Employability of Humanities Graduates in Bhutan: An Examination of Graduates’ Perceptions

Abstract

With the alarming increase in graduate unemployment in Bhutan, many scholars have looked into the causes, implications, and potential solutions to Bhutan's unemployment issues. However, in Bhutan, only a few references have been made to individual majors and courses when analyzing students' employment status. As a result, the employability status of students in humanities majors is a grey area, especially in Bhutan. There is much speculation around the employment prospects of a student undergoing humanities courses, with people often citing the humanities courses in Bhutanese colleges as too broad and redundant. Therefore, this study examines the employability perception of the humanities graduates in Bhutan and the factors contributing to their unemployment. A non-probability sampling procedure, called a snowball sampling technique, was employed to collect data from 316 humanities graduates through a structured questionnaire. The findings reveal that employability depends on various factors such as academic performance, integrated courses, work experiences, and skills acquired while studying. The study also highlights the skill mismatch problem in higher education institutions and recommends producing work-ready graduates. Despite the students' enthusiasm for the humanities course, their employability prospects in the field are questionable after graduation due to the mismatch between the course content and the jobs in the market. In order to address this issue, the study recommends that universities and colleges integrate practical and work-ready programs into their courses to enable graduates to acquire the necessary employability skills. Additionally, universities and companies/agencies should collaborate to bridge the gap between industry skill requirements and the skills graduates acquire. This research intends to initiate conversations on controlling the number of humanities course intakes to reduce the increasing trend of humanities graduates in an inadequate job market.