Michael Heng

Macroscope | To tackle unemployment among graduates and youth anger, invest in innovation and education

Rather than leaving it to the private sector, governments should step in with creative, long-term investments in education, infrastructure and environmental protection, boost innovation and research, and be unafraid to embark on deficit spending to do this

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Job seekers fill in forms at a job fair at Kai Tak Shopping Centre in Lam Tin in September 2018. More universities means more graduates seeking jobs but what happens when there aren’t enough jobs to go around? Photo: Nora Tam

Michael Heng

Published: 4:00pm, 24 Jul 2019Updated: 10:58pm, 24 Jul 2019

The expansion of university education in the last few decades has enabled millions of school leavers to continue their education in university. This is to be applauded. However, it has given rise to a new problem. Millions upon graduation cannot find the jobs they are trained for. This is part of their frustration and anger with the government and society.

There are two sides to the problem. From the supply side, with the mushrooming of universities, especially profit-oriented ones, their quality has declined. From the demand side, job creation in skill-intensive and well-paid sectors has not kept pace with the increase in graduates.

Let’s face it, some universities actually produce unemployable graduates. Everyone has the right to a university education, but universities must make sure they provide proper training. Governments must bear the bulk of the blame, for they have the power to approve the set-up of universities and the duty to monitor standards.

Here are three solutions: redesign the curriculum to align with the needs of the job market, encourage more students into vocational training and impose proper requirements for student admission, instruction and graduation.

Dealing with demand side is more difficult. Hong Kong and Singapore have high-quality education in state schools and universities. Yet many graduates cannot find the kind of jobs they are trained for.