The 1st Proceeding of The International Conference on Business and Economics

Vol.1, No.1 January 2023

e-ISSN: 2963-4733; p-ISSN: 2963-9794; Page 99-112

Career Development and Employee Performance in Private

University : a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java,
Indonesia

Suparjo 1, Nurchayati 2
1,2 Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Semarang
Email : suparjo_ws@yahoo.com

Abstract. This study was an attempt to explore the nexus between career development and
employee job performance in UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. The study was
necessitated following the need to institute career development programs in organizations
for employees to acquire additional knowledge for improved job performance. This study
was a survey-type of research that employed a correlational design in an attempt to ascertain
the magnitude of the relationship between the studied variables. Structured questionnaires
were administered to a sample size of 250 drawn from the population of the study. The Likert
5- point scale was used in quantifying responses while simple regression was employed in
determining the degree of the relationship between career development and employee job
performance. The result shows a strong relationship between career mentoring and the
quality of employee job performance in the organization and concludes that organizations
that wish to improve on employee job performance must institute and entrench career
mentoring necessary for skill acquisition. The study recommends that organizations should
encourage career counseling activities as a leeway to providing a sustainable framework
upon which employees acquire the needed operational skills that will enhance their job
performance in a typical organization.

Keywords: career mentoring, career counseling, skill assessment, job performance.

INTRODUCTION
The emerging trend in today’s changing business environment is orchestrated by the
interplay of the various elements of the environment. The demands of meeting the challenges
of the competitive nature of the business environment and the considerable upsurge in
technological advancement, have stirred most organizations to lay emphasis on career
development as a necessary condition in meeting the demands of the environment. Career
Development Programs have evolved because of changes in the workforce (work-life
balance, diversity, and focus on quality), advances in management theory (employee

Received on November 7th, 2022; Revised on December 23nd, 2022; January 01nd, 2023
* Suparjo, suparjo_ws@yahoo.com
 Career Development and Employee Performance in Private University :
a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

motivation), changes in managerial styles, and the increasing complexity of technology.

These contemporary trends have fostered the growth of career development Programmes
(Agba, et al 2010).
In this 21st century, employees are no longer interested in pursuing just the job; their
aspirations are to have an employment opportunity that will create an extension of interest,
personality, and life-long work-related activities. When employees realize that they will have
opportunities for development, and continual growth, they will be more committed to their
workplace.
Agba, Nkpoyen, and Ushie (2010) asserted that where an employer can provide the
worker with ample opportunities for growth and advancement, a proper attitude of loyalty
and satisfaction can be enhanced. Manufacturing firms create enabling environment for
career development through Human Resource Department that plans several career
developments programs that will dovetail employees and the organization. Hameed and
Waheed (2011) argue that when organizations contribute towards employee development
activities, employees work harder, and utilize their skills and efforts fully to achieve the
overall goal of the organization. “Career development is a concerted effort directed towards
assessing workers potentials, identifying likely career paths for employees, designing and
implementing various forms of training and experience to prepare them for more advanced
jobs” (Stone, 2005).
Career development is a continual effort to match long-term individual and
organizational needs. Therefore, career development is a planned program designed to match
individual and organizational needs, while the personal dimensions allow for necessary
changes in individuals to acquire skills and advance progressively throughout the period of
their careers. There are several career development methods that can improve employee
performance in an organization. Manufacturing firms used methods such as career
counseling, career mentoring, and workshops, along with techniques such as self-assessment
testing and job rotations to enhance their employees’ opportunities for growth and
development. Aldefer (2004) argues that career development is the process by which
individuals collect information about values, interests, and skill strengths and weaknesses

