Article By: Albertis Photography
Equipping University Graduates with 21st-century employability skills demanded by employers would require a review of existing curricula and more investment in existing education policies.
To fill the gap between university curricula and industry demands would also require a change in teaching methods and a move away from teaching theory only to also equipping learners with technical and hands-on skills, experts told a webinar on 24 March.
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| University Graduates in PNG Require Practical, Technical and Cultural Skills. Photo by Albertis_Photograpy |
To claim to possess employable competencies, graduates need to be equipped with “new, changing and emerging skills.
While studying, students need to put their learning into practical application in their respective fields of study.
It is the sole responsibility of the Government to create an avenues where the University students would out the theory into practical.
Why not the government create/establish some programs in the respective departments of the government where students would be able to put their learning into practical.
The lack of practical, technical and other skills relevant to industry needs in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was also made worse by the fact that some universities had no home-tailored curriculum of their own.
Some universities have no local curriculum crafted to suit their local economies, and what they have been teaching is content inherited from foreign countries. This has created graduates lacking in competencies sought by industries.
It was clear that graduates produced in universities lacked technical skills necessary for work, which often necessitated ‘upskilling’ by employers or by benefactors of the learners.
This often involved enrolling in certificate and diploma and other short courses to close the gaps.
Embedding employability skills within PNG's higher education institutions is of paramount importance.
It remains the responsibility of both governments and the industry to address this problem. Finding a solution [to the skills gap] calls for governments to sit down with the private sector and universities.
Education policies should be revisited
Finding a solution would also necessitate “a revisiting of education policies” coupled with raising investment in higher education across PNG.
One way in which universities could start redressing the difference between what they taught, and what employers wanted was a first changing the teaching methods and approaches they used.
This would mean a shift from teaching theories and concepts to integrating practical, hands-on competencies taught in certificate-level courses.
Certificate courses taught at colleges tended to be very ‘focused’ on practical skills, something that needed to be incorporated in degree courses.
Universities in PNG tend to concentrate more on completing the syllabus, teaching mainly theories and concepts … and placing less emphasis on life skills that students need in employment.
The problem is also compounded by the fact that many faculty were also not taught the employability skills preferred by employers, which would make it hard for them to teach the same to students.
A major challenge is that, for the faculty to be able to teach some of the courses they, themselves, need to be trained in the skills, so that they can teach the students the particular competencies.
As educators, academics must first need to develop themselves and upgrade their skills, too. Educators will only be able to teach life skills when they, themselves, have learned them.
While both students and educators could access courses online that could teach the critical competencies, remote learning, itself, was a challenge in PNG. Online learning largely remained a new frontier, and many people were not exposed to it.
Distrust in online qualifications
There were many companies such as global online ‘micro credentials’ training firm Coursera that were partnering with universities to offer faculty and students courses, allowing learners exposure to practical learning on their own.
The firm allowed students to undertake guided projects virtually, thereby filling the critical skills gap left by theoretical learning.
However, confidence in online qualifications remained low in PNG overall, prompting the need for such courses to be taught with the blended learning model, combining virtual and contact teaching, to win credibility.
Regulators have shown little confidence in the online mode of learning. PNG, therefore, need to be gradual in adopting the mode and not rush into it. PNG need time to convince everyone about the quality of online learning.
Online teaching was a delivery method that differed from contact teaching and learning, requiring the training of faculty to be able to teach effectively. It was not simply about being able to use the video conferencing app Zoom.
Employers are now looking for technically savvy graduates, but many lacked the skills, in particular the ability to use basic ICT tools or communication skills, thus putting off employers.
A lack of problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities is also a problem. Employers valued self-management capabilities and ‘cultural intelligence’, but found it lacking in many graduates fresh out of higher education.
“A simple skill like how to make a presentation is missing in many graduates.
A lot of students do not have a focus on the goals they want to achieve, and often go ahead to apply for jobs they do like, but some have sadly studied things they do not like.
The result is that employers spent money ‘reskilling and upskilling’ graduates in their employment which, despite the cost, often meant better job performance.
Therefore, an urgent need for higher learning institutions to consider changes on several fronts and reduce the amount of theoretical content they taught.
Given the skills crisis, regulatory agencies needed to rethink how they updated curricula, how often they had to do so, and what content had to change.
Regular reviews needed
The need to constantly review content to ensure it was useful and relevant could not be underemphasised, as was the importance of university-industry partnership in developing curriculum.
However, in the absence of market-responsive content in the syllabus, institutions could sign up their students to online certificate courses as they undertook normal learning.
This would help boost their skills and ensure they acquire competencies sought by employers.
Thousands of such courses were offered by numerous companies and universities in PNG.
Similarly, lecturers could use the platforms to learn whatever skills they deemed necessary to their areas of speciality for their own individual good and the benefit of students.