DREADFUL, HARD WALK TOWARDS EMPLOYMENT.

By, Deogratias Mutungi.

After lucubrating hard and reading loads of books for many years, many students graduate from the university with the dear hope of landing a lucrative job.

To their disappointment they find themselves padding the road for months on end and at times, for a couple of years before they can some gainful employment to console their heart. “The problem with the most graduates is high expectations that they will easily get jobs but in actual fact jobs are not so easy to get the philosophy of life is misconnected to the extent that barriers are not expected; only smooth life is their expectation” says Rev. Crispian Rwechungura the former dean of student at Tumaini University.

  

The Higher learning institutions academic calendar in Tanzania is set in a way that most students go on a long holidays at the same time, the city remains busy as their number at the city centre increases. Students from up country universities and colleges are backing home, while others are in the city either for field attachments or job seeking.

In an office, it is not easy to identify who is a permanent employee and who is there temporarily, working on attachment, here and there in town are a few journalism students, gathering news, after a certain time they disappear back to the news editor for briefing before composing a story in mind, they observe meeting the deadline, the most important thing in a newsroom

Smart and dressed in no deliberate manner to merge well in the crowd of other city dwellers, job seekers, a brown envelop in their hand, move from one office to another, before they can sign a contracting contract for some employment.

One once asked such a desperate should in quest for a livelihood means “How many brown envelopes have you bought for job application?” Actually, it was a difficult question to answer; more often than not a job seeker does not know how many envelopes he/she will have to buy for his/ her documents. The envelop is mostly full of photocopies of academic certificate and other relevant documents. In other words one’s intelligence is sealed in that parcel.

Sometimes, though very rare, you may find original certificates particularly when someone has received an interview call. Every one looks desperate and sometimes one finds it difficult particularly when on has spent the whole amount budgeted for the exercise.

“We depend on newspaper to know where there is a vacancy, but when you are bankrupt you can not even afford on copy” says Theonest Aloys, a graduate student since 2010, from university of Dodoma in Bachelor of Arts in Marketing.

Theonest further says that, staying home or going back to the village is not a wise decision since it makes it difficult to get tips on job vacancies. The modern technological inventions like the cellular phones have made things rather simple for job hunters; they can reach many people through the media simply by calling or texting a message. Internet is another means to get information.

But very few can access the service regularly the reasons are the same, if a person cannot afford to buy a copy  of a newspaper which is sold for 800/- per copy, they can hardly manage 1000/- to 2000/- per hour, for a piece of work that could cost as much as 3000/- by the time it is finished.

The situation is worse for those in areas where internet is just a myth, in Kigoma for example, only those living in town have internet access, and however even they have sometimes can not use the facility due to power failure. Moreover, places like Kibondo and Kasulu district still do not have power; the problem is prevalent in the country.

“The challenges a person encounters when looking for a job are a sufficient discouragement for himself he or she does not have positive orientation” says Bright Mlashani, a graduate of university of Dar es salaam who opted for self employment an is know an electronic dealer in Dar es salaam.

“You cannot thin of being employed shortly after graduating, sometimes you can get a job soon, but there is no guarantee you will” he adds to say so Theonest. “I thought I could get employment soon after my university education, but things turned out to be different. I remember writing about twenty applications but all of them were fruitless” he says Theonest.

“Never be discouraged when you don’t get an interview call, people should keep on applying when they see a job vacancy they would like to apply for” he adds to say so Mr. engineer Theonest. When one is short listed for an interview, preparations begin, a candidate can spent a ay or days predicting questions which he or she may face.  “We shall inform you “such is the promise always given when you leave an interview room. It is only the statement could perhaps be reassuring in all the desperate search. “I attend six interviews but none of them produced a job” Privatus Mutungi a graduate from IFM remembered that situation.

However, the employment system in the country is allegedly corrupt, some interviews are held in an mysterious manners, the capability of a candidate no longer matters, what matter is who you know and not what you know, Although that is the fact, scholars should still go on making applications “Job seeker should not think that they are the only ones facing that obstacles.

Things have never changed they have to be patient and courageous, today they might be toiling but tomorrow they be employed” says Prof Eustella Bhalalusesa, Commissioner of Education in the Ministry of education and vocational of Training.

In the past securing employment was not so hard but almost an instant thing, employers used to for employees, there was direct employment immediately after one graduate from college or completed secondary school, but this is not the case today, one has to pad the road for days grueling in the heat of sun, looking for a job, it is hard and tiresome.

A job seeker today faces several hurdles. When we got independence we had plenty of job opportunities, with so many graduates annually out looking for employment, the fight for available opportunities is fierce. The structural adjustment program has made the search for job opportunities even harder technological advancement that has reduced the number of workers for a job has placed another hurdle on the path to a happier time of employment.

With the passage of time, hope of graduate to get employment appears to be receding, perhaps the change of the syllabus could provide a more certain future.

    

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