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Graduate Employability and Responsiveness: The Need for Aligning Policy Directions and Institutional Readiness in Ethiopia

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Graduate Employability Across Contexts

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the level and nature of responsiveness that Ethiopian public and private higher education institutions exhibit toward graduate employability. The study was conducted using national data available on 13 public and private institutions. The findings reveal that, despite the encouraging trends of an expanding higher education sector, there are serious concerns about the ability of universities to respond to the demands of the labor market and employers. While the policy directions appear to recognize the impending challenges of graduate employability, many institutions have not yet developed the readiness to respond to such demands in an organized and efficient manner. In the absence of the needed structures, systems, and learning experiences within and outside universities, the institutional capacity to influence graduates’ employability will remain restricted. This suggests the need for broadening the existing conceptualization of employability, encouraging greater university-employer interaction and adopting proactive schemes within and outside of institutions as the basis for improving institutional responsiveness toward graduate employability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Mary’s University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Wondwosen Tamrat

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  1. Wondwosen Tamrat
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Correspondence to Wondwosen Tamrat .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

    Tran Le Huu Nghia

  2. College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Binh Chi Bui

  3. La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh

  4. Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

    Vinh N. Lu

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Tamrat, W. (2022). Graduate Employability and Responsiveness: The Need for Aligning Policy Directions and Institutional Readiness in Ethiopia. In: Nghia, T.L.H., Bui, B.C., Singh, J.K.N., Lu, V.N. (eds) Graduate Employability Across Contexts. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3959-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3959-4_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-19-3959-4

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