Somalilandsun – Far away in the sunshine are our highest aspirations. We may not reach them, but we can look up and see their beauty; believe in them; and try our best to follow where they lead us to. It must be a very proud moment for you and your families, for the success you have earned through many years of hard work and dedication, this day that many of you were longing for has finally come. You must be lucky because may be many of you attended well facilitated schools during your days, because most of our schools system in the early and late 1990s was devastated by the civil war and this was remarkable journey that the Somaliland primary and secondary education had reached by far.
What brings to my attention today is that there plenty of graduates in our country every year, and result the number of graduates is increasing each year in a big numbers.
frustrations begins few months after students graduate from their universities, the sad reality is that many bright student picture that they will secure a good office in one of either the public or private sector which are most of them are sabotaged by favoritism, preferential treatment, nepotism, and the mother in law from hell i.e. (Tribalism), that poignant reality is that you cannot secure a good positions whatever degrees you hold unless someone somewhere is scratching your back.
One lesson that I learned from my Economic classes goes as this, A Market Surplus occurs when there is excess supply- that is quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded, and then that firm cannot produce more than its capability.
This is the reality in our economy today in Somaliland we have few big companies that employ hundreds of locals and there are other public institutions and international institutions that also hire a number of people and it seems they have reached to their maximum and cannot hire anymore thus the surplus is here. There are many graduates every year and the economy of the country either in the public or in the private is not increasing as they have reached their utmost output to hire workers.
More over Somaliland has a sufficient supply of graduates with technical skills mainly in information, communication and technology (ICT), business, engineering and many other fields. Unfortunately, the demand for these graduates is still low despite the economic growth in the country. The obvious question that arises is what could be the factors leading to the decrease in demand for these graduates?
In one point many of the graduates are lacking the ‘soft skills ‘such as communication skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills and the ability to be flexible These ‘soft skills’ (also known as employability skills) are foundation skills that apply across the board, no matter what job the employee is performing
.This year alone 4247 graduates have successfully completed their fields of study, and the trend will increase each year as the employment market remains constant. Furthermore many Somaliland students who are studying in overseas countries will come back their home with the hope that they will be employed immediately after their arrival, which turns dark after few months of market observation, and this has already resulted many of our brilliant students to risk their lives in the Mediterranean sea-via Libya, Turkey, Egypt and other countries which sometimes cost them their lives. I have witnessed many of my friends to do so in order to look for better opportunity, on top of that many countries in the world including US, Australia,Newzealand and Canada are hunting skilled immigrants through skilled immigrant scheme which is easier for those have technical skills and good English command. This is Brain drain problem, and in our age, has become very elusive. The developing countries like Somaliland are desperately in need of talents, especially in the field of science and technology but for one reason or the other the talents are fleeing their country, leaving their native land impoverished in the process. Brain Drain is an extremely serious problem for developing countries. The destiny of such countries lies in the solution to this great problem.
I do not know if the ministry of Somaliland higher education has any information about Somalilanders studying in a foreign countries , these countries are include Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt,Malaysia,Turkey,Philipines,China,Uganda,India and other countries and I bet they do not have a single information of these students, as the students are self sponsored I only guess they watch them from the Television screens during 18-May commemorations in these countries as the Somaliland students in any country organize themselves every year and celebrate there to show the world their solidarity.
The question here is what is next after graduation? Because this year only 1200 graduated from Golis University ,Hargeisa University 930, Amoud University 863,Admas University 413, Addis-ababa medical university 134, Alpha 317, New Generation university Hargeisa 196, Nugaal University 115 have produced this number of graduates with no promising market of employability. I would like to Congratulate on your graduation and best wishes for your next adventure.
Finally, as a Somaliland concerned citizen, I came to the conclusion that we need to reassess our cause as country to the International Community and also our higher education system. We have gone through a lot of hardships and a lot has been done. We have little, and the little we have we need to manage it effectively and efficiently or else these graduates every year may turn into armed men and women with pens and books that may perhaps cause a revolutions whose conclusions are uncertain. After all these tips might help you if you are among the fresh graduates of the mentioned universities.
Planning ahead
There are few courses of actions I would like to suggest to the readers, if you are a recent graduate the first step is to be prepared, mentally, for the task ahead. “You’ll need patience and a thick skin, very few people get the first job they apply for, or are interviewed for. The key thing is to learn from those experiences, within your chosen industries it’s still important to think with potential targets mapped out, prep your professional arsenal; this means a killer CV. Get feedback from peers before you seek it from employers. Use professional language and write accomplishments in an objective, measurable format. Include a cover letter with your resume and send a follow-up letter and thank you note.
Further study
If work isn’t the place for you just yet, further study is another avenue you could explore, whether for personal satisfaction or career advancement – although it pays to remember that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Postgraduate study opens the door to deeper understanding of a subject and a radically different study experience, and there are professional advantages too “A postgraduate qualification helps to differentiate students in the employment market and can be a useful ‘badge’ throughout their career.”
Set Goals
Now that you have accomplished the goal of graduation, it is time to set new goals to serve as your framework for post-graduate success. Create a big picture of what success means to you. Do you want to work for a particular company? Do you want marriage and children? Do you dream of home ownership, your goals should be based on what you want for your life so you can plan the actions you need to take to get what you want.
AYANLE OSMAN HUSSEIN
BA, (MARKETING). MBA (General)
HARGEISA
Contact: ayanleb52@gmail.com
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