Employabilité des diplômés de sociologie au Burkina Faso, quelle adéquation avec le monde de l’emploi ?

Sociology was developed more along the lines of university and basic research, while its professional practices seemed to be confined to higher education and research. Nowadays, given the quota system and the high degree of selectivity in these types of jobs, sociology graduates are more employable in jobs outside academia and in basic research. This empirical observation leads us to question the adequacy of their disciplinary skills with the requirements of the world of employment. The aim of this article is to analyse the congruence between the demand for sociological skills and those expected by employers. The qualitative method is based on semi-directive interviews. The target population was sociology graduates and the resource persons were their employers. It emerged that the employability of sociology graduates is characterised by the non-congruence of the skills acquired with those required in the job. In the public sector, they are more likely to be employed in jobs that do not require their sociological skills. In private administration, the jobs mobilise their sociological skills, but are characterised by the non-congruence of employers’ expectations with disciplinary skills. These results imply the need to maintain a constant dialogue between universities and the world of employment.