Foreign Literature

Graduate tracer studies are one form of empirical study that can appropriately provide valuable
information for evaluating the results of the education and training of a specific institution of
higher education. Graduate tracer study can also collect data on the relevance of the
curriculum and graduates’ level of satisfaction with their academic preparation. According to
the article by Ashenafi Abate Woyawhich is published on 2019 the tracer study or graduate
survey conducted by Ashenafi Abate Woya its significant is primarily to recognize and address
the existing curriculum’s strengths and weaknesses and its adequacy, quality and competencies
of a graduate in the market. Thus, the aim of that study was to assess the employability and
competency of statistics graduates. The study revealed that there was a high percentage of
unemployed graduates. And because of that the department should make a linkage with
different governmental organizations and NGOs. This may improve the employability of
statistics graduates. The BDU must continually aspire for graduates to be provided with
relevancy and effectiveness of work to escalate their employment.

Woya AA, (2019) . “Employability among statistics graduates: Graduates’ attributes, competence, and
quality of education."

Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7285491

Meanwhile, on the article entitled Why is employability important - to students? by the

University of Edinburgh it stated that ‘A degree is no longer enough’:  Following dramatic

increases in HE provision in the UK and fundamental shifts in the graduate recruitment market,

a degree is no longer enough to guarantee a graduate a satisfying future career. This is all the

more true in light of the current economic climate. In many sectors, recruiters are looking for

'work-ready' graduates with clear evidence of job specific skills in addition to high level

graduate attributes. To have the competitive advantage in the job market, students need to

have developed their employability throughout their time at university.

 Employability for graduates has become the predominant focus of colleges and institutes. This

increasing focus on the monetary returns is not limited to certain countries, and institutes all over the globe

are preoccupied with ascertaining that their students are getting jobs after they graduate. But while

policymakers and pundits alike dogmatize which careers and fields students should pursue, one particular

set of skills that are often overlooked and are at the very heart of the debate about employability are "soft

skills." Research in the field of student employability has discovered that most recruiters feel that a vast

majority of fresh college graduates are not employable. Upon being asked, different recruiters will define

employability from different perspectives. Interestingly, most employers do not want a creative, highly

intelligent maverick. They just want someone who can understand what is needed by their manager and

get the job done efficiently.

Hence, the qualified human resources with high competitiveness and employability skills are needed to
face the era of technological disruption, but employers find a lack of expertise among job seekers. The high
level of unemployment is often associated with the failure of the education system in generating graduates
supported with employability skills and high competitiveness. Lack of expertise among job seekers is the
cause of increasing unemployment. If the skills’ gap of the job seeker is related to the world of education,
then this problem is related to the issue of education quality.Based on the problems, it is necessary for the
institutions of education to prepare their students who not only have technical skills but also employability
skills. The biggest challenge in education today is to generate graduates who have academic skills, ability
in mastering technical skills, and balanced employability skills. People need to develop their potential to
have employability skills. This is supported by the Australian Government stating that employability skills
are important not only to get a job but also to develop their potential for company success.
Why is employability important - to students? (2020)
Retrieved from: https://www.ed.ac.uk/employability/staff/what-why-employability-important/why-
students

Because of the significance of employability skills, the education system needs to apply

employability skills in every learning process.(Nuryake Fajaryati, Budiyono, Muhammad Akhyar and

Wiranto, 2020) Fajaryati, N., Budiyono, Akhyar, M. & Wiranto (2020). The Employability Skills Needed To
Face the Demands of Work in the Future: Systematic Literature Reviews. Open Engineering, 10(1), 595-

603. https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2020-0072

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/eng-2020-0072/html

Universities, however adhere to the paradigm of assessing students via exams and assignments in

absence of a strong alternative model that assesses their employability. This leads to a mismatch between

the expectations of global employers who assess the quality of a job candidate based on their personality

traits and the output of universities who assess the quality of a graduate based on how much of the

curriculum she has memorized. (Dr. AkhilShahani, 2020)

