Why do employers ask for work experience?

Why do employers ask for work experience, say five years yet people are fresh from school and searching for a job for the first time. I am jobless because of this experience issue. Where do they expect people to get the experience from? Clare

Dear Clare,
When organisations are recruiting, most times they have the objective of filling positions with people who are ready to hit the ground running, hence, the requirement for experience of sometimes up to five years. They will be looking to hire a particular skill or leadership that will drive the organisation to a desired level. This may be to fight off competition, drive sales or reduce costly inefficiencies and internal bottlenecks.
These challenges require experienced and skilled talent to deliver the desired outcomes. Organisations faced with such challenges have no time to invest in on-the-job training and skilling before they begin to reap productivity from the new hires.
On the other hand, when organisations are resourcing talent for future development, they will not advertise for experienced people. They will instead look out for potential talent whom they will develop into high fliers. This is especially true when recruiting management trainees. These trainees join with almost zero experience and are purposively developed and exposed in various operational areas of the organisation.
Therefore fresh graduates and those who have no working experience are advised to look out for organisations that organise career fairs at universities.
Daily Monitor & NSSF have been running successful Career Expos in universities across the country for several years. These fairs are aimed at attracting potential talent for development internally in these organisations.

Moses Ssesanga
Head Human Resource
Monitor Publications Limited
[email protected]