Apprenticeship for jobless graduates

TheSun 14Dec2005 Apprenticeship for jobless graduates THE issues pertaining to unemployed graduates continue to dominate social and political discussions. Essentially we could talk till the cows come home. Let us look instead at an immediate solution that would address inherent weaknesses in our system. We should initiate a systematic programme to encourage companies (large and medium) to accept unemployed graduates for their Industrial Training. The graduates themselves should ask "How could I add value to myself and to this company during my Industrial Training here", as opposed to the perennial question "How much is my salary?" As the undergraduate adapts to the adoptive companies (very much like the Industrial Training programme undertaken in Europe, without pay, only travel and meal allowances), they could acquire new skills, strategies and tools, as well as interaction with a working peer group that is substantially better than the unemployed peer group. When the economy picks up, the companies that provided this Industrial Training could absorb these undergraduates by offering permanent employment. On the other, the graduate could also realise his/her own weakness and strengths in a real working environment and not just textbook acquired skills. Sanjay Veloo Kuala Lumpur