27. Employability: a qualification alone might not be enough

27. Employability: a qualification alone might not be enough - part 2

The result when we steal a moment to take a picture: either early morning or during lunch - CAN'T POSE because inside office, because serious environment (lol)!

On the first blogpost about employability , I shared the fact that there are graduate attributes and skills that we ought to have as students over and above our academic knowledge. There is one other thing that greatly contributes to employability that was not addressed: training.

It is very fortunate that there are courses that incorporate training/ work experience in which the knowledge gained is applied during tertiary studies. However, there are other courses that do not incorporate training during studies, and students are expected to complete training after completing tertiary studies instead. The most unfortunate thing in this case, which I had witnessed and experienced, is the fact that employers expect results. It is as though they forget that as graduates, we come straight from tertiary and are not familiar with the work environment and its demands.

When graduates undergo training, they are still learning. It has to be understood that patience is needed from both the trainee and employer: there has to be patience on the side of the employer in that the trainee should have freedom to ask anything and as much as needed, because they are still learning. There has to be patience and respect on the side of the trainee as well, in that the graduate must understand that the employer is also running a business and that he/she must deliver to his/ her respective clients.

It boils down to this: what is favourable to both the trainee and employer. The trainee most likely wants to gain as much experience and understanding of what they are doing as much as possible so that he/she becomes efficient and excels in the field of work. The employer most likely wants to run the business and succeed. Where do we find the balance?

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks so much for your time and consideration. Until next time. :)

Comments

7. Employability: a qualification alone might not be enough - part 1

When I entered university for the first time, graduate attributes were the last thing on my mind. I did not even know what a graduate attribute was. I entered university with the mentality of getting the degree, proceed further to obtain a higher qualification so that I could complete my training and get a permanent job. Apparently, that is not all that is required to be an employable graduate. I only heard about graduate attributes during my second year at university from Mr Rodrique E. George, my then lecturer of the ‘Intensive Reading and Writing’ module. Graduate attributes are the qualities, skills and knowledge that we as students must develop while at university. Some graduate attributes include: the ability to use knowledge to solve problems; the ability to use and apply information effectively; the ability to interact with people from different backgrounds and being able to understand their views, to name a few. There are characteristics and skills that stem from gra

24. Experience versus qualification

This is a topic I feel very strongly about, especially now that I have entered the working world and see the need for both experience and qualification. Qualification I believe that a qualification, be it a diploma or a degree, is merely a resource to assist one in whichever field they intend to work in, for that particular occupation/(s). The concern I have is when we spend years to obtain a qualification that we don't even know how we will use it, or even worse - obtain knowledge that may not be used at all! Obtaining a qualification is good for getting knowledge, a foundation, a background of the field of work and/ or area of expertise one intends to be in. I realized that through the B.com Accounting degree I obtained. However, it is not enough alone, and that's where the need for experience comes in. Experience I feel that experience is better than a qualification. Let me tell you why: A person with experience obtains knowledge, the actual knowledge required for th

22. Cooking

This is most probably the one topic you wouldn’t have expected from this blog, hey? Well, I didn’t think I’d find myself writing it either, but it is quite relevant. As much as some of us cook for ourselves at university, some still buy ready-made food from the dining halls. It may also be that some never had the opportunity or took the chance to cook while at home. Eventually, we'd have to get into the habit of cooking, especially because there will be a need to do so when we start living on our own. How I started cooking I was always cooked for – from the time I was a child right up until I started my first year at university. I confidently started my cooking journey at university and I loved it! I even went to the extent of making samp - umngqusho as we call it in the Xhosa language: do you have any idea how long that takes?! I didn’t care, as long as I was cooking. I suppose it was the excitement of starting something I did not do before. I did not like buying at the dining

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