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(career exploration), identify a career goal, and engage in career strategies that increase the
probability that career goals will be achieved. The career management process according to
John (2000) involves career exploration, the development of career goals, and the use of
career strategies to obtain career goals.
Career development according to Martin (2010) has increasingly become an
indispensable index for skill acquisition, and operational capabilities considering the
dynamic nature of the business environment to the point that the development of such
capacities especially through training has heretofore emerged as a necessary requirement in
preparing a long-term strategic plan of the organization. Kelvin (2009) sees career
development as a sustained strategy for enhancing employee job performance in order to
achieve a competitive advantage in the changing business environment. Thus, organizations
strive to optimize their workforce through comprehensive career development programs in
order to take abreast of its environment with respect to improved technologies, innovations,
and market economies. This however will enable the organizations to achieve and sustain
greater operational effectiveness and efficiency that will afford them greater leverage for
success (Grey, 2005). As a result, Private Universities are increasingly demanding superior
skills, increased productivity, and work-related knowledge from their workers. These
demands however emphasize the need for career development in UNTAG Semarang.
UNTAG Semarang was incorporated on the 17th day of August 1963 with it’s
headquarters at Pawiyatan Luhur, Semarang has graduated more than 39.568 students with
accredited level “B”. UNTAG Semarang is a Private University that has been a key player
in Central Java with 8 professors, 71 Associate professors, 136 Senior Lecturers, 37 lecturers,
and 20 Tutors.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Most private universities seems to be grappling with employees’ counterproductive
attitudes to work, which may be attributed to the management's inability to design an
institutional framework that would allow for career development programs necessary for
skill acquisition given the dynamism of the business environment. Employee work
performance is low in UNTAG Semarang and this may be attributed to the dearth of career
 Career Development and Employee Performance in Private University :
a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

development schemes like career counseling, career mentoring, and on-the-job training.
These methods, however, create long-lasting experiences, and operational capabilities that
culminate in improved organizational performance. The firm presently is faced with a lack
of specialized career counselors to advise employees on the rightful career development
methods within the context of organizational realities. This situation tends to undermine
worker efficiency in service delivery, and the realization of organizational goals.
Employees of the UNTAG Semarang lack proper guidance for achieving career goals
and expertise support to understand the system expectations which will enable them to be
articulated and more prepared to handle roles as well as able to perform their work effectively
(John, 2000). The aforementioned is orchestrated as a result of inadequate application of
career mentoring. In addition, the efforts of employees are being affected by the monotony
of work and lack of innovation that causes boredom, and work stress and affects interpersonal
collaboration and work effectiveness. It would be difficult to determine the underlying net
effect(s) of the interactions between career counseling on worker efficiency, career
mentoring on quality of employee work performance, and skill assessment training on efforts
of employees without research-based evidence, hence this study.

Conceptual Issues
Components of a Career Development Programme
The desired outcome of a Career Development Programme is to align employee needs
with that of the organization. Employees must have the opportunity to identify career needs
and the organization should assist them in achieving these needs within organizational
realities. A Career Development Programme according to Robert (2005) does not require
elaborate procedures. The essential components are career counseling, career mentoring, and
skill assessment.
Career Counseling
One of the most logical and important aspects of the career development process is
career counseling. An effective Career Counseling Programme does not only assist an
organization in identifying employees with high-performance potential but also assists them

