by Jagannathana, Rab & Macleanc (2019), future-ready workforce needs to secure the
following necessary and relevant skills, to wit: basic digital skills and literacy; learnability skills; skills
needed for greening economies; skills required for engaging in Industry 4.0 occupations; skills for next-
generation infrastructure and services; and skills for technology-infused manufacturing sectors. For our
purpose, their study stresses the market value of broad-based soft skills which helps improving
workplace effectiveness. These skills, which will be discussed in full-swing in the following lesson,
include teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, and design-thinking. The aforementioned skills are very
important and argued as having far-reaching impact on the future trajectories of work.

In light of the waves of change occurring in global labor markets being driven by the pervasive impact of
disruptive technologies on economies and societies, there is a need to reconsider unique challenges
and new opportunities that this change has come to offer. With the initial thought that new technologies
will somehow displace people in the workplace, there is a forward-thinking view that this will be
accompanied by gains in giving value and augmenting human capabilities and soft skills such as
creativity, effort and initiative, critical thinking and design thinking and negotiation skills which are all
contributory to the diverse contexts of problem-solving in the workplace.

Putting premium on productivity, creation of new jobs is an imperative highlighting ‘the importance of
investing in a skilled workforce and ensuring that workers are equipped with specialized skills required
for working with new technologies’ (p.2). The United Nation International Labor Organization’s Global
Commission on the Future of Work (as cited by Jagannathana, Rab & Macleanc; 2019) states that
‘Today’s skills will not match the jobs of tomorrow and newly acquired skills may quickly become
obsolete. The greening of our economies will create millions of jobs as we adopt sustainable practices
and clean technologies but other jobs will disappear as countries scale back their carbon- and resource-
intensive industries’ (p.2). This paves way to ILO’s following important recommendations: (1) increasing
investment in people’s capabilities; (2) increasing investment in the institutions of work; and (3)
increasing investment in decent and sustainable work. In short, there is a necessity to invest in human
capital skills development.

The Relationship between English Language Proficiency and Employability

According to Cabigon (2015), the Philippines is regarded as one of the largest English-speaking states
in the world with majority of its population having fluency, to some extent, in the English language. This
English language proficiency has become one of the country’s drivers to become one of the emerging
economies in Southeast Asia.

English has become an important part in the Philippine higher education curriculum. Being one of the
official languages in the country, it becomes an important tool for social mobility, particularly in finding
job placements in the local and global labor market. English is taught as a means of communication in

© 2020 Caraga State University EEP 3 (English for Employability)

UNDERSTANDING THE
LESSON 1 INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

the early part of tertiary studies in most of the state and private higher education institutions in the
country. Behind from its Asian neighbors, the British Council reported that the Philippines needs to step
up its efforts in developing English language proficiency as a vital skill in the workforce through
enhancing and sharing best practices of teaching and learning the language. Being an English-speaking
nation, the Philippines sets its distinct advantage in the ASEAN economic integration. To strengthen its
potential, the country needs to further build on the English skills among its young workforce.

This trajectory is mainly informed by the dialectical relationship between English language proficiency
and employability, supported by contentions in various literatures that ‘communication skills are highly
valued as a graduate attribute for employability’ (Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The
University of Melbourne; 2014 (p.5). With focus on aspects of oral and written communication skills
supported with relevant tasks and activities anchored from CSU core values from entry to exit, students
are expected to enhance their English language skills needed for employability after graduation.

There are a number of skills relevant to graduate employability which will be discussed in details in the
following lesson, but this section focuses only on English language proficiency as a value-added skill. In
light of considering English language proficiency as a market value, there is a need to understand how
this relates or is linked, in part or in whole, to the concept of employability.

Employability, as defined and described by Knight & York (2004; cited in Centre for the Study of
Higher Education’s Report, 2014), is:
A set of achievements - skills, understandings and personal attributes - that
make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their
chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community
and the economy (p. 4).

Using this broad definition of employability, Knight and York developed the ‘USEM Model’ of the
components comprising employability. The model emphasizes the interrelated nature of skills and
attributes that together constitute a graduate’s employability:
Understanding (of disciplinary subject matter and how organizations work);
Skillful practices (academic, employment, and life in general);
Efficacy beliefs (reflects the learner’s notion of self, their self-belief, and the
possibility for self-improvement and development);
Metacognition (complements efficacy, embraces self-awareness, how to learn and
reflection. It encompasses knowledge of strategies for learning, thinking and problem
solving, and supports and promotes continued learning/lifelong learning).
(Knight & Yorke, 2004, p 37).

Cole and Tibby (2013) assert that a successful definition of what employability is must also include what
it is not. They provide the following broad definition:

Employability - what it is
• It is a lifelong process.
• It applies to all students whatever their situation, course or mode of study.
• It is complex and involves a number of areas that interlink.
• It is about supporting students to develop a range of knowledge, skills, behaviors, attributes and
attitudes which will enable them to be successful not just in employment but in life.
• It is an institution-wide responsibility.
• It is about making the components of employability explicit to students to support their lifelong
learning.

Employability - what it is not

• It is not about replacing academic rigor and standards.
• It is not necessarily about adding additional modules into the curriculum.
• It is not just about preparing students for employment.

© 2020 Caraga State University EEP 3 (English for Employability)

UNDERSTANDING THE
LESSON 1 INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

• It is not the sole responsibility of the careers department.

