The role of social capital in the employability of university graduates in Zambia: a case of university of Zambia graduates (2000 - 2015).
Date
2020
Authors
Machacha, Eliphas C.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The research presented in this thesis was designed to investigate the role of social capital in the
employability of University Graduates in Zambia: A Case of University of Zambia Graduates. The
study focused on the period between the years 2000 and 2015. The rationale for targeting this
period was based on the following reasons. First, according to official statistics, formal
employment in Zambia had declined to just about 10% of the labour force in 2001 from
approximately 75% in 1975, due to two major factors, namely the economic decline the country
experienced between 1975 and 1991, and the economic reforms of the new Movement for
Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Government between 1991 and 2001. Secondly, the liberalisation
of higher education in Zambia, particularly university education, in the early 2000s, and the
subsequent establishment of new public and private universities in the country to operate alongside
the oldest universities in the country, namely the University of Zambia (UNZA) and the Copperbelt
University (CBU). The thesis contends that the role that social capital plays in the employability
of University of Zambia Graduates needed to be examined following the decline in formal
employment coupled with the opening up of higher education in the country. Social capital was
operationalised as social connections that can be used in search of jobs in the labour market.
Employability was operationalised as special and individualised skills, abilities and attitudes which
job seekers must possess to enable them obtain jobs in Zambia (that is the ability to get a job in
the labour market). This research used a sequential mixed method research design to empirically
examine the research problem. The study was carried out in the City of Lusaka. Accordingly, this
approach incorporated both quantitative and qualitative methods in the sampling, collection and
analysis of data. The study population included University of Zambia Graduates, male and female,
who had graduated from the University between the years 2000 and 2015 inclusive. There was a
total of 208 University of Zambia Graduates who participated in this study. The study participants
were in formal employment at the time of the study. The sample was randomly picked using the
University of Zambia Alumni register as a sampling frame. In addition, 16 employers or their
representatives were purposefully picked from the private and public sectors, and Civil Society
Organisations as informants for in-depth interviews; for richer insights into the role of social
capital in the employability of University of Zambia Graduates. Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) was used in the management and analysis of quantitative data while thematic
analysis was applied in the analysis of qualitative data. The results from this study indicated that
UNZA Graduates attach a lot of importance to the use of social connections in search of job
opportunities in the labour market. However, the study revealed that only powerful social
connections were effective in this process and were not available to everyone looking for a job.
The study showed that socioeconomic status was a significant factor in the accumulation of social
capital and its use in finding employment among University of Zambia Graduates, regardless of
the field of study in which they specialised while studying at the University. The results also
discovered that where such social connections were available, there were disparities in the
effectiveness of these social connections depending on the type of people who were involved in
the network. Social connections through close relatives and close friends were more effective in
helping UNZA Graduates find jobs than social connections through acquaintances and potential
employers. Social connections with potential employers were believed to be somehow difficulty
to build or create by UNZA Graduates as individuals on their own. In conclusion, this study
showed that social connections facilitated by relatives and close friends through people of
influence in society were more effective but depended heavily on one’s social status.
Description
PhD Thesis
Keywords
Social capital--Employability of university graduates. , Full employment policies--Zambia. , Social capital--Employment. , Youth--Employment--Zambia--Lusaka.