Overcoming the traditional ways
A survey conducted in 2021 concluded that only 70% of the students in Japan who graduated in 2010 have found work, a record low. The competitive nature of the Job Market has raised the bar for job qualification. A simple degree is no longer considered a standard for a job in the market.
Many universities around the world have been shifting to a different teaching methodology in response to this change. The approach that “knowledge itself is not enough rather the application is” has raised many questions on how to best prepare students for the Job Market.
Focusing on soft skill development
Soft skills aren’t much talked about when it comes to equipping the students for jobs, skills such as strong communication, problem-solving, leadership, etc. are integral to students’ interaction with the work environment. Universities must enable their students to develop these skills by conducting workshops, seminars, and presentations.
Universities need to create strategies to help polish their collaborative and teamwork skills. This can be achieved through group projects or the creation of bodies like the student council, which will help better equip the students to develop their soft skills by helping them learn from their peers.
Job environments require solutions, and the ability to think quickly and be more responsive. students gradually are becoming mundane inside the education environment. According to the journal of learning and instruction students reported negative feelings 60% of the time. The lack of interest kills creativity, negatively affecting their ability to solve problems.
Universities need to create an environment where there is more student involvement i.e., they need to focus on practical education more instead of constant loading of information into their brains. Practicality invokes learning in a way that helps create an obsession in the minds.
Work experience
Universities need to translate students’ academic knowledge into skills to better develop them for the workplace. This makes it even more important for the universities to facilitate the students in giving access to practical opportunities. Universities that own other businesses or, have connections to local firms should help enable them to gain exposure to the work environment, this will also help the students to build a network of professional connections.
Furthermore, universities can provide students with credible job-finding sites and teach them how to apply for work relevant to their work.
Ensure the transfer of knowledge into Hard skills
Soft skills are there to compliment your hard skills but without hard skills, knowledge and other aspects become insignificant to a large extent. University learning (although shifting towards hard skills) is still very much in the early stages of developing these skills. A lot of universities are knowledge oriented making it difficult for many students to equip themselves with skills that will prepare them for the job market.
Universities need to incorporate skill teaching in their programs. It is important that a balance is maintained overall. Taking a holistic approach where knowledge is incorporated with skills (soft & hard) will help enable and empower students to learn to become real candidates in the job market.
Career counseling & employability
Career counseling plays a major role in enabling the students to better understand what they are good at, and which fields provide more scope for them. Universities should assign students to career counselors who will help them in assessing different opportunities for them to pursue further in their careers. This will help them become more aware of the professions each individual wants to pursue by setting a roadmap and then following it.
Students coming out of the universities are an asset to the country, and it is important that these individuals are accommodated. For this purpose, the responsibility falls on the universities to better prepare them for the job market so that they are immediately able to earn.
