The importance of industry-academe linkage

Monday, May 14, 2007

MANAGING FOR SOCIETY, THE MANILA TIMES By Evelio G. Echavez The importance of industry-academe linkage

Annually, the Philippines produces more than 400,000 college graduates, of which only a small fraction is able to land jobs appropriate to their academic training. More graduates join the ranks of the unemployed and underemployed and complain lack of job opportunities; while others troop to the Middle East and other destinations to land jobs that they have not trained for. Employers, however, contend that there is not a lack of job openings but rather, that the graduates lack the type of training, skills and competencies that industry requires. Oftentimes, the problem is caused by the students obtaining knowledge and competencies that are not what the industry needs. And this can be attributed to the outdated books, teaching methodologies, curricula and technology being used in the schools of higher learning; and the absence of or inadequate on-the-job training exposure given the students. Recent surveys among employers show that they need college graduates with the following skills: oral and written communication skills, computer skills, conceptual and analytical ability, interpersonal skills, and for some companies, specific technical skills such as those in information technology and engineering industry. This problem has been recognized by the Higher Education Institution (HEI) sector in recent years, with many conferences being held by various academic organizations to address the importance of having a strong and vibrant industry-academe linkage. The collaboration between industry and academe should also be a concern of industry because it will help provide them with properly trained employees, and it saves them valuable time and resources in making a fresh graduate productive. With a good industry-academe linkage, the new recruits hit the ground running. The collaboration can be in the form of a combination of the following: involvement of executives and managers from industry in designing the curricula of existing and new programs, and the design or revision of course syllabi; industry managers or specialists serving as speakers on new trends and specialized topics; industry partners accepting faculty members to have hands-on training and even jobs for short periods in their facility to provide the faculty with industry experience; and companies allowing their managers/supervisors to serve as faculty in the HEI. What is common today is the requirement of senior college students to go through an on-the-job-training (OJT) program in the facility of a company to provide the students with a school-to-work transition experience. Both parties have to make sure that the quality of training that is being provided in the internship program is acceptable. Other collaborative activities include the use of laboratories of industry partners for research work being done by faculty and students; joint use of research facilities by the HEI and industry partners, and the lecture by an academic specialist on certain topics that are needed by the industry partners. Universities and colleges benefit from the collaboration by being able to improve the quality of training that they provide their students and thus, the quality of their graduates. On the other hand, industry benefits from this by being able to have a hand in training future employees; reducing their new employees’ cost of training; aside from having the satisfaction of being able to help the students and society, in general.