UNEMPLOYMENT IS STILL A PROBLEM TO FRESH GRADUATES

By Vaileth Barden

According to the World Population Review, it is estimated that by 2014 the population of Tanzania had hit the 50.8 million mark. A 2012 report by National Bureau of Statistics shows the total labour force of Tanzania Mainland of people aged 15 and above to stand at 21,295,061. Also, a huge proportion of active labour force comprises young people.

Indeed, the core problem facing youth in Tanzania is unemployment. A survey by a non-governmental organisation, known as Restless Development, revealed that only 14 per cent are working in a formal, wage-earning job nation-wide.In fact, unemployment among fresh graduates in Tanzania has continued to be an issue of great concern since these young graduates always come across the challenge of inadequate job opportunities after completing their academic programme in universities and colleges.

This problem is prompted by various reasons, including the teaching and learning methods applied in most universities and colleges, which are more theoretical oriented than practical, hence equipping students with only theories but no practical skills that would make it easy for them to be self-employed. Lack of practical skills makes them not only look  incompetent in the job market  but also incapable of self-employment.

For this reason, most employers ignore fresh graduates. Furthermore, with no practical skills, graduates fail to start up their own businesses or gainful ventures.

This problem has its root is the Tanzania education system where the annual enrolment of fresh graduates in both public and private universities is constantly high but the number of employment vacancies is still not enough to absorb all the graduates in the job market. The two major sectors can only absorb a few number of graduates compared to the total number of graduates completing studies each year.

Also, there is concentration of jobs in particular sectors which tend to open up more opportunities for graduates on that particular area compared to other degree programmes. A good example is the Public Relations programme, which is a new field in the country in terms of direct training with only a few organisations and companies bothering to hire people. As a result most graduates on this field remain unemployed. New graduates who have experienced this programme have called on the particularly policy-makers to address this issue.

In addition, the problem of unemployment is also caused by some of the organisational systems which tend to list a lot of requirements such as a person with 3-5 years experience to acquire employment; this is a challenge to fresh graduates since they do not have such experience on their resume.

Also, some organisations are simply not friendly to youths and this may limit fresh graduates from getting employments. In most cases, it is the old people who orchestrate this trend by ignoring the youth’s intellectual contribution and, hence, this challenge limits graduates from getting employment.

Higher learning students are also urged to work very hard during field practical training so that they can be recommended in case of job opportunities, but it may also add up to their requisite working experiences since employers generally complain that most of the fresh graduates tend to have only high grades but devoid of practical skills to apply in the job market.

Furthermore, undergraduates are advised to take part in volunteering and internships programmes related to their fields as it may help them to acquire skills and on-the-job experience which will help them in the job market. A good example can be seen at the School of Journalism and Mass communication of University of Dar es Salaam (SJMC) where there are media outlets which provide opportunity to students to acquire skills through volunteering and internships.

Also, undergraduates are advised to involve themselves in social clubs or special training programmes offered in universities and colleges. This can add value to them in terms of teaching them how to be good team players, communication and presentation skills. Example of such clubs is gender club.