Abstract
The study aimed at exploring perceptions of recruitment agents on the employability of humanities graduates in South Africa. This research was conducted with the aim of understanding the employability trends among humanities graduates in South Africa and providing recommendations on how to make humanities graduates more employable. Previous studies focused on the employability of graduates in general, while this research only focused on humanities graduates in South Africa as there are limited studies on the employability of this group. There is also a lot of speculation and mysticism around the employment prospects of a person with a humanities degree, with some people arguing that the humanities field is too broad. Therefore, findings of this study have implications for higher education institutions, employers, policymakers and graduates. It will inform policymakers on aspects to consider in ensuring that graduates from the humanities are more employable. The study was conducted in Johannesburg, Gauteng province, South Africa. It adopted a qualitative research approach. Fifteen participants were sampled through the non-probability sampling technique and purposive sampling method. A semi-structured interview method was used to gain insights into how recruitment agents perceive humanities graduates, to gather information on employability skills that are necessary in the labour market and to provide an opportunity for recruiters to share suggestions on aspects to consider in order to make humanities graduates work-ready. Recruitment agents’ understanding of the term ‘employability’ was covered during the interviews: participants were asked to elaborate on employability skills needed by humanities graduates and they shared their opinions on who should be responsible for humanities graduates’ employability in South Africa. Based on the fifteen recruitment agents’ experiences, this study revealed that humanities graduates in South Africa are not ready for the competitive labour market because of lack of practical exposure during their study years and because of the broadness of their qualifications. It also revealed that compared to graduates with other qualifications, humanities graduates are more likely to face unemployment. The qualitative approach allowed me to tell one side of the story based on recruitment consultants’ views.
M.A. (Industrial Sociology)