- Researcher and pvt. sector employee note need to upgrade higher education curricula and for attitudinal paradigm shift among both graduates and employers for national economic stability
In Sri Lanka, the unemployment rate among graduates is a significant concern, and it is essential to understand the factors that affect their employability and identify solutions to address the same. With high rates of unemployment and a surplus of job seekers, Sri Lankan graduates are facing significant challenges in finding employment opportunities. This is against a backdrop where the freezing of hiring processes and even terminations of existing jobs could be observed in the private sector. This situation has far-reaching consequences not only on graduates and their families but also on the overall economy and stability of the country. Therefore, Sri Lanka is in a position where it must look into upgrading the higher education system and changing graduates’ and employers’ attitudes.
This was underscored during a recent online discussion on employability prospects available for graduates in Sri Lanka. The discussion, organised by the think tank Advocata Institute, was joined by Advocata Institute Researcher Tirani A. Kulathunge and Lankem Ceylon PLC Agro Division Management Trainee Lavindu Sachintha Mederipitiya.
Graduates’ employability
Kulathunge explained how the overall job market has changed in recent years: “In the first quarter of last year (2022), the unemployment rate was around 4.3%, and in the third quarter of the same year, it rose to 5%. This is with the estimated labour force participation rate of 49%. In the same quarter, the totally economically active population was 8.4%.” According to the statistics presented by her, the unemployment rate among graduates between the ages of 25 and 29 currently remains at around 17.7%. Among male graduates of this age group, this rate is 11%, while among female graduates, it is 13%.
In this regard, Mederipitiya said that there are several factors that one should look into when it comes to unemployment among graduates, including the education system and curricula, which sometimes do not match with industry requirements, economic factors that affect graduates, social factors, and also the skill sets and training opportunities that graduates receive. Another factor is individual perceptions as to what sort of employment opportunities one seeks, regarding which Mederipitiya said that this factor plays a certain role in the graduates’ employability. He added: “Some graduates are really concerned that they should get a white-collar job. But, there are certain industries in which you do not get such a job, whereas, working in the field in some industries pays much more. There are certain perceptions about employability, and there is a current trend where people leave the country for different reasons.”
With regard to the issue of the lack of job opportunities in Sri Lanka, which was observed in a context where various employers have stopped recruiting new employees while some have resorted to terminating existing ones due to reasons such as high operational costs and taxes that organisations have had to pay, Mederipitiya said: “From mid-last year to date, there has been a gradual shrinking of employability, and there has been lesser attraction paid towards certain industries such as service providing organisations and the agriculture sector. They have reduced their operations. In some cases, there is a boom as well, although they face certain problems.”
Meanwhile, Kulathunge explained that as per last year’s third-quarter statistics, more than 47% of employees work in the service sector, while those employed in the agriculture sector constitute around 36%. She raised concerns that it is important to look at what factors cause more employees to choose the service sector over other sectors despite having obtained educational qualifications that allow them to enter other fields. In this regard, the two speakers pointed out that it could be a result of multiple factors, including the availability of job opportunities, personal interests, skill-related mismatches, and training-related factors.
Gender disparity
Kulathunge pointed out that in Sri Lanka’s job market, there is a notable gender disparity where more men work than women, despite the latter being able to work: “Last year, the male workforce was around 5.5 million, while concerningly, the female workforce was around 2.8 million. There is an evident gender disparity. When it comes to addressing the economically inactive population, in the third quarter of last year, the total was 8.7 million, which is much larger than the economically active population. Around 2.3 million males are economically inactive, while 6.4 million females are economically inactive.”
The two speakers concurred that gender disparity in the workforce is an issue that requires attention. They pointed out that even though there is a gender disparity in graduates’ employability, the state of such a disparity, although considerable, is different in varying sectors.
In this regard, Mederipitiya noted that while sectors such as the apparel sector welcome female graduates and provide them with satisfactory employment opportunities, some sectors do not welcome them in the same manner due to reasons such as female employees not being able to, or willing to work extended periods, and requiring transport services, which he said employers consider to be an added burden.
Kulathunge explained that even though female unemployment has declined to 8% in 2021 and to 6.4% in 2022, which she opined is a positive development, these rates are still higher than the unemployment rate among men. Regarding this, Mederipitiya added that females starting their own businesses as entrepreneurs have been on the rise in recent years, expressing concerns however that adequate attention has not been paid to this segment of the workforce.
Gaps between education and employment qualifications
Kulathunge raised concerns regarding what factors may have resulted in Sri Lankan graduates not being adequately entrepreneurial, and whether the existing administrative system pertaining to facilitating the establishment of new businesses is to blame for that.
In response, Mederipitiya explained that the processes involving starting a business in the country, including those pertaining to registering a business at public institutions, are lengthy and arduous. In addition, he shed some light on issues in career guidance in Sri Lanka where he said that those involved in providing career guidance need to be aware of how graduates should be guided to choose a field of employment. This process, he opined, should start in the early stages of a degree programme, not in the last semester, in order to allow undergraduates to gradually choose and be qualified to enter a certain field.
The two speakers further pointed out that there is a gap between the qualifications obtained through degree programmes and the qualifications required by the overall job market, regarding which Mederipitiya said that a system is needed to assist undergraduates to bridge that gap through analysing their educational qualifications and job requirements of the sector that they wish to enter. In addition, they stated that having proper agreements between institutions that provide employment or internship opportunities for fresh graduates would be important in the long run, as it provides some level of assurance that the graduates’ educational qualifications would be put to good use.
In this regard, Kulathunge questioned whether this situation calls for an upgrading of the academic curricula to match industry and job specific requirements.
Moreover, Mederipitiya claimed that an alarming situation has arisen where graduates hesitate to choose the agriculture sector as their career due to the laborious nature of this sector. Opining that this is a threat to the country, he added that this is mainly due to the perception that many graduates share that one should always do a white-collar job.
Meanwhile, in terms of promoting entrepreneurship among graduates, the two speakers said that even though the trend of graduates leaving the country, seeking employment in order to earn money to fund their own businesses in Sri Lanka is a good one, in many cases, they are leaving with no such intention.
This situation, Mederipitiya opined, calls for the Government’s intervention. He however, spoke against imposing restrictions against such groups and instead pointed out that encouraging them would be a better option.