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in mapping out realistic career opportunities (Vincent, 2013). Career counseling according
to John (2000) is concerned with instituting various skill acquisition programs that evolve
self-understanding; broadening one's horizons, work selection, challenge, satisfaction, and
other interpersonal matters, work site behavior, communication, and other interpersonal
phenomena, and lifestyle issues, such as balancing work, family, requirement.
According to Eisenberg and Delaney (2006), the aim of career counseling to employees
are as follows; understanding self, making a personal decision, setting achievable goals
which enhance growth and planning in the present to bring about desired future, coping with
difficult solutions, controlling self-defeating emotions, acquiring effective transaction skills
and acquiring positive self-regard and sense of optimism about one’s own ability to satisfying
one’s basic needs. Therefore, the thrust of career counseling is to assist employees in
exploiting their strengths and potential and avoiding mismatches between individual
aspirations, capabilities, and organizational opportunities. It reduces the waste of preparing
an employee for a position for which they are not suited, but might otherwise accept, in order
to conform to the wishes of the organization (Martins, 2005).
Career Mentoring
Mentoring is a professional relationship in which an experienced employee (mentor)
assists another less experienced employee (mentee) in developing specific skills and
knowledge that will enhance the less experienced person’s professional and personal growth.
William, James, and Susan (2002) define a mentor as a corporate manager who supervises,
coaches, and guides selected Lower – level employees by introducing them to the right
people and generally being their organizational sponsor. In reality, an informal type of
mentoring goes on in most organizations on a regular basis as older employees assist younger
workers. Networking and having mentors is essential for succession planning because it
builds and develops managers by widening their knowledge and a better understanding of
the overall operations and preparing for tasks ahead. Alanna and Awujo (2005) define
mentoring as the process of using specially selected and trained people to provide guidance
and advice which will help to develop the careers of the people allocated to them to be more
efficient in improving the quality of work. Mentoring is used to complement learning on the
job which of course is the best way of obtaining particular knowledge and skills.
 Career Development and Employee Performance in Private University :
a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

Skill Assessment
John (2000) opines that training and development is a technique used to transfer the
employee's relevant skills, knowledge, and competence to improve employee performance
on the current jobs and future assignments. John (2000) asserts that employee training is a
necessary condition that predisposes employees to acquire certain skills, and knowledge
especially given the dynamic nature of the business environment. Knowledge acquisition
makes it absolutely imperative for employees to keep abreast of their environment with
respect to an unprecedented upsurge in information and communication technology. The
survival of any organization in a competitive society depends on its ability to train its human
resource to be innovative, creative, and inventive which will invariably enhance performance
and increase the organization’s competitive advantage. Nwachukwu (2005) asserts that
training is a short-term educational process utilizing a systematic and organized procedure
by which non-managerial personnel learns technical knowledge and skills for a definite
purpose. When an organization engages an employee to perform a certain job and for the
task to perform adequately well, there is the need to train the employee to acquire the
necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies to be able to execute the job effectively and
efficiently.

RESEARCH METHODS
The study was a survey-type of research that employed a correlational design in an
attempt to determine the direction and the magnitude of the relationship between the studied
variables. A structured questionnaire drawn on 5 point scale rating was administered to a
sample of 250 respondents drawn from the population of the study. The test re-test approach
was employed such that the Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal
reliability of the research instrument. Therefore, the reliability result yielded Cronbach’s
alpha of 0.83, 0.80, and 0.78 for career counseling, career mentoring, and skill assessment,
respectively, and 0.89 for career development. These levels of Cronbach’s alpha were

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considered good indicators of the reliability of the instrument. For easy estimation, simple
regression was employed in each hypothesis.
For Hypothesis one:
Cc = f(WF) 1
Where Cc is career counseling, WF is worker efficiency.

Estimating Equation 1, there was a need to introduce stochastic error terms in order to
minimize the variance of the scores. Therefore, Equations 1 was rewritten as:

Cc1 = ao + a1WF + μ 2
Where μ is the error term.
H1 : There is a significant relationship between career counseling and worker efficiency
For Hypothesis two:

Cm =f(QE), 3
Where Cm is career mentoring, QE is quality of employee job performance The
aforementioned Equation was also rewritten by co-opting stochastic error terms.
Cm1 = ao + a1QE + μ 4 H2: There is a significant relationship between career mentoring
and quality of employee job performance

For Hypothesis three.

