Graduate Unemployment in Sri Lanka

Graduate unemployment is a hot topic in the Sri Lankan media. During the last few weeks, I have read news about unemployed graduates engaging in protests, to demand the government to address the unemployment problem as a matter of urgency. Finding a solution is not an easy task, and moreover, it may not be possible to solve this problem by the government alone.

By Dr. Jeyaraman Devarajan Former Senior Lecturer in Management University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Unemployment is a crisis and not only affects graduates, but also presents a potent threat to the day to day activities and long term political stability of a nation. In Sri Lanka, gaining admission to universities is highly competitive. Students face many challenges, especially at the end of their tenure as a student, when seeking employment (Ariyawansa, 2008). Approximately 61% of students who sat for the GCE Advanced Level examinations become eligible for university admission, but however only 17.2% of them gained admission to a national university ( E.L. K. Dissanayake, 2011).

Further, students spend a minimum of three years completing their undergraduate studies and graduate with high expectations. Unemployment affects their morale, social status, standard of living and career opportunities, and increases the risk of depression.

Education is an investment, and when graduates are unemployed they are not able to obtain a return on their investment. In turn, this affects a nation’s productivity and renders the government’s investment on higher education redundant. If we want to find a solution to graduate unemployment, it is very important to understand the causes for unemployment. According to Lakshman (cited in Samaranayaake, 2016), the expansion of university education in Sri Lanka has directly contributed to graduate unemployment.

Following the introduction of university education in 1942, until mid-1960, graduates were guaranteed employment opportunities in private and public sectors. Since late 1960, graduates started experiencing difficulties in finding employment in either of these sectors.  A mismatch between skills possessed by the graduates and skills demanded by the labour market creates a gap, leading to unemployment. This is a classic demand and supply situation. When the private sector’s labour requirements are not being met by graduates, they prefer to hire non-graduates.

According to E.L.K. Dissanayake (2011), the private sector is heavily dependent on non-graduates with certain experience or technical qualifications, especially in the areas of information technology (IT), marketing, and related services. When graduates possess the appropriate knowledge and skills demanded by the labour market, graduates become more employable. The bottom line is not an over supply of graduates, rather an inability of graduates to meet all the requirements demanded by the labour market. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) report (cited in Sharma, UWN, 2012) Asia’s universities must align more closely with the needs of the labour market to ensure graduates have the appropriate knowledge and skills demanded by the employers.

Due to the influences of globalisation, a competitive environment, and the increasing pace of technological change, labour market employment requirements are also rapidly evolving. University graduates must be well equipped to adapt to these changes. Innovative changes in university curricula and delivery methods are an effective method of enabling graduates to be better equipped for the demands of the labour market. Due to rapid changes in the technical environment, some new skills are required by the labour market, whereas other skills are becoming obsolete. When designing the curriculum, universities need to consider the current and future requirements of the labour market.

Universities should be considered not as an avenue for obtaining a qualification or certificate, but moreover, an institution where students enhance their knowledge and skills in their chosen discipline, in order to develop attributes that enhance their employability and enable them to be ‘job ready’. In order to enable this, graduate attributes, such as team work, communicate, critical thinking, leadership and ethical conduct, must form an integral part of the curriculum. 3 The University education system must provide opportunities for students to develop their technical skills, especially computer skills. In the 21st century a person with a lack of knowledge in computer skills is considered as an illiterate person. Osborn argues (2012, UWN) that university education should be more focused on vocational themes, rather than on purely academic ones.

Further, English language skills are also very important in gaining employment, especially in the private sectors. According to Ann E.Kingsolver (2010), arts faculty graduates experience the greatest difficulties in seeking employment, as they were least likely to have the technical and language skills that are increasingly required for the private sector. Unfortunately, most graduates do not realise the importance of English language skills until they commence seeking employment. It is advisable to have English as a medium of instruction in universities, irrespective of the courses, and encourage students to read widely in the English language, whether it be novels, newspapers or textbooks.

Encouraging effective use of library facilities is one way of achieving this. The education delivery system also requires changes. Rather than theoretical based teaching, innovative teaching methods need to be considered, including small projects, group discussions and research work. According to Sharma (UWN, 2014), higher education institutions must reclaim their role as socially relevant institutions that produce graduates with necessary attributes for a sustainable society. University education should also promote an entrepreneurial culture and skills among undergraduates.

The government can provide loans and financial incentives to encourage graduates to pursue self-employment. According to Kasturiratne et al (2012), historically the education system in Sri Lanka has failed to foster entrepreneurial skills in students. The majority of curricula offered consist of academic theory and book based learning. The potential impacts of enterprise education are wide ranging. It provides graduates with a set of skills, attributes, and behaviours that will enhance both their employability and their capacity to create opportunities through entrepreneurship. This poses vast benefits for innovation, economic development and economic growth, especially for a growing economy such as Sri Lanka.

 Organisations have a social responsibility to play an active role in reducing graduate unemployment. Every year, organisations must generate employment opportunities for graduates, which can act as a way of seeding new talent and encouraging innovation in the workplace. The government can introduce incentives, such as tax concessions or grants, to enable organisations to encourage employment opportunities for graduates. In addition, organisations can provide internships, training and mentoring to undergraduates, preferably in their penultimate year. This enables the organisation to assess the suitability of the student to their organisation and culture, in a way that is not possible through an interview.

The student is also provided with the opportunity to develop their skills and commercial acumen and prove that they can be a valuable asset to the organisation. Internships are popular in Western countries as a means of address graduate employability. Government can also develop a permanent solution to address the unemployment problem.

A range of options should be considered, including providing free training programs to all unemployed graduates, promoting the growth of new industries, encouraging infrastructure projects to simulate employment and creating a political and economic environment that attracts foreign investment. A long term plan is required to address the long standing issue of unemployment. A feasible solution required the joint efforts of the government, universities, and organisations.