Dialogue: Capping courses not the answer

Most involved in tertiary education will welcome the Government's determination to reduce rampant competition and encourage rationalisation, collaboration and planning.

But one must question the wisdom of Steve Maharey's statement that there is an oversupply of graduates in business and an undersupply in science and technology, and that there should be a cap on courses where graduate numbers exceed industry demand.

First, under such a regime, what becomes of subjects such as philosophy, classics, English literature, European languages, Maori studies, geology, history, and Mr Maharey's own subject, sociology?

There is presumably limited direct industry demand for these topics, yet the freedom of all students to extend their studies in liberal areas is a cornerstone of our system, and a major civilising force in society. Universities and the public would surely resist any attempt to limit such freedom.

Second, what is the evidence for the oversupply and undersupply that Mr Maharey has identified?

The Vice-Chancellors' Committee university graduate destinations report for 2000 provides details of the jobs and salaries of recent graduates.

The figures show that the proportion of 1999 bachelors graduates in fulltime employment was 67 per cent for graduates in business and commerce, compared with 63 per cent for mathematical and information sciences, 44 per cent for biological sciences, and only 31 per cent for physical sciences.

Admittedly, this is partly because many science graduates seek to do postgraduate study. But despite the relatively low numbers of business postgraduate students, the number of business graduates classified as seeking fulltime employment (27 per cent) is only marginally higher than for the physical and biological scientists (around 20 per cent).

One would expect graduates in areas of shortage to attract higher salaries than those in areas of oversupply.

The reported salaries of new business graduates working in New Zealand are $37,300 for men and $32,400 for women. This compares favourably with the figures for biological sciences ($30,500 and $29,900 respectively) and physical sciences ($25,500 and $31,500, the last probably a statistical aberration because of the very small number of female physical science graduates).

Only information science and mathematics ($38,900 and $34,800) show marginally higher figures than business, and many in this group will actually have completed a business degree with a specialisation in business information systems.

In short, whatever Mr Maharey may think, there is little evidence in these figures that employers agree with him. In particular, there is little in the figures for physical and biological sciences to encourage students to believe that these will provide a superior future to business degrees. The Government's other new policies of investing in high-technology industry may change this, but it is far from certain.

Mr Maharey may be right to seek a better skills base for the knowledge economy, but seeking to cap student numbers in advance of evidence of a shift in labour market demands is surely putting the cart before the horse. He seems to be second-guessing the work of the Tertiary Education Commission before it has been set up.

Lastly, Mr Maharey's reported remarks display over-linear thinking about the nature of modern careers. In an increasingly fragmented and opportunistic business landscape, many people find themselves abandoning their field of initial study soon after entering the workforce.

Typically, they quickly acquire new on-the-job skills, adapt their learning to the changing needs of their employers, or find new and fascinating opportunities beyond their original sphere.

Lateral learning flourishes under such conditions. Few people any longer have a career confined to a single discipline.

Skilled information professionals, for example, may grow from any discipline. Students from all disciplines are increasingly computer-literate when they complete their degrees.

Many employers say that what they most need in graduates is not specific areas of qualification, but energy, independent thinking, self-confidence without arrogance, communication skills, and willingness to learn. These can be facilitated by degrees in any discipline.

If it is the task of the tertiary institutions to equip students for careers in business and industry, ensuring educational processes which enhance such traits may be as important as the subjects studied.

The idea that one can match educational programmes exactly to a template of discipline-based business needs seems inherently flawed.

It is to be hoped that the new Tertiary Education Commission will take a wider view of the matter than that embodied in Mr Maharey's early remarks.

* Kerr Inkson is a professor of management at Massey University, Albany.

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