Page 37 - A Handbook for Academia, Industry and Policymakers: Reinforcing the Innovation-Employability Nexus in the Mediterranean

36 REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 37

It is difficult for an HEI to see a skills gap when both degree bestows a graduate with certain skills
the number of graduates and unemployment have which signal productivity and potential. HEIs in the
increased because the supply side has produced Southern Mediterranean region have historically
graduates and the demand side needs workers. produced graduates primarily for the public
This calls into question employability — a subject sector, which demanded degreed candidates more
that is increasingly discussed throughout the than requiring specific skills . The link between
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world. As technology changes rapidly, how can an the degree and the skills it should carry was
Skills for Employment HEI keep up with the changing skills requirements? weakened by this emphasis on the credential and
It is also true that unfilled jobs may not be skilled as a result, the demand by youths for a degree in
jobs. There is no simple answer. However, both any discipline overtook their demand for specific
academia and industry agree that if the skills professional skills. As Assaad, Krafft and Salehi-
gap could be closed, it would help the economy, Isfahani state in their 2018 study in Jordan and
which brings it to a policy level. As described on Egypt on labour market outcomes as related to
igher education institutions have been under pressure to page 18, youth un- and underemployment in the type of higher education, this ‘credentialism’
reduce the ‘skills gap’ often cited as a major factor in the high the region has the characteristics of a wicked influenced the structure of educational systems
H unemployment figures in the Mediterranean region . Evidence problem. It is a collective concern, and the Triple in the region and, even as the proportion of public
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shows that in the Southern Mediterranean region, academia has Helix of academia, industry and government sector employment has decreased favouring
the private sector and industry, educational
are all responsible. Only if these stakeholders
delivered by producing the highest educated generational group work together in a coordinated and systematic outcomes remain disconnected from specific
ever . Yet, this impressive increase in educational attainment has way can it be resolved. skills . Reducing the reliance on public sector
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1
not translated into a corresponding increase in income opportunities Among the factors at play are the reasons behind employment has been difficult since private
industry jobs are still relatively few and demand
and therefore unemployment persists. The underlying reasons an individual’s decision attend university and for highly skilled graduates is therefore weak,
are nuanced, including diverse social factors involved in pursuing employers’ decisions about what skills they leaving the region in a ‘credentialist equilibrium’
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an academic credential and the distinct economic environment in need. In short, these are the levers of supply and as illustrated in Figure 6 .
demand of skills. On the supply side, an academic
countries where the public sector is the main employer. Gaining
employability skills is still important, however the overall issue
of employability is a collective concern, and the Triple Helix of The Credentialist Equilibrium

academia, industry and government are all responsible. Figure 6

Strong demand
for credentials
Background and context Academia

Strong supply
of credentials
The ‘skills gap’ refers to the difference between invested heavily in developing and promoting
skills employers want and the skills possessed education systems and have succeeded in
by their current employees or job seekers. greatly increasing enrolment, reaching gender
Employers often look to Higher Education parity, and overall achieving the highest level of Weak demand Industry
Institutions (HEIs) as those responsible for youth education ever . Algeria and Tunisia boast for skills
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addressing the skills gap by preparing graduates the highest percentages of women graduates in Youth
and
for the work force equipped with the skills they the fields of science, technology, engineering, and families
need. However, the topic is nuanced. Countries math in the world at 55% and 58% . Public
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in the Southern Mediterranean region have

Strong demand
Algeria and Tunisia have the highest for credentials
percentage of women STEM

graduates in the world 29 Source: adapted from Assaad, Krafft, and Salehi-Isfahani 2018 28