Researching how to prepare Thai undergraduates for work, I realise that students are facing many contradictions which makes facing the employment market even more daunting.
Conflicting messages from many sources (employers, universities and teachers) contribute to a skills mismatch.
Greater clarity within the cycle of work and education would help students better prepare for the professional lives which lie ahead of them in the job market and lead to more productive workplaces.
Employers are surprisingly vague on what they want.
Technical skills, communication skills and so on are mentioned but asking further to define these skills in detail is difficult.
For example, computer skills are a requirement but what exactly should a new employee be able to do?
Whether staff must write macro or data analysis using Excel, use Word for report writing or use specialised software and so on is not clarified.
Employers want staff who are aware of the workplace yet paid internships or accepting part-time employees is mostly not supported.
Factories use older machinery than the equipment many students have trained on.
Thai employers care that graduates have degrees but are not fussy as to the type since they train new workers for the company themselves.
If the company trains an employee, then perhaps a degree is not needed.
University programmes are geared to what employers want and, hopefully, intellectual development.
However, these programmes are based on models that can be more than five years old and, in some cases, older.
So, universities are always behind what employers say they want and trends in the market.
Some universities' programmes focus on learning how to learn, or developing a constructive mindset; a soft skill that is not easily visible.
Yet parents and employers, and students themselves, feel that students need hard skills for work.
So, some universities are knowingly giving students courses to please them rather than because they are useful.
Teachers and trainers see a different picture from employers, so they give students information that employers may not appreciate.
Managers who are not constantly learning may be unaware of the possibilities. So, when graduates enter the workforce, they are being told to do things differently from the directions they were given in class.
Job applicants' photos lead to bias in hiring yet are routinely sought as part of applications. Students, justifiably, have a reason not to care much in class.
One example of this conflict was at an international event I attended.
I was told I needed permission to conduct a survey, but the supervisor could not show me the policy or direct me to the person to gain permission, or give me a name and contact.
This is after having distributed the survey to 60 exhibitors and my mentioning my aims while attending the event.
Additionally, the supervisor did not read or understand my survey (which did not conflict with the event or exhibitors in any way), even the Thai version. She was not interested in a follow-up even though I offered my business card.
Employers want workers who can read, understand, make decisions, interact with customers, be technologically savvy, handle problems and more.
Yet the process shows that none of the event organisers read my registration, the supervisor could not read and understand the questionnaire and was unwilling to push the issue upwards.
The supervisor was not prepared for my request that I see the policy.
Giving out the manager's contact details was also not possible, reflecting a culture of avoidance.
I was not able to get an email or contact from the supervisor as she did not have a business card.
The supervisor did not know her email or company's contact email. Universities teach the basics of dealing with customers and communicating via email.
Teachers discuss the importance of work culture, asking questions and follow-up. Yet in the workplace all teaching was ignored.
There are examples of Thai employers working with universities to produce more work-ready graduates. However, the number of university programmes are too few and company-specific.
The situations outlined above all go to show that despite employers saying they want thinking graduates, work processes do not encourage that outcome.
If employers are clearer on what they want from graduates, communicate the requirements widely and ensure these graduates are accepted, they will have taken a great step towards improving the quality of graduates and workplace productivity.
Dr Mariano Carrera is a lecturer at International College at King Mongkut's University of Technology, North Bangkok.
