OPINION: Good Business Basics -Skills mismatch as pool of unemployed graduates grows

A recent guest and I got into a discussion about his daughter who was currently in Grade 12, and the various career options she was considering.

This engagement crystalized for me a lot of what was wrong with the higher education sector, particularly tertiary education. It turned out that she was considering options as diverse as medicine, astronomy and accounting.

And the single, simple reason she could do this, was in a word, mathematics, or more accurately, core mathematics. In my view, the introduction of mathematics literacy as an alternative, or ‘softer’ mathematics option has exacerbated a lot of the problems at tertiary education level in particular, and the skills profile of the country in general.

Let me explain.

The dramatic relaxation of the achievement levels at Grade 12 exit examinations has resulted in a huge number of learners achieving the much sought after ‘Bachelor’s’ passes which gives access to university entrance.

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While the push to make higher education more accessible to the previously excluded, mainly black population, remains a laudable outcome, the reality is that the majority of them are arriving without passes in core maths, which limits them to the ‘softer’ disciplines in the arts and social sciences, whereas the country is crying out for graduates in the science, business and technical fields.

I am not for a moment implying that the fields of the arts, and law for example, are not worthy academic pursuits, providing they are made based on choice rather than expediency.

But any honest interrogation of the current tertiary sector will reveal that a huge number of entrants will accept any stream, because a university degree is seen as the key to opening doors to employment.

The folly of this approach is seen in the growing pool of unemployed graduates. There is simply, a huge mismatch between the skills the universities are producing and the skills the country and the economy requires.

The lion’s share of first year university students in the commerce, science and engineering fields is dominated by learners from independent and ‘Model C’ State schools, in the main because they actively encourage and support the selection of core mathematics as a matric subject.

It is not uncommon to hear stories of, particularly rural and township based schools doing the exact opposite, either due to a lack of resources, or attention to the subject.

The result of this is a disservice to both the transformation of the skilled professional sector in the country, and the dreams and aspirations of many a young matriculant.

Further, it is but another impediment to the growth of the economy which is vital to addressing the debilitating levels of unemployment, particularly amongst the youth.

Vijay Naidoo is the CEO of the Port Shepstone Business Forum. He writes in his personal capacity. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.

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