78% Employers In Pakistan Are Dissatisfied With Fresh Graduates [Survey]

Naqeebz Consulting, a business-consulting firm recently published a research-based report ‘Graduate Employability: Employers’ Perception Survey Report 2018’ to assess the skills gap in the Pakistani graduate.

Launching ceremony of the survey report was held here at a local hotel.

The objective is to create an enhanced dialogue among academicians, university authorities, and employers through collaborative multi-stakeholder engagement. The report recommends a focus on the need to fast-track the interventions required by improving the instructional design & teacher training material, initiating skills development programmes, and renewing methods of assessments.

212 corporate respondents were canvassed, encompassing business owners, C-Level executives and HR leaders from a range of businesses, SMEs to Large National Corporations, and MNCs. A first multi-stakeholder meeting was held in Lahore on January 5^th, 2019 in the presence of HEC officials and leading corporate houses. There, it was agreed that Naqeebz Consulting should continue to lead the National Capacity Skills Program and work with them to integrate the National Employability and Enterprise Skills Program.

Speaking at the occasion, the author of this report expressed his views that, “ It was really shocking for me once I know that 80% of Industrials leaders told me that we had never been approached by any academia for any help or support”.

A balanced blend of corporate Pakistan was created so a well-structured and educated survey could be conducted, one that can help restructuring the educational environment for students. 212 organizations encompassing 25 industries that collectively employ over 500,000workforceswere engaged out of which 20% belonged to IT/Telecom/BPO/Call Center industry, 16% to FMCG/Manufacturing, 14% to Retail/Fashion/Hospitality/Food, 12% to Professional Services, 9% to Education & Training/Research, and 8% to Banking & Finance/Insurance. The targeted audience for this report includes Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), faculty members of public and private universities, degree awarding institutes, technical and vocational training institutes, professional training institutes, industry, and business leaders, policy-makers, media, and the public in general.

Chief Guest of this occasion Raja Yasir Hamayun Sarfraz, Minister Higher Education Punjab said that,” It’s really alarming that if we ask a graduate to write a page on any topic, believe me, he/she will cannot write a single page, this is a point where we must sit and think what we are teaching in universities and we are giving out”.

Dissatisfaction Of 78% Employers In Pakistan With Graduates

Alarmingly, the results conclusively highlighted that a whopping 78% of the employers canvassed are not satisfied with the quality of fresh graduates. Senior leaders are unhappy with the inability of graduates to justify their higher grades at the mere interview or assessment stage. This might be because 77% of employers are dissatisfied with the content and claims made by graduates on their CV/resume. 82% of employers cited that they do not hire fresh graduates merely on the basis of ‘high grades’ as what is essentially required to support decision-making in the recruitment process, is a blend of employability & enterprise skills to academic degrees.