Effectiveness of Higher Education - Essay Example

In order to work as professionals in various fields, students must gain knowledge and requisite skills through training in a classroom environment, as well as practical attachment to relevant institutions.

Higher education plays a role in preparing students for future careers by providing them with the prerequisite skills for employability. Students across the globe pursue degrees of their choice in order to obtain employment, of their preferred choice.

Generally, university and college graduates are considered more knowledgeable and creative than ordinary people. The education level of a person significantly impacts his or her success in job seeking. The higher the education level, the more marketable an individual is. Also, the reputation of the institution where a person went through schooling also matters. Graduates from well-known universities are more likely to gain employment compared to their counterparts who studied in ordinary universities.

Work experience is critical for employability. Globally, the current education system faces the challenge of providing adequate training the students on practical work-related experience. Students gain hands-on experience during industrial placement and through this experience, they can choose and decide what path their careers take.  Research has shown that although graduates and young people are perceived to be well knowledgeable, and adequately trained for employment, most employers have reported that the entry-level graduates normally do not possess the work-related skills (Atfield & Purcell, 2012).

 It is evident that most graduates lack work-related skills, especially in terms of familiarity with the current market trends, business skills, teamwork and information technology, which is rapidly changing. For example, according to the Institute of Directors (IOD), 68 percent of employers who were surveyed expressed satisfaction with the graduate labour market in terms of technical knowledge and skills, and only 55 percent were satisfied with the generic employment-related skills, while 40 per cent stated that graduates were unprepared for the job market. This shows that the training graduates receive in a classroom environment is not adequate to prepare them for the job market (Atfield & Purcell, 2012).

The employers of most companies want to save money and time by selecting experienced candidates.  Most employers seek to recruit people who possess good communication skills, both oral and written, good organizational skills, analytical and problem-solving skills, data management, proficiency in information technology as well as, the ability to embrace teamwork to achieve organizational goals and targets.

Different types of jobs have different requirements. For instance, academic careers require one to be more educated than experienced, such as university lecturers and professors. Their line of work involves continual development and no experience is required at entry-level placement. Therefore, in this kind of profession, education counts more than work experience. However, in the wider world of jobs, work experience is critical employment for selection by companies.

There is an increase in demand for higher education in labour markets. Unemployment among recent graduates is high, and there are many graduates who are seeking better salaries and change of work environments to suit their personal development needs. There is a mismatch between the number of graduates and available job positions. Hundreds of thousands of students graduate every year from different universities and they cannot all be employed at the same time due to limited positions required to be filled. This is a major challenge that countries are facing in the world today.

While the degree is considered valuable, an average graduate may end up earning the salary of an individual whose highest education attained is A-level. Research shows that the value of a degree is expected to fall because of the fact that they do not have the technical skill and experience required for the labour market. There is evidence that about one-third of recent graduates normally fail to secure graduate-entry level positions.

However, there are exceptional cases where some degree subjects offer better jobs and attract higher wages than others. There is a great variation in employability and wages between various degree subjects. For instance, employers value graduates who have accounting and mathematically based degree courses as compared to general courses. Because of this, highly educated but non-numerate graduates may fare badly relative to their more numerate peers. People who have outstanding numeracy skills and mathematical ability are better paid and have wider career advancement opportunities.

Universities are centuries old, with high student enrolment rates being recorded every year, throughout the world. University education enables individuals to choose what career to pursue and upon completion, they compete with their counterparts for job opportunities. Behind each student’s academic success and employability are a desire to excel, driven by determination, motivation and the desire to achieve certain goals. The universities should aim at producing candidates who are all round and skilled by ensuring they link students to companies for practical exposure. When students are exposed to the work environment, they can better relate the classroom knowledge to real-life situations and gain team skills and interpersonal relations.