SOCIETY MATTERS : Corporations must play a role in the development of their future employees

There has been a lot of talk about the poor quality of the products that Higher Institutions of learning and vocational training schools in this country produce. Many reasons for this phenomenon have been brought forward and many people are still wondering whether the problem is going to go away soon. The biggest complaints are however being registered by the big corporations and private company who employ these graduates upon finishing their studies. They say that some of the employees recruited after graduating from the institutions in this country cannot deliver and that they are not competitive enough, hence creating a very big vacuum in the job market. In this case, many solutions have been sought and many have advised about what they think could be done to end this quagmire. However, in this column, I want us to look at a different angle through which this problem could be tackled to ensure that the job market in our beloved society gets qualitative product for the development of our motherland. If you look at the reasons that lead to this occurrence, you will find that some of these institutions that teach the future human resources really lack a lot of things for their successful training. Take an example of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training schools (TVET) in our country. If you take a closer look at these schools, you find that actually a small number of them have the right and enough equipment to help train the students. Yet for sure if a person who is being trained to be a carpenter or an electrician doesn’t get chance to do enough practical training by using the machines that he or she will be operating when he starts work, there are little chances of them being competent when they enter into the job market. This is where the corporations should come in and help the schools that train students whom they deem their future employees by providing the needed equipment and materials. Companies have a responsibility to play in the development of the society they live in apart from making profits alone. When any company enters a community, it has to create jobs and pay taxes. The resources that good companies invest in operations, workforce development, pro bono work, partnerships with local organizations and philanthropy have the potential to improve quality of life and build community capacity. Community factors such as quality of life, community reputation, standard of living and the potential for economic development are important considerations for any company. The company, however, must be an active participant. Since a company’s workforce and operational strength depend upon the economic and social health of its community, this relationship is mutually reinforcing. More than ever, a company’s strength depends on the health of the community in which it operates. Corporations around the world are becoming particularly concerned with the health and sustainability of important societal systems, such as education and healthcare, and are looking for the opportunity to support these systems by leveraging their own skills, talents and core business strengths which is what our own companies here in Rwanda also need to do. There are three recognizable levels of engagement that companies have with society — what corporations have to do, what they should do and what they can do. It is companies who engage fully at all three levels that have the greatest impact in society. Companies in Rwanda also need to bridge the gap between them and the institutions that produce their human resources by making constant follow ups on these students and see if what is being taught to them is what they need to know and also required of them. With the increasing relationships between the future employees and the institutions will help the students learn with confidence and conviction that they are doing the right thing hence improving their quality. The relationship would also lead to the students easily access internship trainings in the local companies which will give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in real world environments and at the same time developing skills which will help them perform better at their jobs. Thus will the complaining firms play a role on the prevailing dilemma in the job market. Ends