SHAHANI, A. (2020). HERE'S WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR IN CANDIDATES

RETRIVED FROM: http://paradigmskills.in/newsdetail.aspx?id=45

Similarly, about one in three graduates end up being “mismatched” to the jobs they find after

leaving university, research by Universities UK suggests.These mismatched graduates face poorer

prospects and lower earnings than their peers who embark on careers that are a better fit for the

knowledge and skills they have acquired through three or four years of study. It suggests that traditional

careers advice isn’t working.The problem isn’t necessarily that too many students are taking the wrong

course. There is little evidence that graduates are studying the “wrong” subjects, according to the UUK

research, since most are on courses that offer subject knowledge and employability skills that are very

much in demand. (Sarah Steed, 2018)

Steed S. (2018).Too many graduates are mismatched to their jobs. What's going wrong?

RETRIEVED FROM:

https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2018/jan/25/too-many-graduates-are-

mismatched-to-their-jobs-whats-going-wrong

Likewise as of April 2021, the economy of America was still down 4 million jobs compared to

February 2020. At the same time, we are seeing unprecedented labor shortages, with 8.1 million jobs open

and unfilled across the U.S. Markets that saw explosive growth due to the pandemic, such as cybersecurity

and technology, are struggling to maintain the levels of innovation needed to continue that trend, because

they can’t find the right talent.

It’s because the U.S. education system is not held accountable for ensuring that students are

properly equipped with the skills and capabilities to prepare for a career where they can obtain financial

stability. Additionally, employers continue to rely on a traditional four-year degree requirement as a primary

means of determining job candidate employability. The disconnect here is obvious, and the result is nearly

15 million un- or under-employed individuals.

This archaic system simply no longer works in our modern world. The U.S. education system must

be reevaluated to better prepare students with employable skills. And employers need to adjust how they

evaluate candidates and job requirements. By facing this problem head on, the education industry can aid

in the economic recovery from the pandemic and prevent similar hiring gaps in the future . (Michael Hansen

2021)

Hansen M. (2021).
The U.S. Education System Isn’t Giving Students What Employers Need
Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2021/05/the-u-s-education-system-isnt-giving-students-what-
employers-need

1oneeee

Similarly, Natasha Robinson, a National Education reporter in Australia, wrote an article about how

most university students get a job within months of finishing but some courses do better than other. The top

five areas of study for full time employment in 2018 are Pharmacy 97.2%, Medicine 94.9%, Rehabilitation

89.3%, Dentistry 86%, and Veterinary Science with 84.7% while the bottom five areas of study for full time

employment are Creative Arts 52.2%, Tourism, hospitality, personal services, sport and recreation 56%,

Communications 60.5%, Humanities, culture and social sciences 64.3%, Psychology 64.5%. It is clear from

the figures that many people who graduate from courses with lower job prospects end up working in

different roles entirely. The Graduate Outcomes Survey 2018 found that while a university degree does

result in improved job and salary prospects, especially for post-graduates, there is also a huge number of

graduates not using the skills they acquired at university when they get a job.

Robinson, N. (2019) Most uni students get a job within months of finishing but some courses do better than
others Retrieved From:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-11/australian-job-prospects-for-university-graduates/

10706216

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-11/australian-job-prospects-for-university-graduates/

10706216
 In 2021, The Wall Street Journalist’ Jeffrey Selingo and Matt Sigelman wrote an article about 'The

Crisis of Unemployed College Graduates' stating that breaking into the post college job market is less about

where graduates went to school or their specific degree than it is about the skills they possess. Those who

have the problem-solving, communication and technical skills employers seek not only stand out but also

command a 30% salary premium, according to their research. Having these abilities could be the difference

between a decent job and underemployment. Silengo, J., Sigelman M. (2021). 'The Crisis of Unemployed

College Graduates Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-crisis-of-unemployed-college-

graduates-11612454124

Consequently, the article entitled "What Colleges Are Doing to Make Students Employable?" by

Julia K. Porter PHD 2021, stated that the Ohio's Tiffin University has made great strides to create a

curriculum centered on cultural diversity in order to produce graduates with employable skills. But how did

the institution identify which skills were necessary? According to TU's president, Dr. Lillian Schumacher, the

university "created a framework that consists of four cluster areas and 13 competencies that are built into

Tiffin core curriculum and then reinforced within each TU major field of study."

