Employment: academic qualifications or personal qualities

These days, formal academic qualifications are more highly appreciated than life experience or personal qualities when it comes to the recruitment process. There are many reasons for this, and in my opinion, this is a positive development.

The main reason for this tendency is that academic degrees are considered a tool to measure the level of knowledge that students are capable of. To be more specific, to achieve a good degree in most universities, students need to pass many examinations focusing on testing their knowledge and take part in practical training courses. These factors ensure that students have gained sufficient in-depth knowledge in the field that the company is looking for. That is why recruiters place higher value on employers holding formal academic qualifications. Whereas, in terms of people having life experience or personal qualities, these people are likely to lack a suitable amount of academic knowledge in their field, and therefore, they need to be trained for a long time by employers. This results in the reluctance of employers to hire them for vacant positions.

This trend, therefore, will bring about some positive effects on society as a whole. Students will be motivated to pursue tertiary education for the sake of their better career prospects. By attending university, students can gain insights into their chosen field and have a chance to compete with others. As for society, thanks to this trend, there will be more and more people entering university, which will contribute to a society of more well-informed and educated citizens.

In conclusion, employers prefer people with better qualifications because qualifications are to prove that their holders are sufficiently trained at university. I think that there are many positives for both students and society when employers place emphasis on formal academic qualifications instead of life experience or personal qualities. (301 words)

Vocabulary

• The recruitment process
• A tool to measure the level of knowledge
• To be capable of doing something
• To gain sufficient in-depth knowledge in something
• To motivate somebody to do something
• To pursue tertiary education
• For the sake of something
• Career prospects