A Conceptual Understanding of Employability: The Employers' View in Rwanda

Abstract

Many governments believe that investing in human capital should increase citizens' employability, which is why it is often presented as a solution to the problems of knowledge-based economies and societies, rising unemployment rates and economic competiveness. The aim of this study is to understand employers' views regarding the employability of graduates from higher education programmes in Rwanda. Employers of graduates in the programmes of Accounting, Agriculture, Education and Medicine were interviewed to obtain a broad understanding of their views. The key themes that emerged from the thematic analysis were professional skills, becoming changeable/formable and skilful practices. This study argues that the concept of employability needs to be viewed as contextual because understanding the professional and national contexts is fundamental to achieving a better understanding of graduates' employability.

Challenges in Reforming University Curricula for Graduate Employability: Head of Academic Departments Perspective

“…Firstly, HoDs displayed diverse understandings of graduate employability, reflecting the ongoing debates surrounding this concept. Despite the variety of perspectives, the definitions provided by participants resonated with those of earlier scholars like Yorke and Knight (2004), Bamwesiga (2013), Cai (2013), andBeaumont et al (2016). The alignment was evident in emphasising professional understanding, adaptability, and skilful practices as crucial components of graduate employability.…”

“…The escalating global concern over the employability of university graduates stems from a perceived mismatch between the number of graduates produced and the labour market's capacity to absorb them. Scholars, including Bamwesiga (2013), Beaumont et al (2016), and Kasozi (2015), attribute the low absorption rate to graduates lacking the relevant skills and knowledge demanded by employers, while Yorke (2006) contends that high graduate unemployment results from sluggish economies failing to create sufficient job opportunities. Surprisingly, these discussions have largely overlooked the potential roles of Heads of Academic Departments (HoDs) in universities in reforming the curricula to enhance graduate employability despite the pivotal role HoDs play in curricular review and development.…”

Learning for adaptation and 21st-century skills: Evidence of pupils’ flexibility in Rwandan primary schools

“…Specifically, Rwanda aims to become a technology hub for sub-Saharan Africa, create 214,000 new jobs each year for its expanding private sector, and achieve upper-middle-income status by 2035 (Republic of Rwanda, 2020; Rubagiza et al, 2011;van de Kuilen et al, 2019). However, human development indicators remain low (157 out of 189 countries) (United Nations Development Programme, 2019), and with a young and growing population (54 per cent are under 20 (Abbott et al, 2015)), the country's workforce will need not just education for basic literacy, numeracy and employment, but also skills for enterprise and job creation (Abbott et al, 2020;Bamwesiga, 2013;Pells et al, 2014;REB, 2012).…”

Inculcating Employability Skill Sets in Undergraduates Through Employability Embedded Courses: Students Experience Anatomisation

“…This could be important, since learning theory tells us that motivation, learning styles and commitment of learners is an essential prerequisite for effective outcomes (Honey & Mumford, 1992). Indeed, concerns of students' expectations, perceptions, opinions, difficulties encountered, satisfaction and usefulness of these employability embedding courses are largely sparingly researched (Harry et al, 2018;Bamwesiga, 2013;Tymon 2013). This paper contributes to the literature on employability by first, providing new evidence on student experience of employability embedding courses based on professional experiences.…”