Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme researcher joins panel discussion on Mozambican labour market

In the Grande Debate live panel discussion on the theme of the labour market, broadcast on 17 March 2020 by Televisão de Moçambique, Sam Jones shared the results of a recent survey on the school-to-work transitions of university graduates carried out under the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme.

Jones, who co-authored the research with Ricardo Santos, UNU-WIDER Research Fellow, and Gimelgo Xirinda, a researcher at the University of Eduardo Mondlane, was asked about the current position of Mozambican university graduates as they entered the national labour market after their studies.

The survey findings highlighted by Jones included the challenges of the Mozambican labour market in absorbing graduates from the higher education sector; the difficulties faced by graduates in securing a job directly related to their field of study; and the gender disparities that exist among graduates in their paths to employment.

Jones also emphasized that policy makers as well as universities themselves must create the mechanisms for tracing students’ professional paths, to gain a better understanding of the needs of the labour market and redirect investments to priority areas.

The other panellists included the representative of the Mozambican Association of Final-Year University Students (AEFUM), Osvaldo Mauaie, and the Deputy General Director of Beluluane Industrial Park, Onório Manuel.