Despite earning a degree after 16 years of education, many students remain unable to secure stable employment or even earn a basic livelihood. The lack of practical skills, job-oriented training, and real-world exposure leaves them financially dependent on their parents or others. This raises a critical question: Is the absence of skill-based education the root cause, or is its implementation flawed? Should educational institutions shift their focus from theory-heavy curricula to a more skill-driven approach?
I invite educators, researchers, and policymakers to share their insights on how we can bridge the gap between education and employability. What reforms are necessary to ensure that graduates become self-sufficient and responsible members of society?
Lack of hands-on practice and practical work in a real-life situation in a curriculum with a defective examination system is the major reason for failing the students to earn something for themselves.
Fake practical marks in SSC and HSSC allocates to students therefore the practical skills deficiency is existing in higher education students.
The growing urgency of the disconnect between academic achievement and employment readiness in today's labour market cannot be overstated. Many graduates, despite investing 16 years in education, are struggling to secure stable employment or attain a basic standard of living. This pressing concern raises crucial questions about the current educational paradigms and their effectiveness in equipping students with the necessary tools to succeed in the workforce. At the heart of this issue is the evident lack of practical skills, job-oriented training, and real-world exposure within traditional curricula, which often prioritize theoretical knowledge over hands-on experience.
This leads to a critical examination of whether the absence of skill-based education is the primary culprit behind graduates' financial dependency or if implementing such education is fundamentally flawed. It is crucial to recognize that while skill-based education is essential, its effectiveness largely depends on how it is integrated into the existing educational framework. For instance, if skill-based training is viewed as an adjunct to the academic curriculum rather than an integral part of the learning process, its impact may be minimal.
The question arises: Should educational institutions shift their focus from theory-heavy curricula to a more skill-driven approach? Absolutely. A paradigm shift is not just a possibility, but a promising solution. It is needed in educational institutions to prioritize experiential learning, internships, and partnerships with industries. This integration can bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical application and instill hope in preparing students for real-world challenges.
To foster this shift, key strategies include developing robust apprenticeship programs, enhancing curriculum relevance to include emerging industry trends, and incorporating financial literacy and entrepreneurship into the syllabus. Furthermore, creating mentorship opportunities and support systems within educational institutions can significantly contribute to equipping students with the networks necessary for successful career transitions.
In conclusion, addressing graduate employability requires a multifaceted approach that prioritizes skills development and aligns educational outcomes with market demands. By rethinking and reforming our educational systems, we can pave the way for graduates to become self-sufficient, responsible members of society, ultimately leading to a more robust economy and community. Your insights on these matters are not just important, but invaluable as we seek to enact meaningful change in education. Your contributions are integral to the success of this reform.
Practicals in STEM subjects are existing but it do not be done in labs. The practical marks allotted on theoretical basis. Due to that reason student does not be able to handle real life situation or working place environment.
It is due to defective examination system in Pakistan.
Resources problem for Pakistani students, specially in public sector institutions.
Traditional education often fails to prepare graduates for financial independence because it focuses on theoretical knowledge rather than practical, real-world skills. Graduates lack financial literacy, job-specific training, and critical life skills like budgeting or entrepreneurship. This gap leaves them dependent on jobs that don't offer financial stability. To foster true independence, education must evolve, integrating hands-on learning, financial education, and career readiness into the curriculum.
Government have no interest in education in Pakistan, their interest just to rule on uneducated and unskilled population.
Defective examination system and corruption are the main causes of that problem. The students are not be able to earn rupee after completion of 12 grade students.
Because of the presence of the gap in the curricula between theory and application until the learner becomes a container to empty the cognitive aspect during the tests, which is far from the skill and applied side on the ground and for every academic year,
In addition to the absence of a desire to work, as it is not suitable with ambition for most scholars if we take into account that (the secret of success is the desire to work) and most importantly in the absence of government support for the graduate, it is obligatory to rely on the labor market to absorb the outputs and the qualitative specializations that this market meets that meet the requirements of the new era,
This will thus provide a good financial return that sings by relying on others and raises self -confidence among graduates, as they are the promising group in society.
The students have no practical skills to earn some money for their living. The schools in Punjab, Pakistan, are not providing practical skills to the students. Fake practical marks are given to the students. Therefore students are not able to earn.
Corruption in education system and examination system are major reason of this situation.
Institutes waist the time of students to earn their revenue. Production is not suitable for job market.
No implementation of skill-based Education , it is the need of true.
Schools should be produced skill full production as skilled students.
