BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY; The Perspective of RHODALYN ESHUN

RHODALYN ESHUN

Education is essentially concerned with going through a normal academic programme in an established institution for the purpose of knowledge acquisition and the award of certificate upon successful completion.

Industry on the other hand refers to "a group of organizations with the same primary focus  relative to the production  of goods and services to satisfy mankind" . (Agnes Odoi: Handout for Training and Development; GBUC-HRM Department 2012, Page 25)

It is a palpable fact that the overwhelming demand for realistic and scientific knowledge is what has resulted in an imperative need to bridge the disconnect between education and industry since several products of education hardly get incorporated into the world of industry.

This development could be of a specific benefit to a smaller peripheral economies which have demonstrated low levels of indigenous industrial and technological development.

As a result of that, education most especially at the tertiary levels have become increasingly important for indigenous economic development in smaller countries like Ghana.

However, the education sector can strengthen the tides with industry by ensuring a cordial relationship with industry players which will make it possible for the creation of a fascinating environment that would see students  embark on internship programmes or industrial attachments which would equip them with practical knowledge and experience in their area of specialization.

I am of the succinct conviction that, we need as a country to go beyond the knowledge and experience provided by academia to ensure hands-on experience in one's area of specialization. It is therefore incumbent on industry to train newly recruited employees especially fresh graduates as to how best they could fit well and become valuable assets in the world of work and for that matter the affairs of industry. 

To this end, one can conclude that industry has a vital role to play with respect to capacity building which takes the form of training and development for its employees

There are basically two types of training that industry might explore in order to achieve this target .

1. On-the-Job Training: having a person learn a job by actually doing it. Eg. Coaching/Understudy, Job Rotation, Special Assignment/ Project among many others and

2. Off-the-Job Training: occurs when employees are taken away from their place of work to be trained eg. Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and the likes.

Employees need to go through training for the following reasons

1. For existing employees to perform better in their various field of endeavors

2. For new employees to be able to fit into the new working environment that the organization offers and become acclimatized with the organizational culture among others.  

3. For employees to be equipped with the most current or up to date expertise to make them cope with the complexities of modern times and globalization

4. To respond flexibly to its environmental revolutions.

In the nutshell, the greatest tool and panacea to dealing with the gap between education and industry is TRAINING which ought to be conducted in the immediate aftermath of education so that the products of education can fit well in the realm of industry and accordingly contribute meaningfully towards industrial growth and development. 

Thank you.

 (NUGS Press and Info. Hopeful)

RHODALYN ESHUN