Education, Education, Education
Chapter 1 - The Value of A Good Education
Now don't get me wrong. I am as much in favour of education as the next man.
Even more so, as I think you will see. It's just that I am not convinced that
the process is really delivering the right results. It seems that our
universities are turning out people who have the academic skills but lack the
practical understanding to apply them to every-day problems. It's not that it's
a difficulty for me, of course, but I suppose I just find it disappointing. I'm
in contact with some of the best products of our university system and they just
do not seem to really get the most from their education. They are full of
book-learning but have no way to apply it. In contrast, Elly, my assistant in
this enterprise has absolutely no qualifications in anything but she does have
an extraordinary amount of common sense and most of the time that seems to count
for more.
Anyway enough of the complaints; graduate recruitment is what is required and
graduate recruitment is what I provide. You cannot argue with the customer,
after all. It's a growing part of the market. Since the government tells us that
we are in a knowledge economy it shouldn't be a surprise that clients are
getting as interested in brains as much as in beauty. I just feel that you have
to ask about value for money - especially with the premium that this sort of
recruitment commands.
Just take my latest five recruits, for example. None of them has really got the
full benefit of their studies, yet. As a result, I am currently working with a
medical student that has failed to appreciate the action of simple drugs; an
engineering graduate with only a limited appreciation of the qualities of carbon
steel; a business studies major that is having trouble understanding the way in
which markets work, a language scholar that is having the greatest difficulty in
putting her thoughts and feelings into words and a sociologist who has turned
out to be one of the worst judges of character that I have met.
In fact, I do sometimes wonder if what I call a graduate intake programme
wouldn't be better called a graduates taken-in programme.
But still, the cheque book rules, I always say. If graduates are what's wanted,
then graduates will be recruited. Since my commissions were to find an MD, an
MSc(Eng), an MBA, a holder of a TEFL certificate and a BA Soc, I will have met
my targets. And, who knows, maybe their new positions will give them the chance
to put their qualifications into a more practical context. Even so, I wouldn't
want my clients to think they were getting more than I can realistically
deliver. After all setting expectations that can be met is the first stage in
creating real customer satisfaction in business.
