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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 9
Publication Date: September 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.119.17476.
Jaiteh, L., Xin, G., & Sidibe, A. (2024). The Effects of Field-of-Education Job Mismatch on the Current Earnings of the Recent
Graduates of the University of Gambia. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(9). 84-99.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Effects of Field-of-Education Job Mismatch on the Current
Earnings of the Recent Graduates of the University of Gambia
Lala Jaiteh
Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of the Gambia
Gon Xing
Department of Education,
Central China Normal University, China Wuhan
Abou Sidibe
Teacher at the Niamakoro secondary school, Mali, Bamako
ABSTRACT
Access to decent and well-paid jobs is increasingly challenging for many college
graduates. As a result, these graduates often turn to "nonstandard" employment,
which is typically outside their field of study. This study examined the impact of
field-of-education-job mismatch on the current earnings of recent graduates from
the University of the Gambia. It specifically investigated how working in
mismatched jobs has affected their earnings. The research focuses on the 2016-
2019 cohort of graduates from the School of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities at the
University of the Gambia. An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was
used to examine the effects of field-of-education-job mismatch on these graduates.
The quantitative phase consisted of three hundred (n=300) graduates who were
selected through the use of simple random selection techniques, while the
qualitative phase consisted of twenty (n=20) cases who were purposively selected
from the quantitative phase based on the severity of the mismatch. The Chi-square
analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis were used to ascertain the
effects of field-of-education-job mismatch on the current earnings of the graduates.
The results obtained from the quantitative phase revealed that the self-evaluation
of participants who are currently working showed that more than half (56.4%) of
the participants indicated that their field-of-study did not at all match with their
current job. Only 13.3% indicated that their field of study perfectly matched their
current job. The analysis showed one variable significantly related to current
earnings (income) at p<0.05. However, two more variables (females and Ph.D.
graduates) showed a significant relationship with current earnings among
graduates at p<0.1.
Keywords: Field-of-education-job mismatch, labor market, graduates, earnings, arts&
sciences &humanities.
INTRODUCTION
The term field-of-education-job mismatch, referred to as horizontal-job-education mismatch,
has not received much attention by the academic community in more comprehensive, regional,
Sub-Saharan Africa SSA and global (Wolber, 2003; Nordin et al....2008). Field-of-education-job
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Jaiteh, L., Xin, G., & Sidibe, A. (2024). The Effects of Field-of-Education Job Mismatch on the Current Earnings of the Recent Graduates of the
University of Gambia. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(9). 84-99.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.119.17476
mismatch reflects the discrepancies between the education received (field-of-study) from the
schools and those demanded by the labor market. The phenomena of field-of-education-job
mismatch are generally associated with developed economies (G Kraaykamp et al 2013). Over- education, under-education, over-skilling, and under-skilling, underemployment, and skills
mismatches have caught the attention of many academic scholars, policymakers, international
organizations, and non-governmental organizations in the past decades (Hartog, 2000;
McGuinness, 2006). This situation is due to the race between technology and education
triggered by twenty-first-century 21st technological advancement, globalization, demographic
change, and digitalization; jobs are becoming increasingly skills-intensive (Goldin and Katz,
2009). Innovation, which heavily relies on advanced knowledge, is a critical contributing factor
to productivity growth. Today field-of-education-job mismatch continues to be a global
challenge as the gap between the higher education sector and the labor market needs become
more significant due to a lack of solid linkage between the higher education institutions and the
labor market.
The Gambia is one of the smallest countries in West Africa and is surrounded by a neighboring
country Senegal by three sides; its population is estimated at 2.3 million people (world
barometer) and $678.36 per capita income. Since independence in 1965, The Gambia was in
dire need of human capital development in all facets of life. According to the ''Revised education
policy 1988-2003'', The Gambia's most valued resource is its citizens, a wealth that must be
developed and nurture for the good of the individual and the nation alike. In recognition that
investment in education is critical to economic growth and cognizance of the truth by increasing
people's productivity, education contributes to better income distribution and poverty
reduction.
Before establishing the University of the Gambia (UTG), University education then was an
unreachable dream for many Gambians. During this period, many Gambians struggled to
acquire tertiary education in few public tertiary education institutions within the country,
namely: Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI), Management Development Institute
(MDI), and Gambia College (GC), to secure a reputable job within the labor market. The turning
point of the Gambia's higher education system dated in March 1999, when the Government took
the bold step to establish a university through parliament of the national assembly. The
enactment was a bold step to fulfill the Gambian people's long-standing desires and respond to
the growing demand for human capital development within the country. During this period,
The Gambia was in crucial need of graduates from universities to occupy positions in the public
service and government corporations. Therefore, the first five (5) batches of graduates of the
University of the Gambia (UTG) were labelled as the cream of the Gambian society. As then, a
university degree was an automatic door opener into the labor market as the graduates were
guaranteed employment and immediately absorbed into the public and formal private sector
upon graduation.
Over the years, as time passes, the Gambia began to experience a rapid increase of university
graduates between 2010 to date. This increase coincided with the rapid expansion of public
investment in higher education and has raised several questions concerning its implications for
the labor market (OECD 2014). One would ask this question: why does a field-of-education-job
mismatch exist between the higher education sector and the Gambia labor market, observing
the year of establishing the country's only national University and the small population size?
