Name: Goitseone Maleshwane
Student Number: 2126980
Module: Research in Higher Education
Module Code: D8-RHE-14
Faculty: Health and Education
Assignment: 2
Programme: Post Graduate Diploma in Education
Lecture: Dr Jane Iloanya
Examining factors hindering graduates from finding jobs relevant to their degree
qualifications in Botswana
Introduction
When graduates complete their programs in higher education their hopes and expectations
is that upon receiving their degree certificates they will hand them over to employers and
start working. While it may be the case with other graduates, it is not so much with over
50% of graduates and amongst the employed group many are not necessarily working jobs
relevant to their degree qualifications. Research statistics Botswana has revealed that there
are about 226 598 people without jobs in Botswana and about 22 percent or more than 50
000 are graduates from tertiary (Sunday Standard 2020). (Baldauf & Luchinskaya 2019) in
their research reveal that the vast majority of graduates are still working in what is
considered graduate jobs, yet the transition from higher education into work has become
more complex and prolonged. Though a higher education qualification should guarantee
graduates employment that is relevant to their specific qualification there are factors that
hinder that from transpiring and thus the reason for this research proposal is to investigate
these factors and propose solutions to dealing with them.
Research Objectives
 To investigate the average number of graduates from a selected Higher Institution of
learning who acquire jobs relevant to their qualifications
 To establish the relevance of training graduates from a selected Higher Institution of
learning receive, to meet their employment requirements.
 To examine the role of the Ministry of Employment, Labour, Productivity & Skills
Development in graduate relevant job placement
 To evaluate factors hindering graduates from getting employed in the job of their
field of study
Research Questions
 What is the average number of graduates from a selected Higher Institution of
learning who have found jobs relevant to their qualifications?
 To establish the relevance of training graduates from a selected Higher Institution of
learning receive, to meet their employment requirements?
 What role does the Ministry of Employment, Labour, Productivity & Skills
Development play in ensuring graduate relevant job placement?
 What factors hinder graduates from getting employed in their field of study?
Literature Review
Introduction
Graduate employability is a rising concern in the twenty first century, as more graduates
leave higher institutions of learning, levels of unemployment rise too almost 2 times more
than the previous year. Botswana has esteemed higher institutions of learning and one of
them is Botswana Accountancy College (BAC), this research intends to review and analyse it
in order to find out what its contribution is to the state of the employability of its graduates
from the Information and Technology courses. It is also the aim of this research proposal to
understand if Botswana Accountancy College is contributing to the rise of unemployment
rate or if it is assisting in solving the problem of unemployment. As afore mentioned in the
introductory part of this proposal, research statistics have revealed that more than 50 000
graduates from tertiary schools are unemployed (Sunday Standard 2020) now the question
begs to know if BAC is a contributor to those statistics. Rudhumbu (2020) in his research
said “The effective implementation of technical and vocational education and training
(TVET) curriculum is critical in enabling the development in students of the right knowledge
and skill sets that will enable them to be competitive in the labour market”. The point
Rudhumbu was making addressed the effective implementation of the curriculum in TVET,
which will be one of the ideas propelling the course of this research, discovering how the
Information and Technology curriculum at BAC could be a factor in issues of graduate
employability in Botswana.
The curriculum and graduate employability
According to (Moswela B) there is a mismatch between what colleges produce (graduates)
and what mastery skills industries require therefore there is a need for a joined partnership
in the design of the curriculum from the colleges, industry and the ministry of education.
(Moswela B) argues that there is a limitation in the way content is delivered which hinders
skills development, this is challenged by the objective that seeks to establish the relevance
of training graduates from a selected Higher Institution of learning receive, to meet their
employment requirements. In their research (Moswela B) brings to light the limitations that
their research had on the matter of relevance of the curriculum due to this problem there
still remains a gap to be filled in regard to understanding the relevance of the curriculum
and how it affects graduate employability.
In another study by (Velasco 2014), he revealed that universities can actually add value to
their students by ensuring that their modes of teaching and learning, and assessment
positively enhance their competencies which are important in the labour market. If higher
institutions of learning would change their teaching methods to make them more
competence based, rather than just lecturing, but in response to the requirements of the
labour markets then it would propel the chances of graduates to having a better chance to
get employed in a field relevant to their qualifications and training.
With regard to policy (on the part of government), the study advises the government to
come up with more flexible policies that allow the TVET colleges to implement the
curriculum using more flexible models, such as the modification model rather than the
fidelity model as is currently obtaining Rudhumbu(2020). The curriculum correlates with the
policies and standards that the Ministry of Employment, Labour, Productivity & Skills
Development set, as they must guide institutions on the level of knowledge and
qualification they require to qualify a graduate employable.
Contemporary teaching is concerned not only with imparting knowledge but also with
developing skills and strategies for further learning. Velasco 2014 suggests that proposes a
theory of graduate competencies which suggests that HEIs matter when they add value to
their students.
References
Al-Dosary, AS, Rahman, SM & Aina, YA 2006, ‘A Communicative Planning Approach to Combat
Graduate Unemployment in Saudi Arabia’, Human Resource Development International, vol. 9, no. 3,
pp. 397–414.
HONG, BSS & SHLT.L, P, J. SHLT.L 2010, ‘A Retrospective Study of the Impact Faculty Dispositions
Have on Undergraduate Engineering Students’, College Student Journal, vol. 44, no. 2, p. p. 266-78.
Martínez-Arboleda, A 2012, ‘OER Relevance attribution: Educational Dialogue with Employers
around Curricular Employability in HE’, Journal of Interactive Media in Education, vol. 2012, no. 2, p.
15.
Mead Richardson, A 2009, ‘Crossing the Chasm – Introducing Flexible Learning into the Botswana
Technical Education Programme: from Policy to Action’, The International Review of Research in
Open and Distributed Learning, vol. 10, no. 4.
Moremi, M 2017, ‘The Role of Education in the Knowledge Age, Trends and Transitions: the Case of
Botswana’, International Journal of Learning and Teaching, pp. 198–201.
Moswela, B & Chiparo, U 2015, ‘“An Evaluation of Botswana Technical Colleges” Curriculum and Its
Enhancement of Graduate Employability’’, Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, vol. vol.
15, no. no. 7.
Rudhumbu, N 2021, ‘Implementation of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Curriculum in Colleges in Botswana: challenges, Strategies and Opportunities’, International Journal
of Training Research, pp. 1–18.
Salas Velasco, M 2014, ‘Do Higher Education Institutions Make a Difference in Competence
development? A Model of Competence Production at University’, Higher Education, vol. 68, no. 4,
pp. 503–523.
Sunday Standard 2020, ‘Nearly 300,000 Batswana jobless- Statistics Botswana’, Sunday
Standard Reporter, 17 August.