Tan Kin Lian - Perspectives Help young people to be employed
Many countries face the problem of producing too many graduates, resulting in many graduates being unemployed or accepting jobs that are not relevant to their degree.  They wasted four to six years spent on pursuing a degree. 

Some people argue that the knowledge obtained from a university education is useful, for the long term. An educated workforce is more adaptable and productive. 

I like to suggest a different approach - to get more people to be productive and employed, and allow them to pursue a university education on a part time basis. 

a) Set a limit of 50% of young people to pursue a university degree

b) Make it attractive for the other 50% of the young people to get the vocational training for a job, and allow them to pursue a university degree on a part time basis. 

This can be achieved by encouraging the business to take in apprentices under a scheme where they get the vocational training and academic training for their jobs. They can pursue a university degree on a part time basis after completing the apprenticeship. 

The government can support this apprenticeship scheme as follows:

a) Work with industry to set up the structure for the apprenticeship scheme
b) Work with the educational institutes to provide the vocational training
c) Provide financial incentives for businesses to implement apprenticeships

Let me explain the apprenticeship approach with a concrete example. 

The economy needs nurses, cooks, waiters, policemen, technicians, etc. These jobs do not need to be filled by graduates. The apprenticeship scheme will train the workers for these jobs. On completing the apprenticeship, they are guaranteed a job with their employer (who needs them anyway) on attractive salaries. The government has to provide guidance on the appropriate level of salaries. 

The apprentices get the working experience and training on the job and also have the opportunity to get academic knowledge from the training institute. Being educated and trained, they will be more productive and can justify a higher pay. 

This approach ensures that there are trained people for the manpower needed by the businesses and reduces the unemployment among graduates. 

Tan Kin Lian 



 

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