The Reality Fresh Graduates Need To Face About Jobs Availability

BY ‘BIODUN CASTON-DADA

Every August/September, from Nigeria, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Australia, USA and many countries across the world, colleges and tertiary institutions are churning out fresh graduates who are filled with high hopes of getting well paid jobs, especially after toiling so hard for four to five years to make high grades and CGPA which many believes will automatically land them a good job. But the reality to achieve this is becoming stiffer and stiffer every year, no thanks to Post-Covid 19 Economy Disruption, the various ongoing Trade and Tariff Wars across the globe and also the Artificial Intelligence (AI) disruptions.

The job market is increasingly becoming highly competitive.

Let’s take Nigeria for example, it’s becoming highly fallacious, for many parents and even students to still believe the government needs to provide jobs and employ all graduates, and comparing the situation with some 40 or 50 years ago when fresh graduates automatically get employed by the government. The time has changed and the earlier we wake up to reality, the better. Today, there’s nowhere in the world where this is happening, where graduates get automatically employed by the government. You have to fight for the jobs because there are hundreds of thousands of graduates who are equally qualified just like you and who are competing for the same jobs that are no longer in abundance. Added to all this is the Skill Mismatch where the educational systems often fail to equip graduates with the technical and soft skills needed for a rapidly evolving job market.

Nigeria is one of the largest youth populations in the world with an unemployment rate of over 30%. About 13.9 million or 64.3% of the unemployed population are under 35 years.

Way Forward

There are four ways to exploit for you to be gainfully employed.

Internship

You can go the internship route, either while you are still in college or as a fresh graduate. Being an intern provides the opportunity to learn on the job and acquire necessary experience that you can use to back up your degree. This route allows you to gain practical skills and learn from professionals either as students or as recent graduates. Internships can be paid, unpaid, or partially paid, but offer a chance for career exploration, skill development, and networking within an industry. It can easily guarantee a paid employment afterwards.

Skills Acquisition/Vocational Trainings

During holidays as an undergraduate, it is advisable for students to take up skills acquisition where they can learn things that can be beneficial to them and which can lead to entrepreneurship in case the job is not forthcoming. They can easily start their own businesses and grow it rather than waiting for paid employment. There are various skills and vocations they can learn such as coding, graphic designs, photography, video editing, programming, digital marketing, website building, baking, hair making, furniture making, interior decoration, fashion designing, agro and beauty products production, etc.

Acquiring diverse skills makes candidates more attractive to employers and can lead to new job opportunities or starting your own business.

Certifications, Seminars and Workshops

During your undergraduate years apply and start training for some of the required Professional Certifications and other Certifications in your field of study. This helps to beef up your CV. Make the time out to attend industry seminars and workshops where you can hear and learn from industry experts. It is also an avenue to meet people and network. These meetings might come handy when you are job hunting in the future.

Entrepreneurship

Don’t wait for jobs, start a business – Simon Squibb

University or Higher Institutions education should not be for you to gain employment after graduation. The knowledge and experience acquired is supposed to allow you to think and be creative. And in a place where you can get employed, then you create one! Many are afraid of the risks that are involved in starting up a business, so they want to comfortably get paid employment, a 9 to 5 job. Whereas, if you don’t have a stake in the company that employed you, there is no job security and your appointment can be terminated at any time. After learning a skill or undergoing vocational training either as an undergraduate or as a fresh graduate, you can start your own business and gradually build it. If you are afraid to fail, you can’t be successful in life. Failure is part of success. An important heads-up, to start your own business, it must be something that excites and fascinates you. Something you’re passionate about. This will keep you going during the tough times.

Role of Artificial Intelligence

It has been established that the introduction of Artificial Intelligence will disrupt the job market. Jobs will be lost and new ones will be created, so it depends on the side that you belong to. Students and fresh graduates need to understand this phenomenon and key into it. There will be widespread job displacement, particularly for jobs involving routine tasks and graduates who took courses in these areas without acquiring digital skills will be affected.

According to a Goldman Sachs report, AI could replace about 300 million full-time jobs. The McKinsey Global Institute also estimates that by 2030, approximately 375 million workers worldwide, about 14% of the global workforce, may need to transition to new careers due to advancements in digitisation, robotics, and AI.

Conclusion

Now is the time to rethink our approach to jobs and employment after graduation. Parents and guidance needs to do more in making sure their wards apply for courses that have job prospects, encourage skills acquisition and vocational training which can allow their wards to start their own businesses in a situation where employment is not forthcoming.

‘Biodun Caston-Dada is the publisher of ACADA Magazine, Nigeria’s longest running Youth/Campus publication