Tertiary Education in Ghana: Graduate Unemployment - From the Margins to the Mainstream

GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT
"From the Margins to the Mainstream"
 


" You work hard, study harder, complete your coursework with minutes to spare and then make it through your final exams. Then what... ? "

Preparing for the world of work is an important element in any undergraduate education. Unfortunately, in Ghana, our public universities do not offer degree programs that seek to provide prospective students the requisite skills needed to enhance their performance and increase their productivity in the corporate world.

In Club UK, a British Council's magazine for International Students, Sara Mcdonnell investigated how UK Universities are helping students make a successful transition to the corporate environment.

According to Sara, an increasing number of UK Universities and Colleges are helping graduates gain vital work-related skills that will make them more attractive to employers.
 "With fierce competition for top graduate jobs, recent graduates are looking to gain practical skills and experience to ensure their place on the career ladder." - Sara.

" Nowadays there are more and more people graduating from the universities worldwide, therefore having just a degree is not enough to stand you out from the crowd " . - Nicola Glover [IT & Communications Student, LJMU - UK]

Fellow Marketing Student, Ryan Jones agrees with Nicola and says, " I am considering post-university life a lot and I am seriously focusing on giving myself an edge on other graduates ".

THE WoW INITIATIVE

The Graduate Development Center (GDC) of  Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) - UK piloted the World of Work (WoW) Initiative, designed to enhance students employability by identifying gaps in their experience and then tailoring a personal development plan to help fill in those gaps.

The WoW Initiative has four (4) Levels :



i. The Diagnostic Stage : Which seeks to identify the gaps in the employability skills of graduates.

ii. The Career Advisor's Stage : Here, students discuss those gaps with a professional career advisor. Once the advisor and student have identified where the gaps are, example; working as part of a team, they will put together a series of workshops for the student to attend.

iii. The Student Profile Stage : At this level, students are made to write a short profile that records where they are at and why they think they have got the evidence of employability skills.

iv. The Interview Stage : Finally, the process ends with an interview with an employer from a reputable firm, who will verify and then hopefully award an LJMU World of Work Certificate.

Even in Ghana, one of the largest commercial banks in the country, GCB, has a Graduate Entrance Training (GET) program which commenced in 2007.
This program has been specifically structured to provide the targeted graduates with the right skills that are required to enhance their performance on the job.

" This program has been successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified staff to the Bank ". - Mr. L.N. Adu-Mante (MD-GCB)







PricewaterhouseCoopers - Ghana's leading Professional Services Firm, is now seeking applications from graduates from all degree disciplines who are ;

. Initiative
. Have great interpersonal skills
. Passionate and Committed

Standard Chartered, one of the world's best international bank is also providing great opportunities for graduates who have a strong desire to learn with a training program dubbed International Graduate Programme (IGP).

StanChart believes as a rapidly growing bank with strong financial performance and robust foundation for growth, graduates who are highly ambitious, intelligent, creative and achievement oriented are eligible to join the IGP.

The IGP seeks to help graduates who have a strong desire to build an extraordinary career in Banking.










Synergy Global HR Programs, a Ghanaian-based educational firm, in collaboration with the Student's Representative Council (SRC) of University of Ghana (UG) - Legon recently organized a Career Fair dubbed - " How Do I Leap From School To My Dream Career " .

The highlights of the fair touched on vital topics such as :

. Corporate Grooming
. Training on Netiquette
. ABCs of Ghana's Labour Code
. ABCs of Graduate School Application

Students who participated in the Synergy Career Fair 2010 were also given for free CV Templates and Aptitude Test Samples.

The program which was gladly sponsored by MTN and Newmont Ghana saw seasoned Corporate Trainers from World-Class Firms and Institutions like Google Ghana, Oxford & Beautmont Solicitors, Stanbic Bank, Access Bank, Education USA and CityLink Airline.

The main purpose of the Career Fair was to help prospective graduates break easily into the Job Market.








Vodafone Ghana, a subsidiary of Vodafone Telecom Communications ( one of the largest Telecom Communications Networks on the planet ) has seen the need to train young graduates in Ghana who have the passion and the drive to thrive in a competitive work environment.

The training programme, Vodafone Ghana's Discovery Program, is focused on nurturing young talents into capable future leaders of the organization by continually challenging and developing their set skills.

Successful Candidates that get selected for the training program will get a life-time opportunity to work on real projects in an exciting ultra-modern environment.
Vodafone believes these experiences will afford participants with numerous opportunities that will build their comprehensive Commercial and Technical-know how and also develop their leadership capabilities.



" Nowadays,  Business Enterprises are looking for young graduates who will be able to think outside the box and develop initiative products for their companies . "   -  Pearl Esua-Mensah , Deputy MD - UT Bank Ghana Ltd, on Today's Woman Career & Professional Segment Show - TV3. 








Conclusion :




Nobody is saying academic skills are not valued by employers, far from it. For many employers a good university degree is vital, all other things being equal.


But the issue is, all over the world, recruiters require graduates who have ; good communication skills, team working skills, analysis and problem solving skills, meeting skills, customer care skills, telephone skills, numerical reasoning skills, good presentation skills and finally IT skills.


Mr. Terry Dray, director of the Graduate Development Center of LJMU hopes that WoW Certificate will come to be recognized as a credible indication of a graduate's employability that can be used alongside their Degree Certificate.



" ... Of  late, employers are increasingly seeking graduates who are better prepared to start their careers & can demonstrate how they have developed transferable skills while studying for their degree ... " . - Hubert Yaw - Adjei Antwi ( President - Campus Focus Networks - Ghana )

By : OWURACHY

owurachy@myself.com