Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, maintains that college is “for fun and not for learning”. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, famously dropped out of Harvard to pursue Facebook. The founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, was a Harvard drop-out too. And while these are amongst the most familiar examples, there are innumerable success stories belonging to businesspeople who never graduated from university.
In South Africa, though, where the unemployment rate has been consistently high for decades, youth, in particular, cannot necessarily afford the luxury of seeking jobs without having tertiary education of some kind.
Conversely, though, many South African youth also remain unemployed despite holding university degrees. Even the Government Department of Statistics maintains that youth unemployment is high today irrespective of education level.
Access to all of this conflicting information can be overwhelming to youth seeking employment. So the question at large is whether it is worth ‘risking it’ and looking for work without having received a university degree. And if the answer is no, is what Musk proposes simply smoke and mirrors?
In an article written for News24, Nombulelo Precious Mncayi writes that she surveyed a random selection of graduates aged under 35 who were alumni of a South African university. She found that 88.8% of participants in the survey were employed. While this number is surprisingly high, it still means that 11.2% of the graduates interviewed were not employed. And this number is also not indicative of the situation in which non-graduates are placed. So still, there is no obvious answer.
But while there may not be one definitive answer regarding the question of needing a degree to be successful, there are some recommended steps to follow to be a competitive member in the job market.
Research conducted by Fenella Somerville in 2021 found that four components, in particular, were significant to the employability of a higher education graduate: the reputation of the institution, network and connections, experience and finally, the type of work that the graduate applies for. It is clearly worthwhile to have this in mind when choosing a higher education institution as well as a vocation. Also, where possible, individuals are evidently more employable with prior work experience, so working part-time during one’s studies might well be a good idea too.
Alternatively, in fields like IT and computer science, and undoubtedly some others, one can skill up and gain experience with free learning online via a host of courses that teach diverse sets of curricula. Many websites and online schools offer a range of lessons from software development to pure maths courses. In this respect, Musk might be right in saying that ”you can learn anything you want for free”.
So while having a degree might prove to be an advantage, it is not the be-all and end-all to qualifying for a job. What will be helpful, in a case where a job-seeker does not have this background, is finding creative solutions to supplement a lack of education. Ensuring prior work experience or aiming to enter a field where skills are lacking, as well as taking the initiative to do some self-study, will all help to stand job candidates in good stead going forward.
Ultimately, one must take caution not to fall into the trap of tempting misinformation that discourages education, while simultaneously trying to find other ways to grow professionally if traditional education is not an option.
Simplis HR will be at your service to match job seekers with employers through our recruitment service. Our HR Approach is people-centric, conversational, and flexible and will help potential employees feel safe when applying.
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