Higher education and job creation in South Africa : institutional mentorship for employability

Abstract

As postulated in human capital theory, education is a substantial investment with potential benefits and return rates for individuals and society. Over time, various studies have shown that the acquisition of a higher level of education ideally leads to better employment prospects, with employees earning relatively higher salaries, which directly impacts a country's economic advancement and human and social capital development. Despite the increasing numbers of graduates, the supply of suitable employment is not, due to factors such as education misalignment and lack of skills. Other studies suggest that graduate unemployment is also a factor of higher education institutions (HEIs) not always successfully preparing students to become influential labour market analysts. Paradoxically, the South African youth unemployment rate continues to rise quarterly despite increasing graduate numbers. It is against this background that this study aims to determine whether an institutional mentorship programme would significantly increase graduates' success in the labour market and equip them with the necessary innovative tools for contributing to job creation. For this purpose, Kram's mentorship theory was used to frame the philosophical grounding of this study. This theory is based fundamentally on the interaction between an older mentor who is experienced and a younger protégé who is still less experienced. During their interaction, the mentor is primarily tasked with developing the specific career needs of the protégé. Through its evolution over time, Kram’s mentorship theory has focused on the relational aspect that is embedded and developed within the context of the protégé’s career. Together with a quantitative research design, the theory helps to broaden the understanding of the link between institutional mentorship and employability. Such an approach further helps explain whether this type of embedded relational mentorship could be viewed as a possible strategy to thwart the growing graduate unemployment rates. Accordingly, an electronic survey was administered to alumni of a South African higher education institution to determine the efficacy or otherwise of the relational mentorship approach as a mechanism to enhance graduate employability. Results from this study show that participation in institutional mentorship programmes can address the issue of skills mismatch and field of study misalignment, which are listed as some of the causal factors of unemployment in South Africa. Furthermore, data show the efficacy of institutional mentorship in boosting institutional reputation, garnering loyalty, equipping participants with relevant employability skills, reducing job search periods, increasing job attainment likelihood, and promoting protégés personal well-being.