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 9, September-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The answer to the above question is obvious; The Gambia is challenged with economic
stagnation over the past decades. Investment in both public and private sectors remained very
low, and higher education graduates continue to rise at an alarming rate, particularly those
from The University of The Gambia. Where almost 80 percent of the Gambian students
graduate.
Every year, The University of the Gambia (UTG) graduates hundreds of students in various
disciplines. The bulk of these graduates comes from different faculties: The School of Business
and Public Administration, the School of Art and Sciences & Humanities, and School of Law Etc.
Upon graduation, only 40 percent of these graduates will be lucky to acquire jobs in the labor
market; the remaining 60 percent of the graduate’s face difficulties securing employment in the
labor market after graduation. Simply because the disciplines they specialized in are not highly
marketable in the labor market due to job market saturation. And as a result, many of them end
up looking for alternative means of survival in different occupations that do not match their
actual field of study and might be below their level of education.
Several studies on labor market analysis in The Gambia have highlighted strategies to increase
employment opportunities for youth and reduce the economy's poverty rate and dependency.
My research paper aims to contribute to the existing literature on field-of-education-job
mismatch and raise awareness about this issue in The Gambia. To my knowledge, no one has
conducted such a study at our public university, positioning my work as a pioneering effort. This
paper seeks to critically investigate and analyze the effects of field-of-education-job mismatch
on the earnings of recent graduates from the University of the Gambia. It will also provide
recommendations for creating a favorable environment for students to acquire competencies
that are highly valued in the labor market, thereby increasing the employability of prospective
graduates. This involves engaging labor market actors in designing and delivering programs at
the University of the Gambia.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
A graduation day is meant to mark the end of a painful and shabby lifestyle for any university
student and open the gate for prosperity. Interestingly in The Gambia, it's the beginning of an
inevitable reality for many university graduates. The University of the Gambia (UTG) churns
out hundreds of students every year. For a bulk of them, there are no employment opportunities
because of the brutal labor market. While many of the graduates’ struggle under economic
hardship triggered by joblessness, many others have found themselves working at low-pay
unskilled jobs to survive (The Chronicle, July 16th, 2019).
Over the years, The Gambia has experienced a rapid increase in higher education graduates.
During the late 2000s between 2015 and 2019, according to the policy economist the estimated
figure of the employment rate of the University of the Gambia graduates who were lucky to
secure a job in the labor market in their first year after graduation stood at 40 to 45 percent.
While the remaining 55 percent remained unemployed for a long period before they could
secure a job in the labor market. Therefore, Unemployment remains an essential factor of
poverty and has been identified as having contributed to the rising population of Gambians
living in poverty (Republic of The Gambia 2015- 2017).
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Jaiteh, L., Xin, G., & Sidibe, A. (2024). The Effects of Field-of-Education Job Mismatch on the Current Earnings of the Recent Graduates of the
University of Gambia. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(9). 84-99.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.119.17476
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
My research paper seeks to investigate the issue of the field-of education-job mismatch by
asking several questions.
Main Research Question
1. What is the effect of field-of-education-job mismatch on the earnings of recent graduates
of the University of the Gambia?
Sub-Research Questions
1. Which groups are more likely to be mismatched in the labor market, regarding, in
particular, their field of studies within the school of arts and sciences & humanities?
2. What is the proportion of graduates who are satisfied with their field of study with
regards to their Occupation?
3. What are the causes of field-of-education-job mismatch?
4. What is the proportion of graduates who are affected by mismatch by their field of study
in terms of gender (male/female)?
5. Does field-of-education job mismatch hurt the current earnings of the graduates?
6. What is the percentage of graduates who are currently unemployed and what are the
reasons behind their unemployment status?
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The literature on the field of education-job mismatch and the labor market is regarded as one
of the hottest academic debates between the education sector and the labor market in the
twenty-first 21st century as the topic underpins the congruence between higher education
programs and the labor market needs. Today the world is challenged with a global economic
crisis which is followed by poor economic growth. As a result, many university graduates from
higher education institutions are faced with adverse difficulties in acquiring jobs in the labor
market due to several factors, namely: mismatch of skills, field-of-study mismatch, qualification
mismatch or job market saturation, etc.
Causes of Field-Of-Education-Job Mismatch
The issue of field-of-education-job mismatch can be examined from two perspectives:
structural and individual causes. At the structural level, it can be seen as a factor contributing
to economic weakness and stagnation. Chigunta (2002) discusses this as a consequence of the
disconnect between labor market demand and supply. Robst (2007), Montt (2015), and
Verhaest et al. (2015) have also highlighted this lack of alignment. Additionally, Mbah (2014)
emphasizes the importance of curriculum quality and program offerings by universities in
addressing this issue. The International Labor Organization (ILO) (2012) has also examined the
ramifications of field-of-education-job mismatches. Among university graduates, such
mismatches are often linked to deficiencies in education quality stemming from outdated
curricula and teaching methodologies. The ILO observed that many universities in developing
nations have maintained largely unchanged curricula and teaching methods over time.
Consequently, employers' expectations for strong critical thinking, communication, and
entrepreneurial skills are often unmet by the existing educational frameworks.
As Montt (2015) points out, workers who find themselves in mismatched positions typically do
not choose this situation willingly. Instead, they are often compelled by a lack of opportunities