How to prepare learners for job market

Experts in the education and human resource sectors have called for urgent higher education reforms and asked universities to produce entrepreneurs and employable graduates who can serve the country through innovative skills and devotion.

 Speaking at the launch of the Career Readiness and Employability programme in Kampala yesterday, experts asked the government to introduce what Prof Lawrence Muganga of Victoria University called: “A new turn-around model of teaching” and cited a venerable problem in a sector that continues to produce jobseekers as opposed to job creators.

 For every one job that is available there are at least 50 or more qualified people labouring to get it. Labour market experts say given the wide spread corruption in the country, even the most qualified don’t get jobs because the labour market is highly “patronised”.

 Former Makerere University vice chancellor, Prof Venansius Baryamureeba revealed that “the test of the pudding is in the eating” and advised that students be given extensive field attachment while still undertaking the degree/diploma. The other option according to Prof Baryamureeba is for institutions of higher learning to partner with government and have a deliberate policy on internship.       

 Other experts, who talked to this publication yesterday asked institutions of higher learning, to work with National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) and design a new assessment system that prepares learners for the job market and desist from training learners for white collar jobs, but equip them with relevant skills to become job creators.

 According to the Vice Chancellor of Kampala International University (KIU), Prof Mouhamad Mpezamihigo, universities need to make things more practical to match the labour market.

“Some institutions are still training their students for white collar jobs like it was witnessed during the colonial period. This must change to ensure that teaching is made practical, so that when graduates fail to get office jobs, they can use their certificate to create their jobs,” Dr Mpezamihigo said yesterday.

 He also called for universities to reconcile the curriculums they use to teach learners and the experiences required in the job world.

Career readiness

The new Career Readiness and Employability programme at Victoria University is one of the innovations that focuses on all-inclusive set of skills, knowledge and personality traits of graduates before joining the labour market. The new programme according to Prof Muganga, is premised on the credence that the current education system is theory, not skills-oriented.

 Under the plan, students access relevant internships in their areas of specialisation, study tours, exchange programmes for experience and exposure, creativity, and expert mentorship for those with life-changing ideas to be turned into innovation and start-ups, even to generate more jobs

 Prof Muganga said the university is shifting from traditional ways of teaching their learners to “experiential teaching” that focuses on hands-on and skills development.

He added: “The challenge for many universities is to give learners what they want — relevant complex experiences that prepare them for the challenging future.  We must adopt to a new learning education model that focuses on experiential and work-integrated learning, where students can learn by doing real-job placements that last throughout one’s study period.”

According to the Vice Chancellor, the university introduced a turn-around model of teaching, where learners are taught for a month and allowed to go to the field.

 “We don’t want to produce misfits in the job market. With this flexibility, students have the freedom to work somewhere and by the time they finish school, they have one year of experience. Most employers ask for experience and this has made our learners competitive because they are fit for the job market,” Prof Muganga said.

 For this Programme of Career Readiness and Employability to succeed, Prof Muganga said: “We must change the way we teach students in this country and on this continent. This is when we must crash the outdated teaching methods that do not deliver quality education and switch to a new way of teaching and segmenting what we teach.”

Human resource perspective

The director of Human Resource at Uganda Police, AIGP Brig Godfrey Kiwanuka Golooba, said the syllabus being used in the country is outdated.

“If we continue teaching our children the traditional approaches which are absolute, we risk making our graduates jobless. There is an academic crisis in the country with institutions offering outdated programmes and this must be worked on,” Mr Golooba said.

Adopt the European model of teaching

Prof Anthony Mugagga, the Principal of Makerere University College of Education and External Studies (CEES), said universities should adopt the European model of teaching.

 According to him, learners in both primary and secondary schools are taught in a comprehensive way, where both academic and vocational skills are instilled in learners.

 “Universities in the country should pass out a multi-trained graduate, where one should be able to graduate with two certificates, one in their profession with another in like hair-dressing or any other vocational programme. If things do not go well in their professional world, they can use the vocational certificate to earn a living,” Prof Mugagga said.

 He said students should also be equipped with other soft skills such as good communication skills, public health skills and proper attitudes.

 A number of employers from various bodies, including the Uganda Manufacturing Association (UMA) have on several occasions attacked the government for producing half-baked graduates who cannot apply what they were taught to the job.

As a result, the government has introduced a new lower secondary curriculum to shift from knowledge to a competence-based curriculum. This gives room to learners to apply knowledge and find solutions to various problems.

 The government has also started reviewing the A-Level curriculum to ensure that they match with the Lower secondary curriculum. At both levels, each learner will be subjected to assessment in any vocational course by the Directorate of Industrial training where they are slated to be issued with level one module certificate.

Adjusting curriculum  

In one of the interviews with the Deputy Director Research, Consultancy and Library Service at NCDC, Dr Richard Irumba, universities should also adjust their curriculum to ensure that they match with the reviewed ones.

 In a different interview with the Vice Chancellor of Kyambogo University Prof Eli Katunguka, they have received complaints from the private sector that the graduates are not ready because they do not possess key skills.

 According to Prof Katunguka, the graduates lack time management skills, cannot write letters and reports, lack interpersonal communication skills and cannot relate well with their colleagues.

 “To be honest, these things they are complaining about are not taught in universities because these are skills that should be taught to learners right from primary schools. The whole education system should be involved,” he said.

 Adding: “What we can do at the university level is to review our curricula to introduce cross-cutting courses that are needed by employers like communications and inter-personal skills. However, the major problem we get is that when these learners are admitted at this level, their attitude is static”.

Unemployment rate Uganda

According to the Uganda National Labour force survey 2021 that was conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), unemployment rate in the country had risen to 12 percent in 2021 from 9 percent in 2019.

 According to the report, 9.3 million Ugandans between the age of 18 to 30 years are not engaged in employment, nor are they in schools.

 Other research that has been conducted by academies indicate that an estimated 150,000 students are passed out annually in all universities across the country and these compete for about 52,000 available jobs.

 The students who fail to get jobs within the country have resorted to seeking employment outside the country. Majority of Uganda’s unemployed youth have left the country for the United Arab Emirates Countries.

 It is against this background that some universities in the country, including Victoria University have partnered with various agencies to recruit unemployed graduates in the country.

 Speaking to the Monitor yesterday, Mr Nishant Mamtora, the recruitment Director CWG, an international recruitment agency that is slated to recruit about 60 graduates from Uganda in the health sector every month.

 “We are going to help students get jobs in the UK but only in health related fields. We shall help them get interviews, get visas and register in the countries they will get placement. We are going to work hand In hand with Victoria University to identify these students who will compete for these jobs,” Mr Mamtora said.

What other key players say...

Dr Mouhamad Mpezamihigo (Kampala International University).

“Some institutions are still training their students for white collar jobs like it was witnessed during the colonial period. This must change to ensure that teaching is made practical, so that when graduates fail to get a job, they can use their certificate to create their enterprises.”

Prof Augustus Nuwagaba, an international consultant on economic transformation.

“Institutions can prepare learners by participating in curriculum development, providing internship and practicum. Other institutions provide research fields and participate in research training and marking to solve the research problem”.   

Prof Vanansius Baryamureeba, former VC Makerere University.

Institutions should partner with the government and have a policy on internships where all companies are required to take on mandatory interns for a given period. Students can also volunteer online and get work experience. verty, we will be doing very well.’’

Prof Eli Katunguka, Vice Chancellor of Kyambogo University

What we can do at the university level is to review our curriculums to introduce cross-cutting courses that are needed by employers like communications and inter-personal skills. However, the major problem we get is that when these learners are admitted at this level, their attitude is static.

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