Tale of an Unemployed Graduate

Last week Tuesday I graduated with a BTECH degree in journalism at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. You can imagine euphoria I had while our very own Trevor Manuel was there in his capacity as Chancellor to congratulate me and thousands of my fellow graduates on our achievement. As I walked towards him I kept telling myself that “this is it, what I have been working for these past four years.” With one of the deans there hanging the hood on me, I looked to the full hall and spotted my zealous family waving at me in celebration of my achievement. The excitement and pride of being on that stage surrounded by those academics and dignitaries is nothing compared to the pride I saw on my grandparent’s faces when I received my certificate. “Education is a privilege that one has to nurture,” said guest speaker Lance Witten during his uplifting speech. Then it suddenly donned on my while I was walking to my seat that this may be the end of a chapter but it’s still the early stages of the book. Over 6 thousand degrees and diplomas were issued this year but not even half of those graduates will get employment in their respective fields. Even though we were all proud of ourselves with our family members there to witness, one cannot help but think if what the future holds for me now. Getting a qualification is easy, making it work for you on the other hand is something else. In South Africa unemployment for a young person is almost as certain as paying taxes. A lot of factors contribute to this such as a dwindling economy, inadequate skills or language barriers. Whatever the reason be, chances are the most of the graduates in that hall will not get satisfactory employment, if they manage to work at all. Of course we could blame the government, parents, greedy corporations, the past or the very institutions that produced these graduates. South Africa is a country that struggles with employment so much that social grants are the alternative. One might say that I am one of the lucky ones to have graduated and maybe I am. But having a qualification and plastering it on your parents living room is not the reason I went to tertiary. Travel Manuel once said in an article I read a while back, if you are 24 years old and never have been employed permanently, chances are that you never will. That does paint a grisly picture for most of the graduates I shared a stage with recently. I am lucky in the fact that my parents are still helping where they can as I frantically search for employment. Every day is almost the same thing when looking for work. I send out my CV to various media houses, to government services, calling companies, going through the newspaper and pestering former classmates who have already secured work to find out if they can’t point you in the right direction. If you lucky someone will call to inform you that they received your credentials but you too young, inexperienced or not skilled enough. How is one supposed to acquire all these skills if no one is willing to hire me? It’s all good and well to have an education, a privilege one should to proud of because lots of people do not have it. But pride does not put food on the table; lets you climb the corporate ladder or let you contribute to the economy. It’s one of the best feelings in the world to climb a flight of stairs to accept your qualification in front of thousands of people, but that feeling quickly disappears if the only thing you have use for it is decorating your parents lounge with it. This always lives me with the burning question, if individuals with degrees and diplomas cannot find work, who does??