Present Status of Graduate Employment: Evidence from Agribusiness Management Graduates of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka.

Abstract

Higher education primarily concerns producing graduates with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for the growth of their careers while maintaining the quality of the education system. Meaningful engagement in any form of employment is crucial for graduates' overall career development. Being the only faculty that offers BSc in agribusiness management (ABM) degree in Sri Lanka, the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna (FAUR) produces about 40 ABM graduates annually. However, the present status of their employment and their views are underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to find out the present status of employability and the suggestions of ABM graduates. Data were collected through an online questionnaire sent to all (n=192) ABM gradates in five batches. Only 97 of the graduates responded to the questionnaire. The data were analyzed descriptively and using Fisher’s exact test. The employability level of ABM graduates is considerably high (82%), while a small percentage of graduates (4%) was entrepreneurs. A majority (75%) was satisfied with their jobs, and 54% recommended their jobs to peers. The main reasons for not getting jobs for graduates who were unemployed are lack of industrial experience, unsuitability of the degree, and lack of required professional qualifications. Graduated batch showed a significant association with employment status (p<0.05), whereas gender and English proficiency had significant relationships with the employability in some sectors (p<0.05). Graduates suggested to increase the industrial training up to 6 months or 1 year, offer practical-oriented courses to encourage graduates to become entrepreneurs, incorporate new subject areas in business management, and conduct of job fairs to bridge the gap between ABM graduates and the job-market needs. These findings recommends to developing strategies to enhance the ABM curriculum, more industry collaboration, and assurance of the quality of ABM degree.