EMPLOYERS in the private sector in Pakistan and around the world assess the capabilities of job seekers during the recruitment process. They assess their knowledge, skills and competencies that match to the job description of a particular post. Some of the graduates usually fail to meet it for various reasons, but the disconnect between graduate outcomes and job requirements is considered the main reason. Due to this, it is becoming difficult to secure a job with just a relevant degree.
Similarly, securing a job abroad is becoming difficult these days because they also assess qualifications, experience and aptitude for the job. Employers interact with the candidate a number of times to ascertain that he or she possesses relevant job-related expertise. They consider their seriousness and commitment to the job as more important than experience or other. It is also their assumption that the applicant is applying for this job by choice, not because he is not able to secure a job of his choice. Like most of the times in our part of the world, engineering and other professional degree holders end up in teaching jobs when they are unable to find discipline-related professional jobs. It also happens that after some time, if they get their professional job of choice, then they usually resign from the teaching job, which becomes vacant and students at the school or college must wait for one or more years for the appointment of the new teacher.
The reason for the above mismatch between qualification and job starts with admission into the degree programs at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). HEIs enroll the students in various degree programs without assessing whether they have passion and aptitude for the discipline for which they are applying. As per international practices, HEIs need to give admission to only those graduates in the intended programs who are interested in that discipline. This assures that they will learn by heart and contribute by generating knowledge in the selected discipline. But most of the times, HEIs try to fill seats without considering the aptitude of the student and their focus remains to generate revenue through providing maximum admissions. After providing admission, some of these would give false hopes to the students during the orientation for a confirmed job after the completion of the qualification and students continue to believe these. Students manage grades during the semester and in the end, get just a piece of paper called a degree.
To address this issue, we just need to follow good practices for admission of students made in the renowned universities. The way selection in professional institutions is made is also an example of how we need to enroll students who are really committed. The selection process in the armed forces, bureaucracy, state bank and other similar institutions assesses applicants thoroughly for intended job descriptions. The motto of access to higher education should not be blindly followed to just raise the ratio, although it is very much required because ours is less than twenty percent.
Most of the good universities have established a career counselling office which continuously guide students for national and international career pathways. Students after the first year get continuous orientation of different employment and further education opportunities. Resultantly, they focus on improving those areas that match the job requirements. This type of systematic mentoring practice helps them to land the job of their choice. Such an effective setup is mostly found in the top universities where students are themselves are aware of various pathways after graduation. Similar offices need to be established in other institutions to create awareness about different national and international opportunities in their domain.
One of the major hindrances to not grabbing opportunities for jobs and further education is language. Although we claim that the medium of our instruction is English, it is mostly bilingual on the pretext that understanding of the concepts is made better in the national or regional language. Students graduating with this arrangement face difficulty when trying to find a good opportunity. Although they have technical expertise, a lack of communication skills makes them ineligible for the various positions. This is true for those who find jobs in the Middle East or other European countries, as they are supposed to have an expert level of certification in the relevant language for better communication with natives. It is good that some of the institutions have started language teaching in various European and Chinese languages. This needs to link with the curriculum of various technical and scientific disciplines. It will help the graduates to find a job of their choice after graduation. This bridging of the language and technical skills can be achieved by establishing a long-term language proficiency arrangement with language institutions.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s, not HEC’s
— The writer is Director, Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.
