ISLAMABAD: Participants of a career counselling workshop organised at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) on Saturday stressed the need for a strong link between academia and industry, to ensure ample employment opportunities for graduates.
The workshop was organized by USAID and was funded by the Pakistan Jobs project in collaboration with Voice Tell Tech (VTT) and Strategy and Management Consultants.
This workshop is part of a nationwide initiative taken to help graduates in their job hunts.
Chief Executive Officer VIT Rizwan Shaukat stated that the purpose of this workshop was to create awareness amongst job seekers and graduates about the opportunities available to them. The challenge, he said, is to fill the gap between employers and the graduates.
The objective behind the workshop was to develop an association between private sector companies and higher education institutions.
The participants underlined the need of career counselling to help future graduates choose the right professions. They stressed the importance of aptitude tests to help students find subjects that suit them best.
Right now, they said, students do not have proper knowledge of various fields that were available to them.
Muhammad Talha, a Human Resource (HR) consultant, said that the institutions and industries must create an environment that was conducive to graduates getting better jobs.
“Students from rural areas lack guidelines and career counselling- that is the main reason they face problems in the job market after completing their education,” Talha said.
Students at the workshop demanded that the government establish career centres within universities that are in the line with international universities career centres. They also complained about the practice of nepotism
in the job market and the
lack of proper transport systems.
Another HR Consultant, Zaheer Baig, said that Pakistani companies needed to come forward and invest in human capital and provide training opportunities for fresh graduates.
Various human resources managers from different multinational organisations, faculty members of NUST and students attended the workshop.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2010.
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