Bridging gap between education, employment

LAHORE: Skills are the new currency in global economy that determines the wellbeing and social mobility of a person. But, imparting skills on mass scales is a daunting challenge overcome by a few German-speaking economies.

Almost nine out of 10 youth, even after completing their post-secondary education, are not convinced that it has improved their chances of finding a job. At the same time, there are vacancies lying vacant in numerous industries where employers cite a lack of skills as the main reason for the entry-level vacancies.

There is a huge difference in the expectation of an educated youth and an entrepreneur about the economic empowerment. Post-graduate degrees have not always prepared youth for the skills required in the market.

Skill shortage is not Pakistan-specific, but it is a global phenomenon and even some developed countries are facing the shortage of skill.

There are, however, some exceptions. Countries, like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, have the lowest youth unemployment among all the developed economies. It also worth noting that university participation rates in these three countries are significantly lower when compared with Britain and the United States. 

The difference between most of the developed economies and Germanic-speaking countries is that the former are strong in tertiary education, while the later have strong systems of apprenticeship. 

In these countries, the strong emphasis is placed on ‘dual systems’ of vocational training that starts in schools at the tenth grade, combined with both cultural and institutional incentives for employers to recruit via apprenticeship.

Unfortunately, Pakistan spends more on higher education than on vocational training.

Both the policy makers as well as the parents consider college/university education as the only pathway of success for the young people. This creates a middle-skills gap that is adversely impacting the economic progress, particularly in the science and technology and manufacturing sectors.

Apprenticeship is nothing new in Pakistani culture; we are still producing most of the car mechanic, electricians, air conditioning mechanic, plumbers, masons, painters and others through ‘Ustad-shagird’ (mentor-follower) process.

The transfer of skills by an illiterate car mechanic to his illiterate apprentice worked well in the 20th century. But, in the 21st century where disruptive technologies are replacing older technologies, this model is not workable in several skill sets.

The world has completely transformed. In successful economies, an apprentice receives a paid work contract. Occupational standards of some description are used to determine the competence required to achieve mastery of a specific role.

Both on-the-job and off-the job training is deployed as a learning model. Competence is verified through both the employer and independent assessment, which could include third party or industry certification.

International placement opportunities are unique feature of a world class apprentice system.

No government in the world has the capacity to train the number of apprentices required by its economy. They have to engage private sector employers.

The prime concern of firms that agree to provide apprenticeship is that their trained apprentices would be poached by competitors once they are fully trained.

No economy can now afford to rely solely on a classroom-based academic approach.

The academically trained person would be ignored in favour of those who learn in practicality. 

Globally, it has been found that college educated youths have lower success rate than the drop-outs who learn the trade practically.

This further strengthens the argument that there should be a robust apprenticeship system as a key element of education and training policy.

Pakistani nation, as a whole including governments, employers, and individual should look for the best possible ‘returns on investment’. What is required is to ‘assess the quality and quantity of the skills available in the population. 

It would be a folly to go for low-skill menial jobs.

All provincial governments, particularly Punjab that is imparting skills in large numbers, should determine the skills required in the labour market.

This will lead to better jobs and better lives.

Governments must also realise that technology alone would not resolve the issue of skills shortage. Need for craftsmanship would always be there. You cannot repair a leaking toilet through the internet.

The plumber would be needed to do the job. But, that does not mean that you go on producing plumber much more than the market
demand as it would suppress wages. The challenge for our planner is to bridge the gap between education and employment.