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Unemployed graduates A curse for the youth?

A man willing to work, and unable to f ind work, is perhaps the saddest sight that f ortunes inequality exhibits under this sun, once said T homas Carlyle. Af ter years of studies when the f resh graduates are now willing to adopt a prof essional stance to lif e, they get the greatest disappointment- UNEMPLOYMENT. Many f resh graduates in Mauritius are currently f acing this crisis. Unemployment has many negative ef f ects on the youth. Some of the graduates have agreed to share their experience with News on Sunday. MANY YOUNG students are of ten told that a university education would be their passport to success; that employers would hire them on the strength of their degrees. However, the reality has proved very dif f erent f or many of these students. Despite high ambitions to f orge ahead in lif e many graduates af ter having posted numerous CVs, but they are still awaiting the job of f ers to come f looding in - none ever came. Being educated and unemployed is not a new problem. T his human tragedy has been on the rise f or several years now. T he economic crisis has, certainly, not made it easier f or the young men out there. T he mismatch between education and the job market is glaring in Mauritius. According to the latest government statistics there are 30,000 individuals aged between 16 and 30 years, currently unemployed in Mauritius. Furthermore, 8,500 graduates are unemployed and 1,400 of them have been so f or more than one year. T he Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam has always stressed the importance of an excellent education f or a decent job. However, despite the encouragement and support by the Prime Minister there are still many students out there, backed by a highly decorated educational prof ile with the job market still envy material to them. Many no longer hold true to the saying Go to school and youll get a job.] Mishka Bissessur: Too many graduates chasing too few jobs Mishka is a f resh graduate f rom the University of Mauritius and has been struggling since last year to secure a job. She has been sending more than 1 hundred applications but still no response. It has been now a year since I have graduated in English and since then I am still looking f or a job. I really do not know how much more time it is going to take as I do have other f riends of my age in the same situation and some have even waited f or two to three years to secure a job, she says. According to her, it is quite dif f icult to cope with this situation as it leaves her f rustrated as she is not being able to stand on her own f eet at this age and not be f inancially independent.

Even today af ter completing a degree I have to see my parents struggling and I am helpless. It makes me wonder about all the years spent in studies, about all the stress we have been through since CPE, to acquiring this university degree and if this will ever bear its f ruits, she adds. Today there are too many graduates and f ew job opportunities. Competition has become quite tough. Some of us either go f or f urther studies and try our luck abroad while others continue to struggle here, she adds. Another problem is that companies look f or candidates having experience and being a f resh graduate f rom university does not really help. T he situation has worsened so much that nowadays youngsters are ready to start with any kind of job if given the chance even if they are overqualif ied f or the post. Its one of the ways to at least acquire work experience, she states. Mishka thinks there is a lack of streaming at tertiary level. T here too many intakes each year and this can easily be seen by the overcrowded campus and thus there are too many graduates competing f or too f ew jobs. Furthermore companies should try to give youngsters the opportunity to prove themselves while the government has to f ind a way to help us youngsters to secure jobs according to our qualif ications. Sania: Split jobs to employ more Af ter several unsuccessf ul interviews and hundreds of application letters sent, Sania, holding a Bsc in Marketing and Management, has never f elt so helpless. In 2009, she joined the University of Mauritius with much hope and with the aim of ursuing a good career but af ter years of study; she has not been able to attain her goals yet. It has been nearly one year since I have been searching f or a job and even applied f or internship but employers think I need experience to get the job. But the irony is that to gain experience, one needs a job f irst, says Sania. It is very stressf ul to see some students who perf ormed less well than you secure jobs easily just because they have contacts. At this age, to be unemployed is really disappointing. However, Im trying to cope with the situation as it is the only option lef t, she stresses. Sania points at the f ailure of the system f or the increasing rate of unemployment among youngsters. T he whole system is wrong. T he recruiting agencies are taking thousands of rupees f or the sake of rebuilding ones CV, she adds. According to her, solutions must be devised to remedy the situation at the earliest possible. Instead of giving a person a f ull time job with a big pay, it would be better if a new strategy is devised where the job and the pay can be split f or 2 or more persons. Hence, it will be part-time f or two persons rather than f ull time f or one person job. It might solve the problem a little bit, concluded Sania. Samar: Stale programmes with no job scope With much conf idence and aspiration, 23-year old Samar opted f or BA History and Geography three years ago but today he is unmotivated as he is jobless. Today Im really depressed as lif e is getting dif f icult day by day and since one year Im still sitting at home, says Samar anxiously. He f urther adds I f eel I wasted 3 years of my lif e studying something that has no scope and no value in the Mauritian job market. T he situation is so embarrassing because some people just give you a silly and shocked expression when you tell them your f ield of study. Since Samar lef t university, he is doing his level best in looking f or jobs. What is discouraging is that many institutions say that my degree is not relevant to the job market and there is no demand f or the subject I studied, he states. In a very angry tone, Samar highly believes that the system in Mauritius is a laid back system and it has to be reviewed f or sure. T he whole organisation is still as it was 20 years back, f or example at the University of Mauritius they still of f er programmes that were there 10 years back and they know there is no job scope, he claims.

