Why many graduates in RI remain unemployed

James Alderson, Jakarta

Recently, I was asked, "Is it true that the quality of fresh Indonesian graduates is not good enough to fill most positions in the corporate sector?". Sadly, I have heard this question and its twin about school leavers (high school graduates) many times before; not only Indonesia, but in both developed and developing countries.

Indeed, educators in many countries are now grappling with the "Standards" movement which seeks to deal with these questions. However, before answering yes or no, let us try to analyze the situation that has produced these alarming questions.

In essence, this situation is the result of the clash between two different views of the purpose of education. One view, which could be called "the individual view" sees education as the expression of an individual's right to the satisfaction of personal growth and empowerment, alongside the achievement of his or her potential. This view could also be described as "the insider view" as it is subscribed to by many professional educators.

The other view could be called "the socio-economic view" which sees education as an investment to produce individuals who will fit easily into society's expectations and meet its economic needs. Many countries have experienced this view strongly at some time in their national development.

Here in Indonesia we need only to think of the "native education" policies of the colonial administration Indeed, this view could be described as "a government view" addressing as it does issues such as economic competitiveness.

So, given these two contrasting views, it is perhaps not too surprising that students moving from "inside" education into a new socio-economic reality do not always get the welcome they expect.

However, while the despair and frustration of employers is heard around the world, let's try to understand the undergraduate situation here in Indonesia better.

To be honest, this mis-match with employers does not affect all students equally as some university courses are integral parts of professional and vocational pathways eg, medicine, education, architecture. In many countries these students don't give the corporate hirers headaches.

However, here in Indonesia, some employers question the quality of even these graduates. Is it justified? Are our professional qualifications equivalent to those of overseas universities? Many people do not think so (and hire their staff and educate their children accordingly) and to be fair the funding constraints facing most higher education institutions here mean that students often get to hear or read in their education about rather than have "hands on" learning.

Inevitably, this lack of real "hands on" experience will make it more difficult for new graduates to meet the professional expectations of their new workplace. Certainly, this is a common observation of overseas trained teachers working with newly qualified Indonesian teachers. Fortunately, experience has also shown these teachers are able to make tremendous professional improvements when given the opportunity.

My original question though was about the employment of new graduates in the corporate sector, so, let's consider this area. Traditionally, the corporate sector has been a major employer of new graduates. I remember my surprise when two of my university friends, one with B.A. in Philosophy and the other with a BSc. in Chemical Engineering were both recruited by the same major accountancy firm. Why?. It seemed a bit crazy to me!.

The reason, as my friends explained to me, was that corporate employers considered that new graduates (regardless of academic discipline) would have skills that would enable them to quickly adjust to the corporate world. Still today, corporate employers are looking for people with optimal combinations of "hard" and "soft skills".

"Hard" skills were, and still are, more knowledge based and relate to adequate literacy, numeracy and I.T skills that allow new workers to complete tasks effectively and quickly absorb extra professional training. "Soft skills" are more attitude based and relate to effectiveness in inter-personal and self- management areas. The ability to be an effective team member and/or leader, a self directed worker and a risk taker are all examples of "soft" skills.

The million dollar question then is; are Indonesian universities producing new graduates with the right balance of "hard" and "soft" skills for the modern corporate world?. If not, can the situation be improved? Increased and improved communication between the corporate and academic worlds would help. More courses offering work experience would also allow university students to identify potential skill deficits that they could address in a pro-active way (this approach would also help with that other difficult transition: School to workplace).

Better targeted investment in higher education could also improve the quality of "hard" skills such as I.T. Equally important, teaching methodologies and programs need to be designed and implemented that allow students to develop actual "soft" skills rather than just read about them. These approaches, many of which are already being used by schools preparing students for international universities need to become the norm in Indonesian universities too.

The last fifteen to twenty years have seen the emergence of an alternative solution to supplying the corporate work force. This is the rise of the business school and the MBA explosion. A variety of undergraduate (and post graduate) courses are now becoming more integral to business career pathways.

In Indonesia, there has been a lot of growth in this sector in recent years and prospectuses are liberally sprinkled with foreign place names "global", "international", "business leaders" et al. How good are these graduates? A lot will depend on the rigor of their programs, the quality of their skills training and it's assessment. Certainly, I have seen job advertisements specifying graduates from particular institutions for a variety of corporate positions, from secretaries to public relations consultants.

One final question, we are talking about Indonesia after all, and that is; do companies always hire the best people for the job or does the N. in K.K.N sometimes get in the way?

A I said earlier, for the situation to improve there needs to be improved communication all round. So let's hear from the corporate sector. What's working for them?

The writer has worked with both undergraduates and post graduate students both "inside" and "outside" the education system in Indonesia, Malaysia and the UK. He currently works at Sekolah Global Jaya. The opinions expressed above are personal.