The section below gives a description of the research problem, problem statement and the formulation of sub-problems or research questions. The problem statement comprises of the research questions (Van der Merwe 1996:289). The research questions determine whether the research problem is addressed or not.
1.4.1 Research problem
A research problem refers to a difficulty a researcher observes or experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation, for which obtaining a solution drives inquiry (Kothari 2004:24). In a practical situation, the concept of unemployment is well known and prevalent amongst graduates of various higher education institutions. The study done by the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) confirms that: “most higher education graduates do end up in employment, often after a long period of job searching and many take jobs where they are under-employed in terms of qualifications. This under-employment in low-work is also an international consequence of leaving the job early (CHEC 2013:10). It is one of the reasons that employees change jobs often within the short period of time. The CHEC study was conducted in the four Western Cape universities, namely Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Stellenbosch, University of Cape Town, and University of Western Cape.
The CHEC study made reference to the HSRC Student Retention and Graduate Destination study, which was done with the purpose of determining graduate destinations, and in
particular, whether or not they find employment (CHEC 2013:10). The HSRC study was conducted at seven selected public higher education institutions. The University of Technology under study was also included in the study, hence the researcher aims to further explore the developments around this institution. The study established that the demographic constraints are, amongst others, the reasons for graduates not being able to find employment, as they are affecting graduates from poor and rural regions. Allied to this is the inequality of resources between institutions and the poor quality of tuition in certain institutions, which incur high failure rates (CHEC 2013:10).
The researcher’s view is that some of the unemployed graduates find themselves continuing or furthering their graduate education (for example, honours, masters and doctoral studies) not because they planned to do so, but because they are struggling to find suitable employment. Furthering their studies beyond undergraduate qualifications somehow keeps them busy while they are in search of suitable employment.
Graduate unemployment is also a global issue. The study conducted in China by Xing, Yanga and Li (2017:1) about unemployment of young college graduates states that unemployment of the educated labour force often results in a waste of human capital and leads to serious economic and social problems, and thus has attracted much attention of policy makers and researchers. The same applies to this study: graduate unemployment, especially of the University of Technology cohort, has attracted the researcher to pay attention to the communication strategy that could increase graduate employment potential.
In his article, Van Broekhuizen (2016:3) confirmed that graduates who attended historically disadvantaged institutions (HDI) have significantly poorer labour market prospects than graduates from historically advantaged institutions (HAI). Given the findings of studies conducted as exemplified above, the researcher is of the opinion that there is a need for the media to strategically place strong emphasis on the dissemination of information about skills that are required in the labour market in order to ensure that, after completing their studies, all graduates immediately find suitable employment. The researcher argues that the consequences of not addressing this problem is that the country will continue having unemployed graduates, because their qualifications may be irrelevant to the labour market. Affected individuals end up being discouraged and, in retrospect, do not see the value of
studying and become depressed. They could end up becoming involved in establishing dangerous and unacceptable means of income, such as selling drugs, stealing, human trafficking, etc.
1.4.2 Problem statement
The problem identified by this research is post-graduation unemployment. Based on figure 3.1 (fully illustrated on page 40 below), between January 2008 and January 2017 the unemployment rate for those with tertiary qualifications has increased from 5% to 7.3%. A relevant question to ask is “what is the future of the current professions”. Although the % seems small, the researcher believes that it is unacceptable, taking into account that the total number of the unemployed after attaining a tertiary qualification is far lower than those without a tertiary qualification.
Within the context of this study, an integrated communication strategy is required as an enabling tool for increasing graduate employment potential. Media is regarded as the strategic role-player whereby different media are integrated and used in the dissemination of information about the future of the professions, skills required in the job market, and at the same time, the creation of awareness about the consequences of studying or following careers that are either less demanding or irrelevant.
For example, graduates may remain jobless for a very long time, relent and seek out any form of employment, end up employed for something else other than what they are being trained for, and decide to further their studies due to lack of employment. These are stark possibilities. Some of the students may decide to study further, not because they planned to do so, but due to their failure to find appropriate employment. For example, a psychology graduate might themselves employed as a call centre agent.
1.4.3 Formulation of sub-problems
The sub-problems for this study are informed by the research questions below: Which unemployment factors are recognised by the graduate students?
How can media address graduate unemployment challenges?
What are types of media are used to disseminate information about factors contributing to graduate unemployment?
Which unemployment factors can confirm if unemployment is a challenge facing students who are currently studying at the University of Technology?
How could media for disseminating information about unemployment factors be confirmed?
How best can a communication strategy be established for increasing graduate employment potential?