Job Placement
Yanelys Nuñez Leyva
HAVANA TIMES — In the middle of the fifth year of any major at the University of Havana, two issues greatly concern most students: their thesis (the culminating trial that validates them in the specialty they’re studying) and the job they’ll be placed in upon graduation.
The first, although it presupposes the carrying out of a rigorous research project, always brings with it doses of joy and fulfillment.
But when it comes to the second…the situation changes.
The placement isn’t known until the very last moment. The set of sites offered each year by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security keeps students in a state of continual uncertainty and sleeplessness.
Recently, the day of my class’s assignment came up and there was a widespread concern within the group. We all wanted to get jobs where we could develop and apply the skills and knowledge that we’ve learned.
In addition, we wanted to get jobs consistent with our preferences within the field of culture.
The fact that some of us already had contracts with institutions requesting placement with those offices made distribution a little easier, since half the battle was won for those students.
The other half depended on GPAs obtained over five years of study.
Nonetheless, the cumbersome process ended better than we expected.
Most jobs were provided in line with the aspirations of the students.
Therefore a new batch of graduates is joining the country’s workforce.
Doubts and insecurities can be seen in all of us, but so too is a strong desire to continue nurturing the spirit of knowledge and experience.
I’m sorry Griffin but your comment has profoundly affected me. I’m a jobless electric engineer graduated in one of the best universities of my country – UNICAMP – willing to work at ANY place. Why? Because I realized that time has come to sell my workforce at any price. Yet although my academic career wasn’t bad at all – I was like the 7th best student from my graduate colleagues – no company is willing even to interview me, no matter how many CV’s I send.
I’d prefer if somebody at my university would tell me – ‘work there’ and have a job guarantee than to spend the rest of my days living off my parents. It’s killing me and my family.
I am always glad to see a new article from Yanelys, and this was especially enjoyable – congratulations on your new job! I look forward to reading more about it.
Why don’t they let the students decide for themselves where they want to work? Why not let employers decide who they want to hire? The students will be happier, the workplaces more productive and Cuba will be a wealthier place for it.
Congratulations! Tell us what you’ll be doing 🙂