IT IS HIGH TIME GRADUATES REINTERPRETED THEIR ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

 We are at a crossroads as a country. Almost everyday I receive a call from a recent graduate how they can maneuver the tough employment terrain. It is a dream of every graduate to attain a decent job. Graduates spend sleepless nights to read and pass exams only to find the real job world a real nightmare.  Where as there are a few lucky ones who are head hunted by big organizations not everyone is lucky. Today the job market is very competitive. In the past getting a first class degree made a lot of headlines but today it is very common to find a first class student doing "nothing " because there are not enough jobs. I saw a news session where a section of medical students were requesting for government to enable them to look for jobs abroad. In the past we knew that pursing a degree in traditional courses such as Medicine, Engineering and Law were shortcuts to employment. This is no longer the case because of the rise in population and the number of universities.

This shows that it cannot be business as usual for a present day university student. It means that a university student can no longer afford to bury themselves in books without knowing what is happening in the rest of the world. To address the unemployment gap , students should be nurtured right from early years of schooling so that they can make the right choices. Some students solely read to pass exams with the dominant mentality that good grades will be an automatic gate pass to their dream job. Today's employer is focused on finding out how a graduate to solve problems and add value to the company. The academic transcript is no longer an entitlement to a dream job. We need to intentionally develop the soft skills of the students. Many of the graduates have very good grades but lack the personal marketing strategies.  We need to emulate the Indians who have perfected the art of business and personal branding. World over Indians are known for being experts in business, ICT and medicine. What is Uganda known for as a brand? 

Today's graduate must know that they are in a war room that requires constant evaluation. Brian Tracy noted that the day a graduate receives their academic transcript is the day their degree becomes "obsolete". According to Ambrose Kibuuka in his great book After University What Next?, he challenges the university graduates to discover the relevance of their degree in the grand scheme of life. One of the key concepts is personal discovery. Many of the graduates start looking for jobs without first taking time to find out what they are good at. The most successful leaders are good at one thing. But today we have gradates who want to be good at everything. This has led to creation of a generation of graduates whose major desire is to amass wealth without taking the necessary steps to add value to society.

It is critical that today's graduates reinterpret their academic transcripts so that they become more relevant to society which is fast changing.

HOW A GRADUATE CAN REINVENT THEMSELVES

1.Seek mentorship

2.Think long term

3.Volunteer their skills

4.Develop leadership skills

5.Embrace technology

There is a section of youths who have never looked for a job. What can the rest of the youths learn from them?

For individual and corporate financial literacy training contact:

Coach Phillip Kiryowa

Personal Finance Coach ( CPC)

Certified Master Trainer, Bank of Uganda 

Founder, Advanced Empowerment Link

0752615916

For Financial Freedom and Sustainable Enterprises


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