Where SA is skill assessment training, EE is efforts of employee job performance The model
is stated thus; SA = f(EE)
Therefore, SA1 = ao + a1EE + μ 6
H3: There is a significant relationship between skill assessment training and the efforts of
employee job performance

DISCUSSIONS
Table 1 shows the result of career counseling on worker efficiency in a private
university. The coefficient of the constant term is - 413 and its associated t-value is
 Career Development and Employee Performance in Private University :
a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

statistically significant at a 5% level. This implies that at zero level of worker efficiency in
the Private University, holding career counseling constant, the level of worker efficiency will
decrease by 4%. The regression coefficient of career counseling carries a negative sign and
its associated t-value is significant at a 5% level of significance. The implication of the
aforementioned is that worker efficiency in the manufacturing firm has a significant effect
on the career development in their operations; a unit increase in the level of career
development will lead to an increase in worker efficiency. Since the Prob. of t-statistics
(0.000) is less than a 5% level of significance, (0.000 < 0.05) the study rejects the null
hypothesis (H0), as a result, the alternate hypothesis (Ha) which says that there is a significant
relationship between career counseling and worker efficiency was accepted.
Table 2 shows the result of the coefficient determination (r2) on career counseling on
worker efficiency as 0.736. This implies that 73% of the total variation in worker efficiency
is accounted for, by the level of career counseling. The R is 0.858. This means there is a
strong relationship between career counseling and worker efficiency in UNTAG Semarang.
Table 3 shows the correlation coefficient between career counseling and worker
efficiency. The R is 0.858. The aforementioned result shows that there is a strong relationship
between career counseling and worker efficiency in UNTAG Semarang.
Table 4 shows the result of career mentoring on the quality of employee job
performance. The coefficient of the constant term is -325 and its associated t-value is
statistically significant at a 5% level. This, however, implies that at zero level of
performance, in their operations, career mentoring constant, the level of the quality of
employee job performance, will decrease by 3%. In other words, the coefficient of the
regression result on career mentoring equally has a negative sign. This implies that career
mentoring has a significant effect on the quality of employee job performance in UNTAG
Semarang. Therefore, Since the Prob. of t-statistics (0.000) is less than a 5% level of
significance, (0.000 < 0.05) the study reject the null hypothesis (H0), as a result, the alternate
hypothesis (Ha) was accepted, and hence, There is a significant relationship between career
mentoring and quality of employee job performance in UNTAG Semarang.

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More so, Table 5 shows the regression result on the coefficient of determination ( r2)
on career mentoring on the quality of employee job performance. R2= 0.582. This implies
that 58% of the total variation in the quality of employee job performance is accounted for,
by career mentoring, in UNTAG Semarang. R = 0.763. This suggests a positive relationship
between career mentoring and the quality of employee job performance in UNTAG
Semarang.
Table 6 shows the correlation coefficient between career mentoring and the quality of
employee job performance in UNTAG Semarang. The R is 0.763. The aforementioned result
shows that there is a positive relationship between career mentoring and the quality of
employee job performance in UNTAG Semarang.
Table 7 shows the result of the skill assessment on the efforts of employee job
performance. The coefficient of the constant term is -312 and its associated t-value is
statistically significant at a 5% level. This, however, implies that at zero level of
performance, in their operations, holding skill assessment constant, the level of the efforts of
employee job performance will decrease by 3%. In other words, the coefficient of the
regression result on skill assessment training equally has a negative sign. This implies that
skill assessment training has a significant effect on the efforts of employee job performance
in UNTAG Semarang. Therefore, Since the Prob. of t-statistics (0.000) is less than a 5% level
of significance, (0.000 < 0.05) the study reject the null hypothesis (H0), as a result, the
alternate hypothesis (Ha) was accepted, and hence, There is a significant relationship
between skill assessment training and the efforts of employee job performance in UNTAG
Semarang.
Table 8 shows the regression result on the coefficient of determination ( r2) on skill
assessment training on the efforts of employee job performance. R2= 0.760. This implies
that 76% of the total variation in the efforts of employee job performance is accounted for,
by skill assessment training in UNTAG Semarang. R = 0.872. This suggests a strong
relationship between skill assessment training and the efforts of employee job performance
in UNTAG Semarang.
Table 9 shows the correlation coefficient between skill assessment training and the
efforts of employee job performance in UNTAG Semarang. The R is 0.872. The
 Career Development and Employee Performance in Private University :
a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

aforementioned result shows that there is a positive relationship between skill assessment
training and the efforts of employee job performance in UNTAG Semarang.

