Employment Prospects for Agricultural Graduates in Guinea Conakry

Abstract

Unemployment of graduates is a challenging problem in Africa, and it is aggravated by many factors such as population growth, mismatch between curriculum and employer needs, and lack of evidencebased policy making. In this context, the objectives of the present study are twofold. First, the aim is to identify key characteristics influencing labor market participation of graduates from agricultural higher education in Guinea. Second, the aim is to identify agricultural labor market needs in terms of skills and profiles desired by employers. Telephone surveys were administered to recent graduates from the main agricultural higher education institutions. The major findings from the analysis suggest that about one third of Guinean agricultural university graduates in the 2008-2013 period were employed in the formal sector in 2013-2014. Employment rates are lower for the technical schools. In terms of job creation prospects, key employers expect a doubling of hiring for positions requiring technical school or university training. Most of the projected growth is expected in the private sector. The results indicate that male graduates have a 7% higher probability of being employed as compared to female graduates in the aggregate analysis.

Does the timing of work integrated learning affect graduate employability outcomes?

“…Agriculture degree programmes have been flagged in the literature particularly from sub- (Breazeale et al 2004;Ouraich et al 2017). Recently, there has been a growing sense of urgency to promote agripreneurship in agriculture graduates to spur technological and economic growth (Chaurasiya et al 2016).…”

An Innovative Model of Agricultural Education and Training in Guinea: Trending Toward Self-Sustainability

“…Agriculture plays an essential role in Guinea, as 80% of the working population is employed in agriculture (Ouraich, Lowenberg-DeBoer, Soumah, & Diallo, 2017). Further, agriculture is the fastest growing sector of the economy and is anticipated to be critical to sustainably employing the increasing population (Filmer & Fox, 2014).…”

“…Further, agriculture is the fastest growing sector of the economy and is anticipated to be critical to sustainably employing the increasing population (Filmer & Fox, 2014). In fact, employers expect positions requiring postsecondary training in agriculture to double by 2020 (Ouraich et al, 2017). Without question, agriculture has been the key to economic growth in Guinea and will continue to play a leading role in its continued development.…”

“…The limited capacity and support for women in agriculture reduces the decision making autonomy of females and is a critical barrier to continued growth of Guinean agriculture. Additional challenges among Guinean agricultural producers include the increasing risk of desertification brought about by exacerbated for females or individuals who received training from a vocational school, like CAFPPP, as opposed to the agricultural university (Ouraich et al, 2017). To address the disconnect between AET and agricultural careers, recommendations have been made to increase the use of internships and field trips to better prepare students for careers in agriculture (Adebo & Sekumade, 2013).…”