• It is not something that can be quantified by any single measure (Cole and Tibby 2013: 5-6).
The attributes set out by Knight and York above are all attributes of the learner. However, as Pegg,
Waldock, Hendy-Isaac & Lawton (2012) point out, the ability of the learner to make use of these
attributes is mediated by their social circumstances. In particular, they refer to: the status of the
institution from which an individual has graduated, labor-market factors affecting the value of the
subjects an individual has studied; ethnicity, and socio-economic background (Pegg et al., citing: Brown
and Hesketh 2004; Panel on Fair Access to the Professions 2009; Purcell and Elias 2004;
AGCAS/HECSU 2010; Blasko et al. 2002; and Riddell et al. 2010). Pegg et al. conclude that:

The issue for higher education is what it should do to enhance the employment
potential for the full spectrum of its graduates, while acknowledging that economic
forces, of various kinds, will influence the graduates’ success. However, continuing
to make assumptions that students can all be treated in the same way, and have equal
confidence in dealing with the labor market, runs the risk of perpetuating
disadvantage as the relatively advantaged are able to maintain their position.
(Pegg et al. 2012: 8).

REFERENCES

Arkoudis et al. (2014). English language proficiency and employability framework: For Australian higher
education institutions. Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne

Cabigon, M. (2015). State of English in the Philippines: Should we be concerned? Retrieved from
https://www.britishcouncil.ph/teach/state-english-philippines-should-we-be-concerned-2
on January 21, 2019

Ernst & Young, Australia (2018). Will you wait for the future to happen? Or take a hand in shaping it?
The future of work. Ernst & Young Global Limited.

Global Business Coalition for Education (n.d.). Preparing tomorrow's workforce for the Fourth Industrial
Revolution. For business: A framework for action.

Jagannathan, Ra & Maclean (2019). Dominant recent trends impacting on jobs and labor markets –
An Overview, International Journal of Training Research, 17:sup1, 1-11,
DOI:10.1080/14480220.2019.1641292 Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1080/14480220.2019.1641292 on January 19, 2020

Wijewardene, Yong & Chinna (2014). English for Employability – the need of the hour for Sri Lankan
graduates. British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences ISSN: 2046-9578, Vol.17 No.I (2014).
BritishJournal Publishing, Inc. 2014 http://www.bjournal.co.uk/BJASS.aspx

© 2020 Caraga State University EEP 3 (English for Employability)

UNDERSTANDING THE
LESSON 1 INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

Let's Do

TASK 1. Case Study

Group Members : _______________________________________________________

Program/Year : _______________________________________________________
Class Schedule : _______________________________________________________

Directions: With the research article from Asia-Pacific Review 19(1) 2019, pp. 139-153, entitled
Philippine Readiness for the 4th Industrial Revolution: A Case Study by Junmo Kim, Ador R. Torneo,
and Seung-Bum Yang, De La Salle University (2019) as point of reference, answer the following
questions on the space provided. Visit your online class extension for the link and full text.

1. What can you infer about the Philippines’ readiness in the Industry 4.0?

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2. Why does Industry 4.0 work less in a developing country like the Philippines?

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3. What examples can you find that the Philippines is not yet ready for the Industry 4.0?
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© 2020 Caraga State University EEP 3 (English for Employability)

UNDERSTANDING THE
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4. Discuss the pros and cons of Industry 4.0 in the Filipino workforce.
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5. Determine the value of job creation and opportunities as one of the top priorities that the Philippine
government should consider before investing resources for Industry 4.0.
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Let's Check

Name : _______________________________________________________
Program/Year : _______________________________________________________
Class Schedule : _______________________________________________________

Directions: Encircle the letter of the correct and/or best answer.

1. Which of the following characterized Industry 4.0?

A. Introduction of mechanization
B. Mass production and electrification
C. Digitization, computers and the Internet
D. Artificial intelligence and interconnectivity

2. Which of the following played a central part in each of the four industrial revolutions?
A. Essence of capitalism
B. Technological breakthroughs
C. Economic and political motivations
D. Increase of production and consumption

3. Which of the following attributes shows graduate’s employability by understanding and

exploring the mission statement of any organization or company tailored to personal nature of
skills?

© 2020 Caraga State University EEP 3 (English for Employability)

UNDERSTANDING THE
LESSON 1 INDUSTRY 4.0 LABOR MARKET

A. Understanding
B. Skillful practices
C. Efficacy beliefs
D. Metacognition

4. Which of the following DOES NOT belong to the group?

A. Creativity
B. Teamwork
C. Problem-solving
D. Field of expertise

5. What ‘employability’ is NOT?

A. It is a lifelong process.
B. It is something quantifiable by a single measure.
C. It applies to all students regardless of their social juxtaposition.
D. It is about supporting students to develop a range of skillset for them to be work-ready.

6. Which of the following LEAST portrays a human-centered organization model which is mainly-
informed by the changing dynamics of the present-day labor market?
A. Increasing investment in people’s capabilities
B. Increasing investment in the institutions of work
C. Increasing investment in technological advances
D. Increasing investment in decent and sustainable work
7. Which of the following BEST manifests an employable individual in the Industry 4.0 labor
market?
A. Doctorate degree holder
B. Broad skillset
C. Communication skill
D. People skill

8. Which of the following BEST manifest a decent and sustainable work?

A. A nursing graduate working as a customer service representative
B. A licensed engineer working on contractual terms
C. A licensed teacher volunteering as in-service teacher months prior to plantilla item
D. A nursing graduate working in a hospital in one of the country’s state hospitals

9. Which of the following DOES NOT belong to the group?

A. Employability is the sole responsibility of careers department.
B. Employability is an engaged and integrative process.
C. Employability prepares students for the workforce.
D. Employability can be embedded into the curriculum.

10. Which of the following BEST portrays government’s initiative of providing workforce training
and development programs to its working citizens?
A. Increasing investment in people’s capabilities
B. Increasing investment in the institutions of work
C. Increasing investment in technological advances
D. Increasing investment in decent and sustainable work

© 2020 Caraga State University EEP 3 (English for Employability)