By Nyima Bah
A large chunk of students who graduate from the University of The Gambia remain unemployed despite bagging a bachelor’s degree.
This remains a great concern for students, most especially those who are unemployed or encounter internship challenges after spending four years studying a course at the university for at least D159,000.
Omar Jobarteh, from the school of law, pointed out some fundamental factors affecting the young unemployed graduates and how the pandemic worsens the situation.
“There are many graduates with good papers but few job opportunities. After graduating in The Gambia, you come to realize that university degree is not an automatic ticket to career opportunities as there are many graduates out there still struggling to find a job. The job market is highly competitive,” he said.
He added that lack of work experience is a great obstacle as well for some graduates. He said most employers want experienced job seekers who can fit into the system without wasting time and resources to take them through training. “The only way is to apply for internship and even that has been difficult since the pandemic because some companies stopped taking interns.”
Tida Fall and Omar Jobarteh both blame the Government for playing a role in the high unemployment of graduates. They argued that it’s the duty of the government to provide job opportunities for its citizens especially those that have graduated from universities.
Every year, more than a thousand students graduate from their respective schools within the University of The Gambia with heightened hope and expectation but only 35% of them gain employment that are related to the areas they studied at the university while the rest are forced to switch careers due to limited choices.
Malick Bah, a recent graduate from the school of Information and Communication Technology, stressed that getting a job that is related to one’s field of study is a major problem that most graduates are encountering while a high level of expectation from the family increases simultaneously.
As the high rate of unemployed graduates escalates, both the university and Gambia Government should work together in order to resolve the situation.
