Graduate Employment Challenges in Zimbabwe: A Case of Zimbabwe Open University Graduates

Zimbabwe Open University has churned a very high percentage of graduates since its inception in 1994 through its Distance and Open learning Programmes. This has encouraged many people to continue to study at their own pace. Given the depressed and shrinking nature of the Zimbabwean labour market from 1999-2011, the institution has thus produced more graduates than can be absorbed by Zimbabwe’s labour market since not all of the graduates find employment in their respective fields of qualifications. This study adopted a mixed methods approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses procedures. Its goal was to establish the extent to which graduates from the Open University find employment in their fields of specialization. The study revealed that many graduates who undertook studies anticipating employment in their field of specialization are failing to do so as most of the employers are hesitant to employ people who are highly qualified, when the economy is shrinking and undergoing a depression. As a consequence, some of the graduates end up taking up any jobs that they can find, while others have emigrated to the Diaspora to seek employment. The study thus recommends a link between degree programmes and the labour market situation obtaining in the economy so as to avoid a mismatch between the two. It also recommends a needs assessment programme bythe universities and employers in a bid to synchronize programmes offered by the universities with the labour market. Keywords: Graduate unemployment, Open University, Labour Market, economic depression