Role of universities in a jobless market

 

THE 3rd Asia-Europe Meeting Rectors' Conference in Groningen, the Netherlands late last month coincided with massive demonstrations in several European cities.

 

Most pervasive was the Occupy Movement that celebrated its anniversary throughout the world, especially in the developed Global North where jobs are getting scarcer.

 

One poster read: We lost our jobs, and found an "occupation".

 

Much of the people's anger and frustration are directed at businesses and also governments for failing to provide them with decent jobs which commensurate with their qualifications.

 

In Madrid, Spain and Athens, Greece, millions took to the streets to protest about the economic situation in their countries. Businesses are again implicated in the rioting that ensued.

 

In Barcelona, the Catalan people are voicing their desire to be separated from Spain for the same reason. In fact, the debt crisis that began in Greece in 2010 and has spread across the euro zone to engulf Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus and the much bigger economy of Spain has devastated business confidence and sapped companies' abilities to create jobs.

 

This is the reality that faces universities today when the much touted words "employment" and "employability" are rendered virtually meaningless as financial systems and businesses come to a standstill, or worse, collapse.

 

Aptly enough, the theme of the seminar was Universities, Businesses and You: For a Sustainable Future. Some 100 heads of tertiary institutions from 38 Asian and European nations discussed the issue of rising youth unemployment around the world. The biennial meet was organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation together with the ASEAN University Network.

 

About 21 per cent of the population under 25 within the 27-member European Union (EU) are unemployed, according to EuroStat, while the average in Asia is about half of that, as cited by the International Labour Organisation.

 

More recently, the EU warned of an "economic and social disaster" if joblessness among young Europeans continued to rise, calling for a joint effort to combat record high unemployment in countries which use the euro.

 

It is said that about 18.2 million people are unemployed in the euro zone, the highest level since euro' s inception in 1999 and an increase of some 2.6 million people since early 2011. Around 25.5 million people were out of a job in the EU.

 

"It is clearly unacceptable that 25 million Europeans are out of work," said European Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd.

 

"EU institutions and governments, businesses and social partners at all levels need to do all they can to avoid a lost generation, which would be an economic and social disaster."

 

By early 2014, joblessness could go beyond 19 million, that is, about 12 per cent of the euro zone's workforce, according to a study, predicting 27 per cent unemployment in Greece. That compares with 24.4 per cent in the country in June.

 

"In this difficult environment, companies are likely to reduce employment further in order to preserve productivity and profitability," the report said.

 

This is where the notion of sustainability comes into the picture in real terms. In a sense, employment is no longer a sustainable solution moving forward. It has often been said that in the new millennium, job security is a matter of the past.

 

As technology becomes more pervasive and an ageing population is on the rise, financial rewards become a dominant issue as social responsibility and sacrifices take a back seat.

 

All these are unfolding and universities cannot remain insular to the demands that are affecting the meaning of employment, and employability as well.

 

Indeed, the notion of lifetime employment and employability is no longer relevant.

 

Universities need to take the lead role once again in (re)defining their mission because far too often businesses are not able to predict the changes ahead with accuracy.

 

During rough times, they are keener to keep to what they do best. Salesforce.com chief executive officer Marc Benloff, who commented "Apple's biggest challenge is to define itself in the post-Steve Jobs era", says it all.

- The writer is the vice-chancellor of Albukhary International University