Jobs for graduates

In Wanted: Staff for immediate start (April 28) the Chamber of Commerce chief executive echoes the dominant business needs-immigrants debate, that our education system is not producing students with the requirements of individual businesses.

The continuation of this argument is somewhat mystifying. We cannot know all New Zealand businesses’ specific skills and attitudes requirements, but rely on tertiary education to help students develop the disciplinary knowledge and generic skills that business and society require. New Zealand graduates should be at the forefront of innovation.

Education can’t provide experiences that can only be developed from being employed. Current job advertisements seek specialist IT and technology graduates with ‘‘three to five years’’ work experience.

Just where is New Zealand’s investment in our recent graduates? When top-quality graduates miss out on jobs due to ‘‘lack of experience’’ whose fault is this?

Tertiary graduates need opportunities to get inside New Zealand businesses, to gain work experience and to be paid to do so. They have invested in New Zealand, committing to substantial loans to gain degrees, and yet business doesn’t want them. When companies are prepared to provide paid internship to develop graduates to their specific needs, then we will see whether or not tertiary education is doing its job.

LINDA ROWAN Palmerston North