大学生と就職 学んだ成果も評価する採用に

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 4, 2012)
Assess academic results when hiring graduates
大学生と就職　学んだ成果も評価する採用に（9月3日付・読売社説）

Do recent survey findings suggest the title of "university graduate" will no longer assure a recent graduate of a job?
　「大卒」の肩書は、もはや就職の保証にならないということか。

According to a basic survey on schools taken recently by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, 128,000 of those who graduated from universities this spring have not found steady employment.
　文部科学省の学校基本調査で、今春に大学を卒業した学生のうち、１２万８０００人が安定した仕事に就いていないことがわかった。

This means about 20 percent of university graduates--560,000 in all, including 76,000 who went on to graduate school--have either taken a nonregular or part-time job, or have yet to decide on their future.
　大学院進学者（７万６０００人）を含む全卒業生５６万人の約２割が、非正規労働やアルバイト、進路未定者の計算になる。

It is quite natural for the education ministry to be concerned, saying, "This is an extremely serious situation that needs to be rectified."
　文科省が、「極めて深刻な事態であり、改善が必要だ」と懸念するのは当然だ。

The job market continues to be dismal amid the prolonged stagnant economy. On the other hand, there is a strong tendency among students to try to secure employment in a well-known company. As a result, there remains the problem of a mismatch between graduating students and the small and midsize companies hoping to hire them.
　経済状況が好転せず、雇用環境は依然として厳しい。一方で、学生の間に知名度の高い企業を志向する傾向も根強く、採用を希望する中小・中堅企業とのミスマッチは解消されてはいない。

Many students who apparently failed to secure a position gave up their job-hunting activities halfway through the recruiting season.
　就職先が決まらず、途中で就職活動をあきらめてしまった学生も少なくないようだ。

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Universities must help more

We hope all universities and colleges vigorously continue extending support for and offering advice on job-hunting activities by utilizing counters set up by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Hello Work job placement offices to help new graduates find jobs.
　各大学は、厚生労働省が設置した若者向けのハローワークなどと連携し、粘り強く就職活動の支援・助言を続けてもらいたい。

It should also be kept in mind that universities need to help students acquire skills and competence for the real world during their four-year education.
　同時に考えねばならないのは、大学が４年間の教育を通じて、学生に社会で通用する力を身につけさせることである。

The Central Council for Education has compiled a report calling for an increase in the number of study hours for students, as part of university reform.
　中央教育審議会は、大学改革の一環として、学生の学習時間の増加を求める答申をまとめた。

The council has pointed out that university students study for an average of 4.6 hours daily, including class hours. This is only about half of the study hours the education ministry expected.
　大学生の学習時間は、授業を含めても１日平均４・６時間で、文科省が想定する時間の半分程度にとどまると指摘している。

As long as students attend classes only passively, it will be difficult for them to acquire either the thinking skills to tackle various problems, or the creative skills to develop innovative technology, both of which are necessary in the real world.
　授業に出るだけ、という受け身の姿勢では、社会で必要とされる、様々な問題の解決方法を自ら探求する思考力や、新たな技術を生み出す創造力は培えまい。

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Update curricula, methods

It is quite reasonable for the business community, which will hire these graduates, to be skeptical of the current state of university education.
　大学教育の現状に、学生を採用する側の産業界が不信感を抱くのも無理はない。

The council also recommends universities increase interactive, discussion-based classes, rather than having one-way lectures in large classrooms, while working on comprehensive syllabus planning to stimulate students' intellectual curiosity.
　答申は、大教室での一方通行的な講義ではなく、討論型の授業を増やすことや、学生の知的好奇心を刺激する分かりやすい授業計画を示すことを提言している。

Universities have to improve their quality of education by carrying out these recommendations.
大学はこうした実践によって、教育の質を向上させる必要がある。

Universities need to clearly indicate their criteria for scholastic evaluation, and strictly certify students' qualifications and ability to advance to the next grade or graduate.
　学生の成績評価の基準を明確に示し、進級や卒業の認定も厳格に行うべきだろう。

It is also essential for the business community to make its own efforts.
　産業界の努力も欠かせない。

Presently, many businesses do not give weight to students' academic performance or their specialities when hiring graduates.
　現在、企業の多くは採用時に大学での学習成果や専門性を重視していない。

If they assess these elements more thoroughly when recruiting, students would probably be more motivated to study hard while in college.
採用の際、それらも適正に評価するようになれば、在学中に学生が勉学に励む動機づけになるのではないか。

As students often have to spend a lot of time job-hunting and visiting prospective employers, they tend to neglect their studies.
　会社訪問などに時間を割かれ、学業がおろそかになりがちだ。

To correct the current situation, it is also necessary to shorten companies' job-hunting period for graduating students.
そんな現状を改善するため、就職活動の期間短縮も必要である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 3, 2012)
（2012年9月3日01時17分  読売新聞）