Are we producing graduates fit enough for the job market?

By Saleh Al Shaibany. It is no longer sufficient to produce thousands of graduates every year without considering whether these youngsters, armed with degrees in diverse subjects, are good enough to enter the job market.
Here, in Oman, no one has created a higher-education map that matches the exact requirements of employers in terms of specialisations. At least 8,000 graduates seek jobs each year, but the companies that are expected to employ them never have any influence over their education. Academics don't seem to look beyond the day of graduation.
In theory, when higher-education institutions annually churn out thousands of graduates, the job market is spoiled for choice. This isn't the case in reality. Instead, employers have to sift through thousands of applications to find the best candidates. They blame universities for sticking to the status quo with curriculums that do not encourage innovation or conform to the needs of the changing world. Read more...