Graduated-now what?

Survey of young Africans shows that degrees don't always land them a job

- ANDREA JUAN and ADAM COOPER

STUDY HARD, get your degree, and then step confidently into a stable, well-paid job. That's long been the assumption about how to secure a livelihood: in neat, predictable stages—but it is increasingly out of touch with reality. Secure jobs are no longer guaranteed after obtaining a tertiary qualification.

Up-to-date and reliable data on graduate unemployment in Africa is hard to come by. A 2014 British Council study estimated that nearly one in four Nigerian graduates (23.1%) were unemployed. In Kenya, the study said, it took graduates an average of five years to secure their first job.

In South Africa, graduate unemployment stood at just 5.8% in 2008. By 2023, this had more than doubled to 11.8%. When looking specifically at young graduates aged 20 to 29—a useful proxy for those newly entering the job market—the figure is even starker: nearly one in three (30.3%) were unemployed in 2023.

These figures signal a crisis. The mismatch between graduates and opportunities makes it clear that it's essential to find diverse ways of making a living.

So, what do graduates do to generate livelihoods? We recently conducted research tracking more than 500 African tertiary graduates across 21 universities (nine in African countries and 12 in other countries) over five years to provide some answers.

The findings showed that graduates were piecing together livelihoods from multiple sources, rather than walking the straight road of a career. Their paths were complex. Only 16% of the total sample moved smoothly from tertiary education into a job and remained in employment over the period of the survey.

Knowing this, universities can help provide graduates with the skills and resources they will need for the real world.

Graduates build portfolios of income

The study showed that African graduates are resourceful in generating livelihoods. From their responses, we identified some trends.