Friday Sep 12, 2025
Friday Sep 12, 2025
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Universities must be both sanctuaries for knowledge and launchpads for careers
For centuries, universities were sanctuaries of scholarship, tasked with preserving and transmitting knowledge. While this foundation remains vital, today’s rapidly changing world has added a new responsibility: ensuring that graduates are not only knowledgeable but also job-ready.
This shift is driven by multiple stakeholders. Families invest heavily in education with the expectation of employment, while governments and industries support universities to generate a skilled workforce. When graduates lack the skills employers need, universities risk losing credibility and relevance.
Globally, the “skills gap” is a persistent concern. A Milken Institute survey found that 87% of companies face or expect to face shortages. Employers highlight not just technical gaps but missing attributes such as communication, teamwork, and adaptability. In the US, more than half of hiring managers say graduates are unprepared, citing poor professionalism and weak time management. In Sri Lanka, graduate underemployment remains a challenge: only 54% of graduates were suitably employed as of 2012, with arts and management graduates particularly affected, even as private firms struggled to fill vacancies.
Building stronger industry links
One of the most effective solutions is closer collaboration between universities and employers. Internships and cooperative education are proven pathways: in the US, 70% of interns receive job offers from their placement firms. Sri Lanka’s Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) programme has taken steps in this direction, funding faculties to design industry-relevant modules and expand internships in sectors like IT and engineering. Live projects, where students solve real business problems, further bridge theory and practice.
Modernising curricula
Curricula must evolve to match workplace needs. Beyond foundational knowledge, universities should embed digital literacy, data analytics, and project management. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report lists analytical thinking, resilience, creativity, and leadership among the most in-demand skills.
Sri Lanka has responded by prioritising STEM expansion under AHEAD, recognising an oversupply of arts graduates. Between 2017 and 2023, STEM enrolment grew by 10% annually, supported by new labs and job-focused courses such as ICT for the World of Work. These reforms show how higher education can adapt to labour market trends.
Preparing graduates for the age of AI
Artificial Intelligence is transforming every sector, creating new opportunities while automating existing roles. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, AI will displace 85 million jobs globally but create 97 million new ones in areas requiring human–AI collaboration.
Universities must prepare students by integrating AI literacy into their curricula. For some, this means advanced study in data science or AI ethics; for others, a basic understanding of how algorithms shape decisions in fields such as finance, marketing, and law. Sri Lanka has begun to experiment with digital transformation under AHEAD, but broader integration is needed to ensure graduates are ready for a world where AI is mainstream.
Embedding soft skills and career development
Employers consistently rank soft skills as essential, yet many graduates leave without structured training in communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Sri Lanka’s Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century (HETC) project directly tackled this issue through English and IT training, workshops, and creative competitions that built confidence and collaboration. Globally, evidence shows strong career services also make a difference: US students who use campus career centres secure more job offers than those who do not.
Balancing employability with scholarship
While employability matters, universities must not become narrow training centres. Their broader mission, fostering critical thinking, curiosity, ethics, and adaptability—remains crucial. As Times Higher Education has argued, institutions must prepare graduates “for life, not just work.”
Conclusion
Sri Lanka’s reforms demonstrate that progress is possible when governments, universities, and employers align. Globally, the lesson is clear: employability cannot be left to chance. Universities must be both sanctuaries for knowledge and launchpads for careers. Those that embrace this dual role will produce graduates who not only secure jobs but also innovate, adapt, and contribute meaningfully to society.
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(The writer is a lecturer in accounting and finance in a UK university.)
