Career design should be taught at universities

The ratio of new university graduates who quit their first jobs within three years was 34.7 percent in 2002.

Observers say the greatest factor behind this trend is the gap between the image students have of work and the reality they face when they actually land jobs.

How can universities reconcile this disparity?

It is common for university students to start looking for prospective employment in their third year, more than a year before graduation.

Yet, I am often surprised at how little they know about different industries, individual companies and the many types of jobs that are available in the real world.

It is common, moreover, to come across students who are unsure of where they stand, and have no idea for what kind of a job they are cut out.

Meanwhile, universities basically offer two types of educational streams: general and specialized. I do not mean to say this way of teaching is meaningless or rigid. However, as someone who landed a job with a university after many years working for an airline and its affiliated hotel, I think universities should also focus more on real society. Students need to be taught what is actually going on out there.

During the hiring "ice age" of the late 1990s after the collapse of the asset-inflated economy, universities embarked on a series of programs to help students land jobs.

For example, they sought the service of outside counselors or introduced internship programs to improve their students' subsequent employment rate.

In many ways, these efforts were as much to help students as to ensure their own survival. Universities badly need a way to stay in business, as the falling birthrate makes it increasingly difficult to attract students.

But one thing they have failed to do is not to teach, as academic subjects, employment matters of crucial importance--why working is important, and how students should go about developing a proper career.

In addition to general education and specialized studies, I believe all universities should introduce "career design"--the study of how to build a career--as the third pillar of their curriculums.

Hosei University has already established the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies in 2003. Others should follow suit.

But what exactly should be taught in career design? I propose the following:

・The systems of real society.

Universities should give students a general overview of industrial structures and individual fields. They should offer courses studying medium and small business, general corporate structures, organizations and job flows. Active businesspeople from various fields can be brought in to keep the lectures lively and dynamic.

・Identity-building.

Universities should provide guidance to help students "discover themselves": namely, objectively identify their character, strengths and weaknesses. Students should also be taught how to draw up blueprints for their prospective careers.

・Practical training.

Currently, universities across the nation offer internship programs that last only about two weeks. The duration of these programs should be extended, and students should be required to take part in more than one program so as to acquire experience in a number of different fields.

That will give them the opportunity to see how society really operates, as well as exposing them to the harsh realities to which they will eventually have to grow accustomed.

・Support in making occupational choices.

The work of individual schools' job placement offices should be expanded in order to resolve mismatches between students and jobs.

The 21st century is shaping up to be a time of confusing, violent change. As students prepare to enter this real-world turbulence, what is needed more than anything is career design: nothing short of total human studies.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200610020085.html