Dr Michael Rogan and Mr Kanyiso Ntikinca presented on “Graduates and the Labour Market: the case of two Eastern Cape universities”, based on their research on Eastern Cape Graduates on 7 September 2016. The presentation formed part of the Labour Studies Seminar Series, which is run by the Neil Aggett Labour Studies Unit (NALSU) and the Departments of Sociology, History, and Economics and Economic History.
The spectre of graduate unemployment haunts many students. Labour market conditions in South Africa, more generally, remain core policy and political concerns. But what is the reality? The presenters highlighted some of the key results which have emerged from the Eastern Cape Graduate Tracer Study. This study followed recent graduates from the University of Fort Hare and Rhodes University into the labour market. The presenters discussed some of the challenges that university graduates from the Eastern Cape face in finding employment and the implications that this might have for higher education in South Africa. Graduate unemployment varies significantly, and it is important to understand why. Of particular interest are how factors such as schooling and university background, qualifications, and race and gender, affect employment.
Dr. Rogan is a NALSU staff member and the academic coordinator of Theme 5 of the Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP – http://www.lmip.org.za/), which is a national research consortium led by the Human Sciences Research Council. Dr. Rogan is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Education and Skills Development Research Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Mr. Kanyiso Ntikinca is a PhD candidate and teaches in the Department of Sociology at Rhodes University.