Abstract:
This article seeks to provide theoretical insight into supply and demand factors within
higher education and how these relate to each other and to graduate unemployment within
the South African context. Research was undertaken primarily to determine the graduate
unemployment rate at a higher education institution in South Africa and secondly to
ascertain whether work-integrated learning (WIL) had an effect on graduate unemployment.
Statistical analysis revealed that the graduate unemployment rate at a certain higher
education institution in 2011 was 46% while WIL reduced graduate unemployment. The
unemployment rate for students who had had no WIL was 63%, whereas the unemployment
rate for those who had complete WIL in the course of their higher education training
decreased to 26%. Findings supporting the mitigating influence of WIL are a potentially
valuable contribution to policy and practice in higher education.
