BEYOND EDUCATION: RETHINKING VOCATIONALIZATION, EMPLOYABILITY, AND ENTERPRISE-DRIVEN JOB CREATION IN AFRICA AND EUROPE

This article critically examines the growing mismatch between educational outputs particularly from vocational, traditional, and higher education systems and the limited absorptive capacity of national labor markets. Drawing from insights presented at a comparative academic conference featuring scholars from Europe and Southeast Asia, the paper emphasizes that expanding access to education alone cannot resolve graduate unemployment or underemployment. Instead, it highlights the urgent need to strengthen enterprise ecosystems, promote inclusive industrialization, and foster job-rich growth, especially in regions like Africa and parts of Europe. The discussion situates graduate unemployment within a broader context of weak economic structures, emphasizing its psychological, social, and developmental toll. The paper proposes a coordinated policy and investment approach involving governments, industries, investors, and educational institutions. Ultimately, it offers a development-oriented framework that bridges the education-employment gap through multisector collaboration and systemic reform.