Schumacher went on to explain, "Some examples of these competencies are diplomacy,

objectivity, professional practice, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and ethical behavior. All of these

are examples of tangible, real-world, needed skills that employers want." Brooklyn College in New York

also believes that campus diversity and learning from peers can make students more attractive to

employers. Brooklyn College is one of the most diverse college campuses in the country." We want our

students to develop strong critical thinking skills [and] a deep commitment to inclusion," said Brooklyn

College's president, Michelle J. Anderson. "The Brooklyn College experience makes our students natural

team players, a skill that is essential in today's job market

Therefore, providing students, regardless of their major, with the skills that employers are seeking should
be part of every academic department’s curriculum. For example, psychology, a perennially popular major
with more than 100,000 graduates a year, is a field with limited prospects for those who don’t pursue
advanced studies. But a psychology major who acquires data analysis skills through research or
internships can unlock more than 100,000 additional entry-level jobs paying on average $60,000, versus
$39,000 for psychology majors overall.
Porter, J. (2021). What Colleges Are Doing to Make Students Employable?" Retrieved from:
https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/what-makes-a-college-graduate-employable

"College Affordability and Completion: Ensuring a Pathway to Opportunity" is an article stating that

college remains the greatest driver of socioeconomic mobility in America, but if they don't do more to keep

it within reach for middle-class families and those striving to get into the middle class, it could have the

opposite effect—serving as a barrier, instead of as a ticket to the American Dream. Every hard-working

student deserves a real opportunity to earn an affordable, high-quality degree or credential that offers a

clear path to civic engagement, economic security, and success.

Addressing growing college costs and debt is absolutely critical. Many more students need access

to vastly more affordable and quality higher education opportunities—including tuition- free degree options.

For too long, though, America's higher education system has focused almost exclusively on inputs—

enrolling students in college—and too little on outcomes—graduating from college with high-quality

degrees. We must reset the incentives that underpin the system so the focus is on the outcome that

matters: completing a quality degree at a reasonable cost. Otherwise, we will merely be finding better ways

of paying for an unsustainable status quo. (U.S. Department of Education, 2017)

College Affordability and Completion: Ensuring a Pathway to Opportunity (2021). Retrieved from:

https://www.ed.gov/college
References :

Woya AA, (2019). Employability among statistics graduates: Graduates’ attributes, competence, and quality of

education

Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7285491

Why is employability important - to students? (2020).
Available online: https://www.ed.ac.uk/employability/staff/what-why-employability-important/why-
students
Fajaryati, N., Budiyono, Akhyar, M. & Wiranto (2020). The Employability Skills Needed To Face the Demands of
Work in the Future: Systematic Literature Reviews. Open Engineering, 10(1), 595-603.
Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2020-0072

Shahani, A. (2020). Here’s what employers look for in candidates

Retrieved from: http://paradigmskills.in/newsdetail.aspx?id=45

Steed S. (2018).Too many graduates are mismatched to their jobs. What's going wrong?
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2018/jan/25/too-many-
graduates-are-mismatched-to-their-jobs-whats-going-wrong
Hansen, M. (2021). The U.S. Education System Isn’t Giving Students What Employers Need
Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2021/05/the-u-s-education-system-isnt-giving-students-
what-employers-need
Robinson, N. (2019). Most uni students get a job within months of finishing but some courses do better than others
Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-11/australian-job-prospects-for-university-
graduates/10706216
Silengo, J., Sigelman M. (2021). 'The Crisis of Unemployed College Graduates
Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-crisis-of-unemployed-college-graduates
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Porter, J. (2021). What Colleges Are Doing to Make Students Employable?
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