Students in dire need of career guidance for employment

When he joined university to study business information, technology, and information (BIT), Chris Ayale was optimistic about a better future.

“I completed secondary school with good grades and enrolled in the University of Goma, but I was not aware of any option to follow. I was just informed that BIT was an available option,” he said.

Ayale enrolled and performed well. “When we graduated, I could not find a workplace where I fit in. I spent about three years without employment, and I started thinking that I had taken the wrong direction,” he said.

Venturing into agribusiness

As a last resort, he opted for venturing into the business of agricultural production. His e-commerce company, Kivu Green, supports buyers by helping them to access products by ordering them online. He also provides agricultural information to different people via their mobile phones.

“I founded the company to address two challenges: first, I wanted to bridge the lack of access to markets, and then to provide updated information to people,” he said. “Our company currently connects the landlocked producers in the areas of Masisi and Ngungu, among others. They reach the market via their mobile phones, without moving.”

The system also sends SMS messages to raise awareness about sound agricultural practices such as how to choose seeds, and weather forecasts.

As much as Ayale is trying his best to survive and support the community around him, his dream was still to study, get a job and earn a monthly salary.

Ayale is one of the thousands of graduates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who graduate each year but fail to find employment.

According to the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments, the unemployment rate among university graduates is at 84%.

Many of the DRC’s graduates blame a lack of career guidance and sufficient preparation at universities. On top of that, most employees are required to have experience of more than three years, which graduates do not have.

Change the way courses are offered

Officials from various universities say higher learning institutions and universities should rethink the way courses are taught and emphasise practical skills more. These institutions should also incorporate the needs of the job market into curricula and promote a culture of career guidance, especially for new students.

According to Patient Rafiki, the head of general academics at l’Institut Supérieur des Techniques de Communications et de Gestion, the unemployment situation is becoming worse.

“Universities need to change the way they work if we are to address this. We have started offering more practical skills training and equipping students with management and entrepreneurship skills, among other soft skills needed to complement hard skills acquired at school with the aim of improving their chances of employment,” he said.

Rafiki added that his university also ensures that students are linked to strong institutions for industrial attachments or internships, and it is yielding positive results with some students being employed by these same or other institutions.

He added that the university was working on the improvement of career guidance for first-year students to help them choose a career path they have a real interest in and to commit to it.

New programme expected to improve career guidance

In efforts to address such an issue, a new programme dubbed Programme d’Accompagnements des Etudiants was launched recently to train young students before they join universities and to equip them with hands-on skills after they have joined.

According to Patrick Kanyinda, the programme coordinator, students will benefit because they will not just acquire the necessary skills and knowledge, but also additional skills to make them more competent in the labour market.