Bridging the gap between academia and industry

Its essential that curricula being taught focuses not only on markets outside, but also successful Pakistani cases


Muhammad Haris Naseer June 11, 2015
The writer is a Director at InfoTech Group, an IT integration company. He tweets @harisbn

Increasingly, young men and women completing school are turning towards service and vocational training and given the highly-competitive job market, this comes as no surprise. One look at the curricula within such training centres makes it abundantly obvious that there is a serious gap between academic theory and real-life practice. What exacerbates the problem is the lack of depth evident within various curricula.

According to most estimates, two-thirds of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. This means that roughly 120 million people are under that age, with many of them educated, yet without any knowledge of how to practically apply their education within the workplace. Add to this a dearth of jobs and herein lies the heart of the problem: there is an unquestionable need for skilled professionals, and yet, while there may be a pool of ‘educated’ professionals available, one is not sure whether they are ‘skilled’.

Let’s take an example of a student of marketing, attending one of Lahore’s leading management institutions. Let’s also suppose that he/she is the topmost student in the class, and knows the curriculum inside out. The problem occurs when they finish academic training and enter the job market. They realise that most of what they have been taught is now irrelevant — the reason being that nine out of 10 case studies or examples found in their textbooks do not apply to the Pakistani market, and instead focus on foreign markets, which operate very differently from Pakistan. This is not to say that these academic texts — or theories — come without any benefits. Of course they do: they teach us how to think critically. However, where they fall short is in their ability to translate into practical work experience. For this reason, work experience, in the service industry especially, has become more important than ‘bookish’ know-how.

The question of whether academia or professional experience better equips one for the workplace is one that has dominated debate for generations. Most academics would argue that the strict discipline of academic life — combined with the benefits of ‘real life’ case studies — provides individuals with the capacity for critical thinking required in most professional situations. Conversely, those considering professional experience to be more important often cite the gap between academia and professional practice. To such people, there can be no substitute for actual on-the-ground experience, or ‘learning on the job’.

In recent years, Pakistan has seen much development within the education sector, particularly in higher education. With the recent growth and development of the service sector in Pakistan, education related to the service sector has also picked up pace, with more and more colleges and schools providing training and specialisation in varied diversified subjects such as management, human resource, and information technology. Nonetheless, from a federal point of view, education remains woefully low on the government’s list of priorities.

So where does the solution lie? I believe that the IT sector can provide much-needed relief in this regard. In recent years, Pakistan’s IT and communications sector has blossomed exponentially. And concurrently, this has led to a rise in related service industries (everything from design, to public relations, to digital activations and social media). This is not surprising. Globally, the service sector represents the fastest growing sector of the world economy and accounts for 69 per cent of global output, 35 per cent of global employment, and nearly 20 per cent of global trade. However, in order to achieve success, it is essential that the Government of Pakistan recognises the importance of including practical skills training and on-ground experience, coupled with case studies, in all service related courses and curricula. For this to happen, the education ministry has to work alongside the various chambers of industry and commerce, organisations such as the Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority, and also private and public IT institutions. In addition, there should be public service campaigns raising awareness of the importance of practical skills training — even within professional and technical degrees and courses — so that students are able to hit the ground running once in the job place. Moreover, it is essential that the curricula being taught focuses not only on markets outside Pakistan, but also teaches practical cases of successful Pakistani businesses. There are a myriad success stories in this country ranging from the sector of IT, to telecom, to textiles. These are essential life lessons that can bring immeasurable value to the lives of students.

Most importantly, the government must — I repeat, must — understand and recognise the role that technology can play in making this happen. Technology is a great democratiser. Simply digitizing all textbooks (so that all students have access to the same materials) will play a major role in levelling the playing field. There are a thousand other ways in which technology can help bridge the gap between academia and professional life. However, before we take that first step, it’s important to acknowledge and recognise that the problem exists. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th,  2015.

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