CONCLUSION
Based on the findings, the study concludes that private universities can increasingly
improve employee job performance if considerable attention is given to career development
in their organization. Organizations operate in a dynamic and complex environment
characterized by the unpredictable economic climate, therefore, the ability of organizations
to strategize today given the changing environment is driven by the level of employee
operational capability, skills, and working dexterity acquired.
However, the result shows that worker efficiency has a significant effect on career
counseling. Therefore, for improved work efficiency, organizations are encouraged to
provide an institutional framework that can allow their employees to acquire practical skills
and learning experiences through career counseling. Organizational performance could be
attained through career mentoring programs because the result shows that the quality of
employee job performance has a considerable effect on career mentoring. The quality of
employee job performance can be sustained through career mentoring especially when the
trained person provides guidance and advice used to complement learning on the job. The
knowledge acquired through career mentoring has a propulsive effect on the quality of
employee job performance. The result also revealed that skill assessment training has a
significant effect on the efforts of employee job performance.
From the aforementioned, the study recommends that organizations should encourage
and entrench career counseling activities as a leeway of providing a sustainable framework
upon which employees’ acquire the needed operational skills that will enhance their job
performance in a typical organization. Also, considerable attention must be directed towards
instituting career mentoring programs that have the capacity of educating the employees on
the job for improved job performance in the organization. Finally, Management should
initiate a periodic skill assessment training program for its employees. In doing this, the

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employees stand the chance of acquiring an additional skill that would make them proactive
in their operations, and in meeting the demands of the environment.

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a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

Patrick, H.A. and Kumar, A (2011), Career Management, Employee Development and
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RESULTS
Data for this study were presented and analyzed based on the specific objective. The
SPSS 17.0 package was used to regress the variables on the specific objectives of the study.
For hypothesis one:
Table 1: Coefficients
Unstanddardized Coefficients Standard coefficients

Model B STD Error Bets t Sig.

(Constant) -413 .056 -8.268 .000

Cc .517 .017 .648 34.852 .000

Dependent Variable: Worker Efficiency
Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

Table 2: Model Summary

Adjusted R Std. Error of
Model R R Square
Square Estimates

0.858 0.736 0.717 0.17173

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

Table 3: Correlations
Cc Worker Efficiency

Cc Pearson Correlation 1 0.858

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 250 250

Worker Pearson Correlation 0.858 1

Efficiency
Sig. (2-tailed) .000

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N 250 250
Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

For Hypothesis Two

Table 4: Coefficients

Unstandardized Coefficients Standard coefficients

Model B STD Error Bets t Sig.

(Constant) - 325 .044 - 7.268 .000

Cm .317 .023 .128 24.852 .000

Dependent Variable: Quality of Employee job performance

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

Table 5: Model Summary

Adjusted R Std. Error of

Model R R Square
Square Estimates

0.763 0.582 0.573 0.23654

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

Table 6: Correlations

Quality of
Cm Employee Job
Performance

Pearson Correlation 1 0.763

Cm Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 250 250

Pearson Correlation 0.763 1

Quality of
Employee
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
 Career Development and Employee Performance in Private University :
a Study of UNTAG Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

Job
N 250 250
Performance

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

For Hypothesis Three

Table 7: Coefficients

Unstandardized Coefficients Standard coefficients

Model B STD Error Bets t Sig.

(Constant) - 312 .022 -3.216 .000

SA .217 .014 .125 13.324 .000

Dependent Variable: Efforts of Employee job performance

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)
Table 8: Model Summary

Adjusted R Std. Error of

Model R R Square
Square Estimates

0.872 0.760 0.6723 0.2563

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)

Table 9: Correlations

Efforts of
SA Employee job
Performance

Pearson Correlation 1 0.872

SA Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 250 250

Efforts of Pearson Correlation 0.872 1

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Employee job Sig. (2-tailed) .000

Performance
N 250 250

Source: Analysis of Statistical data (SPSS 17.0)