I cannot use his name, or company name, except to say that he’s a Kuwaiti executive in a local petroleum company. When he visited me at GUST we discussed education, students, and skills. I told him that several of my current students are employed at his company.
“I know that,” he said, which led me to believe that he was either checking up on me, or – them! I found his subsequent comments both enlightening and encouraging, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.
Certain of his comments echoed the opinions of other Arab executives concerned about the absence of skills among college graduates in the Gulf region. In an Al Watan Daily Op Ed article in 2011, I had quoted Masood Ahmed, from the International Monetary Fund, who said, “Many people have degrees, but they do not have the skill set.” I also had quoted Kuwaiti businessman Omar Alghanim, who said, “The scarce resource (among local college graduates) is talent.”
My visitor expressed his dismay when he said, “Too many of the students do not want to work and learn. They just want the certificate. Unfortunately, they have been led to believe they deserve this. It is their right to have a certificate even if they cannot do much, or do it well.”
“At your company,” I inquired, “are you looking to hire people with skills?”
The expression he shot at me suggested I had insulted him, or his company. What company doesn’t seek to hire skilled people? I didn’t mean to denigrate his company. Clearly, I still must work on my own communication skills!
“Of course we want skilled people,” he said. “But it is difficult . . . “ and he didn’t finish the statement. “Many graduates do not have the skills, but they need the job.”
“How important is English?”
“Very much,” he said. “But as you know it is a struggle. I am sure they tell you it is their second language?”
“Yes,” I said, “I’ve heard that a time or two.”
“And what do you tell them?” (Was he testing me now?)
“I tell them that I can teach them valuable skills, but they’ll need to know English. Just as the engineering professor expects them to know calculus, I expect them to know English. Otherwise, how do I teach them to communicate?”
“We need them to think and speak clearly in English,” he said.
“I understand.”
“Too many students are either lazy, or they use excuses. They expect the certificate, but they do not have skills, and they do not think they need to achieve the skills. Then they come to us and sometimes we hire them,” he explained.
“How does that happen? Why hire them if they don’t have the skills?”
He paused and looked at me. . . . “You think it is wasta?”
“I would presume so,” I said.
“It is not so much today. Wasta is widespread. Everyone has it.” Therefore, he explained, wasta is not always as effective as it used to be. “Two people might have equal wasta. When that happens, they call a draw. Now a man will argue, ‘Why should your son or nephew get this position instead of mine? Let us test them and see which one deserves the position more’.”
“And English is part of the test?” I asked.
“Somewhat it is, but moreso work ethic, and problem solving, and ability to communicate. We look for many skills. So do your best to teach them,” he concluded with a smile.
“I will,” I said, and I offered him some encouraging news. “In a survey that I gave to 32 MBA students, 59% of them said they expect me to grade their use of English because they want to improve their skills. That's the group I can help. Of course, 38% said I should overlook their English because it’s their second language.”
“Don’t do that,” he said. “Help Kuwait! We need graduates with skills.”
As he left my office he said he would call soon to meet for coffee. Now I was sure that he’s checking up on me. Good thing I use a
Basic English Grading Rubric. Next time I’m going to share it with him.
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Copyright, 2012, John P. Hayes
