Up to 30 percent of university students are unable to find jobs after they graduate, researchers have found.
This shock statistic is among the findings of a study undertaken by a marketing company on behalf of the higher education organisation, Unitech, and will be investigated further by the University of Cape Town's Development Policy Research Unit.
The finding corresponds with that of the South African Graduate Development Association.
It found that graduates were the fastest growing group swelling the numbers of the unemployed.
One of the main thrusts of the UCT unit's investigation will be to determine the fields of study of unemployed graduates.
"It is important to know which fields make up the 30 percent figure of the unemployed graduates," said Unitech chief executive and general manager Caleb Maqubela.
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The official unemployment figure was 26,7 percent but unofficial figures were as high as 40 percent.
Many students did not get appropriate career advice from their respective institutions, Maqubela said.
The alarmingly high drop-out rate, the lack of career advice, and inappropriate study choices were some of the major reasons for the growing unemployment rate among graduates.
To boost graduate employment, universities and colleges needed to become more involved in marketing their graduates for employment and creating opportunities for graduates and employers, Maqubela said.
He said it was also vital for higher education to provide work-place experience before graduates were sent out to the job market.
Another tool which could be used to rectify the situation was the recently launch-ed Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa), under the leadership of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
This was set up to specify which skills were most needed in the country.
"We also have students who took up courses that were very convenient for them but that did not yield jobs. We are very fortunate now with Jipsa," said Maqubela.
It was hoped that Jipsa would sharpen the focus of both students and tertiary education bodies, as it outlined areas where there were skill shortages such as manufacturing and technical occupations such as artisans, engineers and scientists.
A shortage of senior management was also a problem in all sectors. This was likely to impact on growth and the government's plan to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014.
Maqubela said he en-dorsed the South African Graduate Development Association report, which called for an overhaul of the education system.
The association suggested that reforms had to start at primary and secondary school level, with properly educated, good quality teachers, especially in the areas of mathematics and science.
The report further suggested that incentives be provided for students to choose courses that were relevant to the needs of the country.
The Department of Labour said it was very concerned about the issue of unemployment.
"The minister, Membathisi Mdladlana, said recently unemployment was a ticking time bomb," said spokesperson Mokgadi Pela.
sivuyile.mangxamba@inl.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 2 of Cape Argus on September 26, 2006
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