Assessing the needs of the labor market of Qom province for the specialization of graduates of technical and vocational fields

The present study was conducted to investigate the needs of the labor market for the specialization of students in technical-vocational branches of Qom province. This research is a survey in terms of practical purpose. The statistical population included all teachers in Qom province and the sample according to Cochran's formula was 259 people, and sampling method was the stratified quota. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire and a checklist of disciplines in the technical-professional branch (40 disciplines) and the vocational branch (161 disciplines). Content validity was evaluated positively by the relevant professors, and reliability was calculated to be 0.78 with Cronbach's alpha. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, one-sample t-test, and Friedman test were used to analyze the data. Mechanical equipment (with an average rank of 15/31), carpet handicrafts (with an average rank of 14.74); and in its field of expertise, troubleshooting computer systems, production and development of Internet sites, electric machines and computer game programming in the branch of expertise are market priorities in the work market of Qom province. In this study, new cases for educational management in the field of technical-vocational branches and skills in Qom province were introduced, which ultimately provides a good platform for employment growth and reducing unemployment among high school students. It is suggested that educational administrators include the identified priorities in their plans and base their educational activities on the results of scientific research, including the present study, in order to make the provided training effective.