The gap between the academic and industry: Perspectives of university graduates in Ghana

Training students in Africa to acquire the competencies needed to fit the 21st century’s job market has been a great burden on universities. It appears that universities are finding it difficult in training students to be creative, thoughtful and proficient with their areas of study. The aim of this study is to examine the perception of graduate university students on the gap between academia and industry in Ghana. A survey was conducted and questionnaires were conveniently administered to 2,200 university graduate in Ghana. Only university graduates who were engaged in permanent employment and had worked for a year or more were targeted for the study. A scale was developed and validated using Structural Equation Modelling with 5,000 bootstrap samples. The study revealed that universities did not equip students with practical skills in their area because they (graduates) were not exposed to frequent experiential training. It was found that the university system encourages memorisation of facts and focused on passing examinations. It is recommended that the Management of Ghanaian Universities should quickly put in place mechanisms in the reformation of assessment and the curriculum as a whole. University curriculum/course designers should ensure that there is consistency in all the elements of the curriculum such that programme objectives can be achieved