Effectiveness of graduate programmes in assisting graduates to become work ready

Abstract

The purpose for this qualitative study is to evaluate the effectiveness of graduate programmes in assisting graduates to become work ready. The objective of the graduate programme that the research focused on was to accelerate the development and competence of new graduates to become value adding employees on completion of the programme. The business case for graduate programmes is instigated and supported by the dynamic and competitive nature of the contemporary workplace which has resulted in a widening gap between knowledge gained through higher education and the requirements of the workplace. A purposive sample of 16 respondents consisting of eight graduates and eight managers were interviewed and content analysis was carried out. The graduate respondents included graduates from two of the latest and largest Deloitte intake group, the group of 2007 and 2008. The manager respondents included project managers that were involved in the management of the graduate as learners as well as business analysts on completion of the programme. The key findings of the study revealed that both the managers and the graduates believe that the Deloitte Graduate Programme (DGA) leads to work readiness. However, both parties felt that the programme can be further enhanced by controlling and measuring the on-the job experience that the leaners get exposed to, to ensure that meaningful learning can be guaranteed for all graduates. The respondents also felt that the design of the qualification can be changed to become more flexible to cater for the different career path interests of the various graduates. The qualification is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) qualification even though most learners do not join the programme to follow the ERP career path. As a result some leaners and managers regards those modules a waste of their time as they are not relevant to the graduates career interests. The results of this study confirm that graduate programmes have a key role to play in closing the gap between higher learning and the workplace if designed and managed appropriately