The emails keep coming from strangers — I have a degree but cannot find a job. It’s as if I am being accused of being in the university business, training students, applauding them on graduation day, only for them to step from the stage into unemployment. I am more convinced now than ever before that it is not the degree.
Students do not get jobs because they do not know how to show up. They graduate without ever having worked odd jobs anywhere to prove themselves. It is as if the perfect job must fall into your lap. That is not how the world works.
For the past 18 months I have been placing high school learners from working class communities in job-shadowing positions so that they can learn about the world of work. So far, it has been a disaster. Yes, they work in early childhood centres or in a panel-beating shop or as photographer assistants during the school holidays. What I noticed, however, is that the basic elements of a good worker are simply not in place.
You don’t greet unless you are greeted first. You slur your words, talking into your mouth. You don’t take the initiative, waiting to be told what to do. Saying ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ might sound almost childish to ask of the youth, but without those basic graces you are going nowhere fast. Of course, I know how these bad habits develop in homes where children do not greet adults and where food slapped on the table is gulped down without expressing gratitude. Not all working class homes are like that, I know, but many are places where the habits of positive attitudes towards work and life are simply not in place.
Many university students are no different. They look angry on campuses and come to classes with lead in their shoes. There is no joy, no spring in the step, no “how can I help around here?” attitude. I would certainly not give a job to a morose human being whose face looks like they lost a relative. Listen, you can have all the degrees in the world, but if you look like death, it is best the corpse moves on.
No student should graduate from school or university without being able to do an Excel spreadsheet, a competent bibliographic search, or reasonably advanced AI functions on some device.
What on earth are the life orientation or business studies teachers doing? Are pupils actually taught this stuff about work preparedness in high school? Is the orientation towards those topics simply “for the exam?” Or does the culture of the school merely reinforce the culture of the home? How do we break these shackles in our education and training regimes that hold back future workers?
To make matters worse, our curriculum is completely out of date. No student should graduate from school or university without being able to do an Excel spreadsheet, a competent bibliographic search, or reasonably advanced AI functions on some device. A university degree in any field from microbiology to econometrics is useless without that added layer of skills with applications in and beyond the discipline concerned. It really is time to fundamentally transform the curriculum to more purposefully prepare students for the world of work.
And no, you will not always get your ideal job the first time round. You are young; experiment in other fields before settling down in a job. Here’s a secret that can change your work life and income potential immediately whether or not you are stuck without a job. There are now companies actively recruiting young people to teach English as a foreign language especially in rich Asian countries. For example, try this link: https://www.i-to-i.com/
Do the online training for it is a worthwhile investment that yields two advantages. Your English language competence will improve and your ability to teach the language will yield material benefits. Oh, there is a third benefit: your personal confidence will increase.
But for any of this to happen, you need to change your attitude towards work. This weekend a retiring friend asked my wife behind my back, “but where does he get all that energy?” It’s very simple, actually. I love what I do and whatever I do if it is in the service of others. Whether as a postman’s assistant in the school holidays or a biology teacher in my early career or a university professor these days, I count myself lucky. Lucky to have a job, lucky to live in this country, and lucky to be able make a difference in people’s lives. That is why my standard reply to the question, how are you? is, they pay me too much.
In sum — find something that is your passion, show up with a positive attitude, work harder than anyone else and the sky is the limit.
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