Student associations like that of the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, (FAVEMSA) University of Buea are reading the signs on the wall. Atleast seven of every ten graduate are likely not to find a job and ironically, employers say they can’t find those with adequate skills. FAVEMSA has commenced market farming activities on it’s school allocated piece of land, which is half a hectare.
The experience of clearing, gathering, planting, watering, follow-up and sales is believed by the associations president to offer himself and the rest of his peers the full and necessary skills. To meet the demands of the local job market and enterprise someday upon graduation from the four year programme. Which is in line with President Paul Biya’s prescription for Agriculture as the way out for the unemployed Cameroonian youths and also a back bone to economic emergence of the country in a 2012 address.
“Young people are not interested in agriculture and so they get frustrated. Also because they lack the skills to handle a farm. We undertook this project ourselves to gain the needed skills to strive in a challenging agricultural sector”, President Joshua Minele hinted. However, the schooling enterprise with it’s additives are challenged by 2024 statistics from the Cameroon Institute of Statistics(INS).
Their data reveals a five times higher unemployment rate amongst graduates than youths who did not attend school. Agbor Matelot, the Guardian Councillor of the University of Buea faculty of Arts feels that, such only prevails due to the neglect of counseling by students aspiring to enroll into higher education. He adds that the lack of guardians from the outset and through the process leads many students to wrong choices. Nevertheless, Counsellor Matelot recommends field volunteering as a way through which students can make the most of their training programmes to gain the necessary skills.
Public speaker and graphic designer, Elat Larissa had prepared for life after graduation by volunteering for several organizations around her area of study. Elat did so to gain the necessary experience years usually needed by most employers ranging from 2 to 5. “It isn’t easy after graduation but the right network softens things,” she said. The only challenge to the 22 year old graduating university student who read a major in Women and Gender Studies and Journalism and Mass Communication is her, “inability to master workplace skills. The issue isn’t really about getting a job but how to keep it.”
For Fokou Mukum Sandy, a degree holder in Linguistics, currently pursuing two Masters Degree in the same field, his area is relatively unknown by most employers. This affects the pay of the offers he receives. Other times, he adds that his growing educational profile is a threat to some employers for various reasons. In essence, many employers agree that the desire hands on experience and skills from those seeking employment. And whether by some stroke of luck, graduates will have to work for it to earn a place in the fast changing job market.