Employability and significance of Knowledge Alliances

Dr. Kiran G. R. Middle East College

Sultanate of Oman

Outline

• Employability

• Global Scenario

• Oman - challenges

• Employability Roundtable

• Knowledge Alliances

Employability• The ease with which graduates are able to transition to a

job which reflects their qualifications and aspirations. (Knight and Yorke, 2003)

• A set of achievements - skills, understandings and personal attributes - that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations

 • Challenge

We may not be able to offer long-term employment, but we should try to offer long-term employability

-Brian Corby

Global Employment scenario• Global unemployment increased by 5 million in 2013

• Around 207 million unemployment around the world (2015)

• Unemployment will rise by a further 8 million people by 2018

Source: International Labour Organization, Global Employment Trends, ISBN 978-92-2-127486-5 (web pdf), 2014

Global Youth Employment• Affecting young people disproportionately

• 74.5 million young people (aged 15–24) unemployed (2013)• High unemployment

• Middle East and North Africa• Parts of Latin America and the Caribbean • Southern Europe.

• Global youth unemployment rate -13.1 per cent

• Almost three times as high as the adult unemployment rate.

Source: International Labour Organization, Global Employment Trends, ISBN 978-92-2-127486-5 (web pdf), 2014

Youth unemployment – MENA region

• 2.8 million young people entering the labour market every year• 66% of the regional population is under 24• Youth unemployment in MENA is the highest in the world – 25%

Youth unemployment – MENA region

• 39 percent of MENA private employers report lack of skills among workers as a major constraint in business development (global average 27 percent)

• 65-80 percent of MENA employers reported that newly recruited graduate employees are not work ready

Youth unemployment by regions (2010)

Source: ILO and IMF data

Sultanate of Oman

• Sultanate of Oman• Population of 4.27 million• Major developments in the last 45 years

• HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said• Focus on health, education and welfare• Most improved nation in last 40 years (UN HDI,

20th edition)

• Higher Education environment• First public University (SQU) started in 1986

• PhD programmes initiated in 2008• Ministry of Higher Education established in

1994• Around 60 institutions

• Large diversity – ownership, affiliation, programmes

• Ambitious and systematic programmes

Gross Domestic product (End of June)

The Economy

Employment - scenario• Unemployment rate

• 14.40% in year 2013

• 11.75% in year 2014

• Sultanate’s workforce• 47.4 % Omani nationals

• 52.6 % Expatriates

• Omani nationals in private sector - 13.5 %

• Omani nationals in public sector - 86.5 %

• Job-seekers preferring public sector - 95 % Source: National Center for Statistics and Information. Sultanate of Oman

2015

Youth population

• Percentage of of total population - 19.9%

• Percentage of working age group - 26.7 %

 Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision  

Availability of skilled employees

Source: Graeme Buckley and Gary Rynhart (2011), The Sultanate of Oman The enabling environment for sustainable enterprises: An “EESE” Assessment, Employment Sector- Employment Report No. 14, ISBN: 9789221254911, International Labour Office, Geneva

Middle East College Vision

Contributing to the development of a harmonious and sustainable world through the pursuit of knowledge

MissionWe endeavour to fulfill creative human potential through education, inquiry, innovation, intercultural engagement and service

Private university college founded in 2002Located inside the Knowledge Oasis MuscatCurrently catering to around 5600 students

Learner attributes

• Professional competence• Domain knowledge and research skills

• Ethical awareness and practice• Leadership and teamwork skills• Communication skills• Digital competence• Intercultural competence• Community engagement • Life long learning

• University of Barcelona• TU-Berlin• ANECA• Cellnex • Corporate Well being Oman • IKED-Sweden• Mohammed V University-Morocco • Oman Chamber of Commerce • Catalunya Chamber of Commerce• International Chamber of Commerce• Oman Government Ministries• Oman based industries

Roundtable on Employability

Roundtable on Employability• Embedding employability skills into curricula

• school and higher education institutions• 21st century skills

• Vocational training and apprenticeship practices• Qualification framework

• Entrepreneurship - stimulate, support and sustain

• Awareness building and student engagement

• PhD and research capacity building

• Common roadmap for enhanced employability

Employability-findings

• Focus groups in

• Tunisia, Jordan, Oman

• Findings and Recommendations• Embed employability skills in curriculum

• Increase dialogue between HEIs and business world

• Address cultural issues and invest in education

• Create tools to help students develop essential skills

• Share best practices

• Master Programmes• Dissertation/Project

• Doctoral/ Post-Doctoral Programmes• Split Site PhD Programmes

• Research Projects• Smart City and Wellbeing

• Research Conferences• 3rd IEEE MEC International Conference

• Staff and Student Mobility

MEC Approach: Multipronged - institutional

• Quality Assurance• Programme focused• ANECA, Spain

• Postgraduate Certification• Coventry University, UK

• The Research Council, Oman• Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Research

• Student Conference

• AFIRM – industry engagement

Approach – Institutional for individual

• Universities and HEIs• National, regional, international

• Quality assurance agencies

• Firms

• University Associations

• Industry Associations

• The State

• Partners' partnersEmployability - Learning Space

Knowledge Alliances

“I don't like when people say "We need to prepare our students for the real world". The truth is, some of them are experiencing more of a "real world" than we will ever know. What we need to do is prepare them for a better world.

- Mark Anthony Johnson

References

• Knight, P. and Yorke, M. (2003). Assessment, Learning and Employability. McGraw-Hill International.

• International Labour Organization (2015), Key Indicators of the Labour Market database, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS/countries, Retrieved on 18 Oct 2015.

• International Labour Organization (2013), Trends Econometric Models, October 2013; World Bank, World Development Indicators Database, 2013, IMF, World Economic Outlook Database, October 2013.

• World Bank “Knowledge for Development” (accessed in May 2006). http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBI PROGRAMS/KFDLP/0,,menuPK:461238~pagePK:64156143~piPK:64154155~theSitePK:461198,00.html.

• Graeme Buckley and Gary Rynhart (2011), The Sultanate of Oman The enabling environment for sustainable enterprises: An “EESE” Assessment,Employment Sector- Employment Report No. 14, ISBN: 9789221254911, Internatioanl Labour Office, Geneva

References

• British Council (2014), Can higher education solve Africa’s job crisis? Understanding graduate employability in Sub-Saharan Africa, Going Global,url: http://www.britishcouncil.org/education/ihe

• Bologna with Student Eyes – Employability, European Students’ Union, http://bwse2015.esu-online.org/Employability, Retrieved on 16 Oct 2015

• International Labour Office (2013), Key Indicators of the Labour Market, 8th edition (Geneva).

• European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (2010), Skills supply and demand in Europe: Medium-term forecast up to 2020, Feb., CEDEFOP, 2010.

• International Labour Organization (2014), Global Employment Trends, ISBN 978-92-2-127486-5 (web pdf)

• United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision, Available on: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_indicators.htm

Thank You