It is interesting following up the debate in this column on the views relating to unemployed graduates in Sri Lanka.

Employability of graduates or indeed anyone else depends on a number of factors, not just the ‘academic qualifications", an aspect that the Sri Lankan education system still tends to focus heavily. Whilst academic qualifications by no means should be downgraded, they nevertheless have to be complemented with other set of skills widely known as ‘soft’ skills. These include interpersonal, communication, team work, negotiation and problem solving skills.

Many argue that the private sector in Sri Lanka is not interested in graduates of Sri Lankan universities as they are considered to be lacking these ‘soft skills’ and the proficiency in the English language. In contrast, in many developed countries, university graduates are well sought after by top private sector organisations. In fact, it is hard to find any senior manager in a top private sector organisation in these countries who is not a university graduate. This itself acts as a good sign for potential graduates seeking employment in those organisations.

Education is a much broader concept than just obtaining a paper qualification. Sri Lanka’s education system is generally skewed towards providing the ‘academic’ knowledge, and as such, our school leavers and graduates rarely are equipped with these ‘soft skills’. The graduates, in some sense, are the end product of this system, and addressing this issue therefore requires a review of a number of points in that value chain.

School teachers are an important loop in this process. However, they are also a product of the same system noting that many university graduates also end up becoming school teachers. The teacher-training therefore has to be an important aspect requiring urgent attention.

The need for university graduates to be proficient in English so that their employability can be increased is the other issue. Being proficient in English would allow graduates to look for jobs, not just in Sri Lanka, but also in many overseas locations. It is, in fact, sad to see the reaction from a section of Sri Lankans, to my amazement, even some of those who have migrated to English-speaking countries, who argue against promoting English in Sri Lanka, based on some short-sighted nationalistic grounds. They forget to differentiate between accepting English as a communication tool and embracing a ‘culture’, presumably in this case the English culture.

Those who are fluent in English also get the advantage of being able to read widely, compared with those who only know Sinhala or Tamil. Reading extensively is an important aspect of learning. There is no doubt that with good proficiency in English, even high school leavers will be able to explore many more opportunities.

On the other hand, it is interesting to note how some of these Sri Lankan graduates who have moved overseas adapt to those systems where their soft and language skills are severely tested. Whilst they adapt to varying degrees of success, one major difference is the environment in which that they have to operate and the realisation of the need to quickly learn these skills in order to operate successfully in these environments.

The other perennial debate among Sri Lankans, both at home and abroad, seems to be around the need for one to ‘serve’ his/her country. This is a concept widely reported out of context. It will be hard to find a Sri Lankan who would not value the free education he or she has received in Sri Lanka. However, that is not a reason for someone not to move overseas to ‘serve’ the country. This is a ridiculous argument in the current age of globalisation and, indeed, considering the unemployment problem among our graduates. In fact, those unemployed graduates would be the first ones to accept any such opportunity if it comes their way.

Addressing these problem areas should be the top priorities for the Sri Lankan policy makers.