Chandan Jankee: One graduate per family but no job? T he economist Chandan Junkee stated that if the country reaches a point where everybody is qualif ied, under the current employment trend, it will lead to an inf lation of qualif ication. We will create a situation where highly qualif ied individuals will be doing average jobs. However, the government needs to develop new strategies. For example an allocation f or the unemployed. Without a concrete plan to cater f or graduates it will be a complete waste of resources, he said. News on Sunday also questioned the economist regarding the numerous tertiary institutions being set up around the island. Many of these universities have no use to our country. T hey are providing qualif ications that have no value. I call them cowboy universities. Deepak Benydin: Highly qualified young people were routinely being expected to take on lowskilled roles contacted by News on Sunday, Deepak Benydin, a trade unionist, stated that indeed it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed promptly. When we speak of unemployment many are under the illusion that graduates do not f all into this category. However, it is the contrary and graduates are currently just as much af f ected by unemployment as any other group. Highly qualif ied young people were routinely being expected to take on low-skilled roles to earn a wage. T hey are of ten underpaid and prof usely exploited by some employers. Bef ore, people could opt to pursue a career in a f oreign country, but with the current worldwide economic crisis, the tunnel has been narrowed, says Deepak Benydin. It is crucial that parents, students, educational institutions and the government work together to address the problem. As we all know, there is a lack of career guidance in Mauritius. Many students af ter f ollowing their studies decide to pursue f urther studies and end up going in circles. We all have to sit down and have a brainstorming session and resolve matters prof essionally not just go by what the authorities tell us. Mauritius will be the sole benef iciary of this if the problem is resolved in this manner, stated Deepak Benydin. Graduates are too choosy? T hierry Goder, director of Talentaris, a recruitment and human resources consulting company stated that indeed he receives numerous calls f rom young individuals regarding jobs. I receive numerous calls and applications f rom young graduates. One of the reasons why they do not have a job is that the supply side of the market is not in line with the degree they possess. T here is also the f act that many young people are picky about the work that is available. We have a new generation that I respect, but young people want a big salary quickly, and they f orget that they must prove themselves f or two or three years bef ore they can aspire to climb up the ladder. We need young people with humility and patience. I know many young people who make these sacrif ices, and who are now, af ter three or f ive years, department heads, supervisors and managers. T hey gradually worked up to reap these benef its. YEP: 500 find jobs, including 100 graduates Finance Minister Xavier-Luc Duval posted on his Facebook prof ile on 23 April that so f ar, nearly 500 young people have started working under the Youth Employment Program. T his f igure includes more than 100 graduates. He also wrote that more than 230 employers have registered to take part in this program. Readers will recall that the 2013 National Budget has provided Rs 330m to assist Mauritian youth to obtain employment. Unemployed youngsters aged between 16 and 30 years may register on www.yep.mu f or job placements. CLIQUEZ ICI POUR COMMENT ER