Abstract:
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) graduates face high unemployment levels. This
is largely ascribable to the absence of opportunities and or their lack of employability
skills and abilities needed in the corporate world. Like other graduates across
various fields of study in South Africa, Development Planning and Management
graduates from the University of Limpopo are confronted with difficulties of transiting
to the labour market. Several factors contribute to these difficulties, common among
them being the lack of work-integrated learning, poor marketing of qualifications, and
poor collaboration between the universities and the corporate sector. Against this
backdrop, this study sought to enhance the employability of Development in
Planning and Management graduates in the University of Limpopo, relying on these
graduates as a case study data collection and an evaluation of the factors that
contribute to the non-employability of graduates in lieu of the needs of the labour
market. This study aimed to investigate the employability of graduates from the
University of Limpopo.
A normative and evaluation research design was used in the study. For primary and
secondary data collection, the study used questionnaires, interview schedules, and a
literature review. The study included 49 participants and 4 key informants. It was
found that the integration of work-integrated learning into the university curriculum,
proper marketing of the degree programme, and collaborative efforts between HEIs
and the corporate sector can enhance the employability of Development in Planning
and Management graduates.
In conclusion, the study highlights that HEIs must incorporate work-integrated
learning into curricula and establish collaborative efforts between HEIs and the
labour market, in order to effectively respond to the evolution of attributes and
abilities that the economy and corporate world demand. Therefore, the study
recommends that universities must align their degree programmes with the demands
of the corporate world, strengthen collaborations with the corporate sector, promote
work-integrated learning, and involve the corporate sector in curriculum designs and
reviews to assure that university curriculum respond to the expectations of the
corporate world.
