Why many graduates in RI remain unemployed

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.