GRADUATES AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES KNOWLEDGE VS SKILLS

 What you are taught in the Universities and what you are expected to deliver is different.
 Many of you get dissatisfied, frustrated and disappointed
 Learning on the job is important
 Learning in schools geared towards passing exams rather than acquiring knowledge that
can be applied in the field. Hence the need for field attachment.
 Employers feel a lot of time is wasted in going back to the basics of the job which has
proven to be highly inefficient in the work place.
 Lectures rarely turn up for all their lectures and some students do not bother to attend all
the sessions.
 Integrity of the exams and all other forms of assessment has been thrown out of the
window
 The system is literally broken and is clearly reflect when graduates arrive in the field.
 There is a mismatch caused by a lack of collaboration between educational institutions
and employers, and a lack of career guidance and enthusiasm among students.
 Kenya does not do well in work education and job required education because only about
30% of the workforce has the requisite education for the job.
 Cehena has a workforce of 47.4% with the right skills for the job.
 A Kenyan University graduate on average takes five years to find a job
 This skills mismatch has seen degree holders scrambling for low paying jobs e.g. security
guards, drivers, messengers in unfolding crisis. They do take diploma certificate holders
jobs like clerical & receptionist jobs.
 The idea about the gap between the need of the labour market and quality of graduates we
have in this country is historical because of the change we made in the education policy
and the shift in curriculums that happened with one adequate conversations, consultations
and dialogue with the private sector and employers.
 The problem is in the mode of teaching with no reference to the work place.
 Universities argue they actually don’t produce skills for the world of work, they simply
impart knowledge. They prepare intellectuals, basically people who can exercise their
intellectual ……………in different settings.
 It also starts with poor career and subject choice in institutions of higher learning.
 Because of poor career advice, a lot of students take subjects that do not give
employment opportunities and that is wasting our youths.
 The government always promises to do one thing and they don’t do it.
 It is about finance resources, policies that work and collaboration.
 Beyond the technical and hard skills, we also have a challenge with students as they are
just a different breed of persons. We have not infested well enough as the providers of
learning and imparters of skills on the soft skills. Teaching the students responsibilities,
 time keeping meeting deadlines, accepting corrections how to work and deliver on target,
how to learn from older people, basically h soft skills has been a big challenge.
 The bigger nightmare for University graduates is unemployment.
 About 2/3 of jobless Kenyans have given up looking for work or starting businesses.
 The20-24 years old demographics consists mostly of fresh graduates whose job- seeking
efforts are hurt by a lack of experience and mismatch between skills and job openings.
 For many graduates career guidance is poorly developed in Kenya and students generally
end up in courses dictated by their school graders and societal pressures (parents).
 Students are not well taught or guided from a young age to follow their interests and
passions and in –turn Universities are filled with students who are not interested in their
studies and lectures who teach the bare minimum.
 It is tis mind that may students and graduates are turning to the internet to study short
courses to fill the knowledge gap.
 Technical expertise in software is critical for all engineers yet during the entire there is no
unit on it.
 There is no proper engagement mechanism, or committee from institution to ensure that
students are actively involved in their studies.
 Later on student are sent half-baked to employers who are disappointed.
 The knowledge gap in University courses has become quite worrying.
 One need more time to reconcile the two and the job market will not wait for you. He
only thing missing from the curriculum is practical work.
 Most of the things students lean n schools are generalized and mostly give an overview of
what is actually done in the market.
 Universities are not focusing on teaching skills that are relevant to the job market in the
country, some skills are out dated while others are not in demand as much as they are
taught.
 Universities should partner with companies or people working in specific fields and
provide students with opportunities to use their newly acquire skills.
 Avoid skills mismatch by Universities exchanging notes with employers.
 There are no adequate resources in Universities to enable students to acquire the
necessary skills needed in the field.
 Universities should focus on teaching students more technical skills in certain fields e.g.
engineering because practical work is essential.
 A bled of theory and current practice is how we equip students for the work.
 Graduates are not exposed adequately.
 The problem is not necessarily the graduates, but the pathology of education. Industry
should get out students into placement that help them to develop the skills they are
learning.
 It is a misconception that graduates don’t have the skills. Even when they are out there
for industrial attachment they become just observers because they take commitment
lightly.
 The government should provide internships for students in between their studies, but
students also have a role to play.
 They should have the drive to learn things that not in the curriculum.
 The government should ensure that teachers are retrained every two years.
 There should be better collaboration between the world of learning and the world of
work. This should ensure exposure of graduates to the real work of work.