What universities should do to offer the right job skills

A group of Kisii University graduates celebrate their graduation last year. [File, Standard]

There is need for universities and employers in Kenya to work closely together to improve the employability of graduates.

Equally important is the need to design courses that respond to industry dynamics and teach graduates that self-employment is as important as being employed by an organisation.

These are some of the recommendations from a study released on Thursday about State of Graduate Employability in Kenya’ by CPS International. The study was conducted over three months from November 2019 to January this year.

Work placements

It recommends that universities should increase the employability of their graduates by equipping them with professional communication and critical thinking skills.

“There is need for universities to consider developing courses that are more relevant to employers’ needs and should improve cooperation between them and organisations when designing curriculum and study programmes,” the study says.

In addition, universities should steer sector-specific work placements for continuing students and graduates and device ways for increased funding to promote research and development to boost the quality and relevance of university graduates.

The institutions of higher learning need to enhance teaching and training capacity to produce more employable graduates and expand the idea of employability to include self-employment.

“Universities can achieve this by inculcating entrepreneurial skills and embracing the culture of inviting captains of industry to engage with students and faculty through public speaking forums,” the study shows.

Universities also need to improve cooperation among key stakeholders (universities, companies and investors) to enhance internship programmes for students within universities.

Another recommendation is improving documentation and record management for their graduates to increase traceability and promote employer report cards. The study shows that 67 per cent of universities did not have proper records of their employed graduates.

Universities should also introduce and encourage work-study programmes by engaging students when there are projects that require their expertise, like on research work and construction within, instead of outsourcing.

They should also encourage students to take advantage of open and free online learning platforms, exchange programmes and strategic partnerships that seek to improve their communication skills.

In addition to other sector-specific skills, team working capabilities and problem-solving skills are deemed important for graduates when seeking jobs.

Volunteer work

Universities also need to encourage students to participate in volunteer work and programmes to prepare them for future assignments.

Lucy Wakiaga, an education consultant, said ranking of universities is done globally.

“However, relying on ranking as a basis for hiring graduates is akin to picking ‘low lying fruit’. Universities can superficially massage outcomes of criteria for ranking, thus placing some at an advantage,” said Dr Wakiaga.

She observed that some universities have made a name such that their graduates do not have to try too hard to get hired even if the students are not necessarily very well prepared.

“In addition, some universities have their forerunners in well-placed institutions and so their graduates get hired because of that legacy. This may disadvantage students from smaller institutions who are actually well prepared,” Wakiaga said.

She called on employers to exercise due diligence in their hiring practices to ensure they do not unduly lock out strong candidates just because they come from “small” universities or just because they are not from same institutions as their forerunners.

Jonathan Wesaya, an education researcher, said he has a problem with the blanket classification used. “It is misleading and discouraging students,” Wesaya said.

Antony Langa, an employee of Kenya Airways, said such research should also tap into schools’ alumni social media groups which has many of the members employed in different sectors of the economy.

University ranking

The research ranked University of Nairobi (UoN) as the institution which supplies the highest number of graduates to Kenya’s job market with an index score of 26.8 per cent.

It was followed closely by Kenyatta University (21.3 per cent), Moi University (18.1 per cent), Mount Kenya University (16.5 per cent), Jomo Kenyatta University (15.2 per cent), Maseno University (13.6 per cent), Egerton University (13.5 per cent), Technical University of Kenya (8.4 per cent), Masinde Muliro University (7.1 per cent) and United States International University (USIU) with six per cent.

-The writer is a 2019/2020 Bertha Fellow