Readiness of Graduates from Ugandan Higher Institutions of Learning for Work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

For all developing countries, the workforce for the future is at the heart of the development conundrum. Therefore, preparing this workforce with the right skills and capabilities should be of utmost importance to universities and institutions of higher learning. To understand the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for the future of jobs and to prepare education and training institutions to train the required workforce, this study examined the readiness of graduates from Ugandan institutions of higher learning for work in the 4IR. The study used a cross-sectional research design to investigate the readiness of graduates from Ugandan universities from the perspective of the skills gained from university. Out of 43.75% of the respondents who had heard about the concept of 4IR, most had basic and intermediate knowledge of the technological drivers of 4IR. Furthermore, the results indicate that, overall, the current university curricula in terms of subject content can be ranked in descending order as partially, poorly, moderately, well and excellently addressing the technological drivers of 4IR as opposed to the non-technological drivers, which were ranked in descending order from well addressed, moderately addressed, excellently addressed and partially addresses to poorly addressed. The findings of the study underscore the urgency to adapt higher education curricula to align with the demands of the 4IR. Scholarships and grants for research into the technological and non-technological drivers of 4IR were the more prominent recommendations, followed by redesigning curricula, industry collaboration, and internships, public-private partnerships, policy development, and continuous professional development.