Employability in different cultural contexts

Project aims

• • How employability is understood in different cultural contexts and what differences exist between employability attributes valued in different geographical and cultural settings;
• • How expectations of employability vary between different professions and different categories of employer in each of the countries under investigation;
• Gaps for future research

Emerging importance of graduate employability

• WHY??

CHINA

Context

• Chinese society places high value on education.
• coexistence of the modern market economy and traditional command-control economy
• impact of 'one child policy'
• High graduate unemployment 16%
• Slowing economy

Employability

• Chinese state-owned industries versus MNCs
• Capacity to operate in both the international and local milieu
• bilingually and bi-culturally - move between two cultures
• signs that some MNCs are preferring local staff over expats highlighting the importance of cultural knowledge.

India

Context

• 1 in 3 grads up to the age of 29 is unemployed
• “revolution of rising aspirations and an economy that can't keep pace" (Jeffrey, 2014)
• tertiary system failing to prepare graduates for labour market
• State sector can no longer supply sufficient jobs

Employability

• Value analytical thinking, problem solving, critical reasoning skills
• Seeking graduates who are technically proficient and possess softer skills such as working in diverse intercultural contexts
• English language proficiency highly valued
• Social connections are critical, particularly in government jobs

Vietnam

Context

• Education is highly prized.
• Growing demand for tertiary education over the past 3 decades
• Tertiary system struggling to meet demand
• Concern that Vietnam’s higher education system is ill-equipped to prepare graduates for a modern economy.
• low quality of skilled labour creating a bottleneck for the nation’s sustainable development

Employability

• In the past : employers valued loyalty, hardwork and obedience.
• Now, greater emphasis on English language skills & communication skills, teamwork & personal skills, & characteristics such as taking initiative & being proactive
• Relationship based culture - local connections are key.

Indonesia

Context

• Economy shifting from agriculture-based towards industry and service-based, demand for a high skilled labour force increases
• Mismatch between the graduate supply and labour market demand
• 27 percent of university graduates unemployed.
• Those who are employed, often in positions unrelated to their field of study
• Concern tertiary system focussing on producing grads without considering the industry requirements
• Decentralization created new opportunities for graduates as the regional bureaucracy expanded, but it is now saturated.

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• Indonesia’s world of work is a highly stratified one
• Aspiration to join the civil service is especially strong among those from lower middle class backgrounds - way to consolidate their middle class position.
• High graduate unemployment & under employment in rural areas - increased access to education but lack of work opportunities

Employability

• 43 percent Indonesian employers want hi ed curricula to focus more on meeting industry needs (UNESCO, 2012).
• More emphasis needs to be placed on practical training and improving graduates’ soft skills
• Overall, need for strong generic skills (e.g. communication, negotiation, & client orientation, and the ability to work independentlly).
• Widespread concerns among employers around quality of Indonesian Hi Ed. Large firms will often only recruit from handful of top Indonesian Unis

Entrepreneurialism

China

• Creativity, innovation & entrepreneurship seen as answer to mounting unemployment among China’s university graduates.
• Government has pledged more policies to support student entrepreneurs facing tough employment market.
• Has developed a strong venture capital and private equity ecosystem
• Entrepreneurs have positive public image

Barriers

• Entrepreneurship education remains a relatively new concept
• Confucian values such as “obedience”, “respect for authority” & above all “emotional control”, are not naturally compatible with typical entrepreneurial values.
• Education system often discourages creative thought & intellectual risk-taking.
• Piracy is rampant & intellectual property law is only patchily enforced by the domestic courts.
• Many graduates are risk-averse, seeking jobs at state-owned companies rather than setting up their own

Vietnam

• Becoming an entrepreneur is the desire of nearly 67.2% of adults living in Vietnam (VCCI, 2015).
• Strong entrepreneurial culture.Today’s young entrepreneurs grew up in the 1980s & 90s, as Vietnam was transitioning from a centralized, state-run system to a market economy.
• Relationship based culture - local connections are important

Barriers

• Education system - need to equip students with business related skills & knowledge
• Access to finance is considered to be the most problematic factor while doing business in Vietna
• Administrative procedures still lagging behind regional peers

India

• Deep entrepreneurial tradition
• Positive public image
• Modi government committed to improving India’s investment climate and implementing reforms to reduce regulations on private sector
• Large and growing consumer market (middle class to make up 60% of population in 2030)
• Access to venture capital in India has improved.

Challenges

• Low investment in public education
• Low secondary & tertiary enrolment levels
• Weak infrastructure
• High degree of bureaucracy
• Low levels of spending on R&D
• largely urban - needs to spread into rural areas

Indonesia

• Creating entrepreneurship development programs key government policy
• Government has established the Creative Economy Body with UK government’s Ministry of Culture, Communications and Creative Industries.
• Government sees supporting entrepreneurship as the answer to graduate unemployment

Barriers

• quality of educational institution promoting programs in entrepreneurialism and the creative industries
• unevenly distributed transportation and communication infrastructure
• bureaucratic inefficiency
• corruption
• concern that glossy images don't match realisty

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Further research

• under researched subject
• How best to provide international students with skills that span host- home country labour markets?