ASCS held their first debate for this scholastic year, entitled ‘Youth Employability’, with a panel consisting of members from the student organisations GHSL, DESA, GUG, ICTSA, MUST, ASCS and SACES, as well as the General Director of Malta Employment Association (MEA). The debate focused on whether University students are able to find job in their sector during and after their course, and on what the employers look like when finding new employees.
The first question that was tackled was aimed at the organisations’ representatives, and on their opinions of their sector with regards to employability. The overall response was that all sectors have expanded greatly, with several new branches developing and growing over the recent years; however, it is still vital for the organisations to help bridge the gap between student and employer. Furthermore, by preparing the students for the world of work, as well as providing opportunities and enhancing the students abilities in creativity, productivity and teamwork.
The second question was based on whether the current education system is good enough for the world of work, and opinions differed; with SACES saying that students studying architecture have too much liberty when it comes to designing, and are then faced with strict restrictions, whether financial or otherwise, when put into the world of work. On the other hand, MUST said that their course is split between theory and placements on the place of work, and thus, this helps the students in already settling in the place of work. However, there is a clash between what students learn at university and what they have to face on the place of work, and this is what the organisations need to work on to help the students settle in quicker.
Guest Joseph Farrugia, the General Director of MEA, stressed that students need to be active on campus, as this helps the employers choose the right people for the job; however, this raised a couple of questions from the crowd. After all, us students are voluntarily giving up our time and energy to work for our respective student organisations, and we are not getting any recognition for what we do. This also comes from employes, who pay more attention to the student’s average mark, rather than his or her’s extra-curricular activities.
We would like to thank ASCS for inviting us to cover this very interesting debate, and express that fruitful events like these result in more opportunities for students.
