Churning out graduates for employment

Lionel Wijesiri

The Government recently decided to provide employment to over 17,000 unemployed graduates. Over 14,000 of the unemployed graduates would be appointed as Jana Sabha Secretaries and 3,174 unemployed fine arts graduates as teachers for their respective subjects. If agreed by the graduates, this step will ease the current problem.

As regards the future, first of all, we should understand that the issue of graduate unemployment is nothing new. What is new and disturbing is the persistent nature of the problem. In the past the problem was more demand-related in nature but with the growing mismatch in the country, it appears now the problem of unemployment is more structural. This is inevitable, as the country transforms to knowledge based economy. While many factors have been cited as contributors to the problem such as lack of English knowledge, communication skills and analytical and critical thinking skills, the issue of versatility of graduates clearly merits a re-thinking.

Wasteful Investment

Research studies done locally in the recent past have proven that the unemployment of graduates has a devastating effect on their lives. Educated unemployment is due to a mismatch between the aspirations of graduates and employment opportunities available to them. If the only benefit of a degree is only a guaranteed job, then it represents a wasteful investment of scarce resources.

Large sums of money have consequently been invested in educating unemployed graduates which could otherwise have been invested in job-creating productive programs.

Graduate unemployment is basically an issue which warrants the serious attention of policy makers. There are jobs available in this country but unfortunately the graduates are not in demand in spite of the education they have received.

That is one side of the story. On the other, graduates refuse to come to realize about their limitations and proceed get themselves acquire new skills needed by the prospective employers. They simply want jobs upon graduation mainly in the Government Sector. What they do not seem to understand is that the main role of the Government is a free and good education and the creation of conditions for employment generation. Nothing beyond that! University graduates, just like other educated men and women, should compete in the job market for available vacancies.

There are more than 25, 000 unemployed graduates in the country according to the latest statistics issued by the Department of Census and Statistics. It is difficult to understand how any government could solve this problem within a short period especially at a time the government is facing a financial crisis.

Research also indicates that the undergraduates who follow courses in humanities and social sciences face this situation more than those who follow specialized courses like engineering, medicine, architecture or science subjects.

There is nothing wrong in an education of humanities and social sciences. In fact, they are well-recognized throughout the world. In other developed countries, such learning cultivates critical thinking abilities and comparative application of concepts from past to present. He is a person who can see the difference between human injustices, their sources, and corrective action needed to rectify them. Have we produced graduates with these qualities? We haven't.

Rote Learning

We have to change our university education system towards student-centered learning which is an approach to education focusing on the needs of the students, rather than teachers and administrators. This approach has many implications for the design of curriculum, course content, and interactivity of courses. For instance, a student-centered course may address the needs of a particular undergraduate audience to learn how to solve some job-related problems using some aspects of economics. In contrast, a course focused on learning economics might choose areas of economics to cover and methods of teaching which would be considered irrelevant by the student. Student-centered learning is putting students first. It is completely different to existing teacher-centred lecturing in our universities. Student-centered learning is focused on the country's needs and learning styles with the lecturer is only a facilitator.

To recap the issues discussed, one might say that it is a simple case of the mismatch between the qualifications acquired by the Sri Lankan graduates, the skills they possess or not possess foreign language skills, and the needs of the public and private sector. Yes, that is correct. However, the solutions are complex. For the sake of the future generations, they should be found and found fast!

Advice

Harvard scholar, Professor William Pannapacker offers some general advice for the university under-graduates, based on his own experiences, observations, and conversations with the students. Our under-graduates will immensely benefit out of his experience, if they care to read the following carefully.

Flexibility. A good education should have prepared you to learn almost anything. Don't dismiss whole occupations as the work of "corporate drones" or regard any field as beneath you.

Mobility. If possible, look beyond the local labour market; consider opportunities in an international context. There are often unexpected zones of economic growth in the midst of any recession.

Research. Do not make decisions on the basis of inadequate information, particularly about future job prospects. Informational interviewing is the best thing you can do because you are getting up-to-date, insider's knowledge, you are practicing your interviewing skills, and you are building a network.

Networking. Most job opportunities are unadvertised; they are often filled by personal contacts. Tell everyone you know that you are job hunting.

Communication. Practice speaking with people in your desired occupation; make your résumés and cover letter flawless and perfectly tailored for the positions you are seeking. Develop a variety of ways of describing your aptitudes and experiences to deploy in interviews.

Professionalism. Cultivate a positive attitude, mind your manners, dress appropriately, and build a reputation for integrity and reliability. Accept that you're not too good for any position - yet.

Respect. Remember that there are plenty of people without university degrees who know things that are worth learning. Get over yourself and learn the art of cooking food, doing a bit of carpentry work, or gardening - with enough care that you come to enjoy them and value those who do them well.

Training. Seek continuous training and experience in support of your emerging career path. But avoid undertaking expensive and time-consuming education for positions that may not be available by the time you finish.

Hope. You can't know the future, so why not hold on to your optimism? A tough labour market can cultivate strengths that you never developed before. Unemployment can lead to despair and flight, but it can also strengthen character.

There are many actions one can take that can contribute to a reversal of fortune, and that can ward off the despair of giving up the search entirely or fleeing into a graduate program for the wrong reasons. Perhaps the one virtue we can convey to our students that includes all of the generalizations is humility: Accept that he may have to start at the very bottom - lower than he ever imagined - but keep his eyes open, and begin his ascent without looking back.