The environment of schools is not suitable for skill-based education and teachers are not working to produce skillful students.
Students are not skillful and schools are not working on skill based education
Absence of skill-based education is a major cause of unemployment
Yes! The absence of skill based education is a cause of this panic situation.
skill based education is the need of job market and students should be taught with skill based education
They have no skills to earn some. Curriculum is not suitable according to job market demand.
Students have unskilled qualification under less practical curriculum. They have no skill or earning for them or others. Families are not supporting regarding skill based education.
Yes the absence of skill based education is the major cause of nothing earning by students in the age of 18
Interesting questions and replies.
Certainly, the ideal is to have graduates who are independent, but no matter what education is provided, how easy is that?
Graduates, as I understand in the concept of the question, probably have been studying until recenty. Therefore they had to attend classes and had limited time for work. They cannot become independent overnight.
Unemployment is an issue in many countries. Therefore, graduates may need time to get a job, familiar with their skills and competencies.
Of course, an education system that focuses more on practical skills would be beneficial. However, if we are to introduce teaching practical skills.... then perhaps we have to stop teaching something else. This is a complicated issue.
Green talent and the skills needed for a sustainable workforce
Exploring the role universities play in preparing students with the green skills needed for a sustainable workforce...
"There is a pressing need for universities to adapt curricula to better align with industry priorities, especially in sectors where sustainability plays a critical role in future growth. Improved collaboration between academia and industries could bridge these gaps, ensuring graduates meet the demands of an increasingly sustainability-focused world. Micro credentials and adaptive learning modules will become increasingly important as today’s generation are progressively opting for shorter courses to gain the skills they require...
Students need more direction in understanding what skills they will learn on their programme, when they are developing certain skills and what skills they will need for their future careers. With one in five jobs lacking the green skills needed by 2030, universities must support students in gaining the skills that are needed in today’s workforce and for a sustainable future.
Universities, industries, and governments must step forward together to tackle this challenge and unlock the potential of a sustainable future..."
https://magazine.qs.com/qs-insights-magazine-28/green-talent-skills
The lack of practical skills, job-oriented training, and real-world exposure are real issue to make students lazy and unemployed.
It should be compulsory for the students that every student have one skill to earn something for their survival
Muhammad Rafiq-Uz-Zaman I believe there’s a fundamental misunderstanding about the purpose of education—especially primary, higher, or traditional education. Education isn’t just about earning degrees or titles, whether it’s an AA or a PhD. Its true purpose is to give you the opportunity to master the material and develop your neurological capabilities. Education should prepare your brain for real-world challenges by strengthening your mental skills. It’s about testing yourself mentally through the material so that when life throws challenges at you, you have already built the necessary mental resilience and traits.
The question is not, “What do we know?” but rather, “What do we do with what we know?”
"This shift to ethical and existential thought rather than just knowledge and skills is the advent of ethical foresight.
The most significant outcomes of education are not always academic, although these are very important; they are human. Education should equip learners for work and living within a hyperconnected, uncertain and risk-filled world.
To meet this mandate, education systems will have to undergo a fundamental transformation – one that returns wisdom, agency and humanity to the focal point of scientific education...
A genuinely progressive science education will foster the acquisition of professional competence and ethical reasoning. It will portray science as a human, cultural and ethical activity. It will create a sense of global consciousness and collective responsibility. It will enable students to face uncertainty with resilience, humility and integrity.
Our world’s future, our communities’ future and our shared humanity are not determined by what they know, but by who they shall be because of what they know.
If we can achieve this new scientific consciousness, education will have fulfilled its ultimate role: not merely disseminating knowledge, but disseminating wisdom; not only training professionals, but educating human beings who can lead with vision, compassion and courage in an uncertain future."
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2025060609491063&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SDGNL9037
Lack of skill-based education and lack of practical work in schools are major issues
Employers are increasingly doing the ‘last mile’ of graduate preparation themselves, particularly in tech, while universities act as credentialing bodies rather than skill developers...
Instead of showcasing a small, exclusive set of industry-embedded masters programmes as proof of relevance, universities everywhere could integrate work-integrated learning into all postgraduate provision. This would collapse the artificial divide between academic and professional learning and build the adaptability, collaborative skills and commercial awareness that AI-driven labour markets will demand. If they embrace this challenge, universities will not need to point to a narrow set of programmes to prove their relevance. They will be visibly producing graduates who are both academically capable and professionally ready – in any country. If they do not, the perception that they are outsourcing graduate readiness to employers will stick, and calls for reform will grow louder...
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2025081911041380
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