This track deals with the study of labor market from all its technical, administrative, and organizational aspects in order to identify the current and futuristic developmental operation needs of the higher education system qualified graduates in the Kingdom. It also deals with analyzing all factors related to the habilitation of the graduates in order to realize the required demands in this operation to meet the labor market needs. It addition, this study is concerned with preparing the highly qualified graduates capable of practicing their assignments in the future.
This study is significant because it seeks identifying the current and futuristic situation of the labor market needs of qualified graduates, as well as defining the characteristics of higher education output and its tangible effectiveness. Moreover, the study should address competitive situations among the local university educational institutes and in comparison to the similar foreign institutes, to enhance the turnout qualification of the higher education system and its response towards supply and demand demands and the developmental needs as well.
This study in general, aims at evaluating the labor market’s current situation, characteristics, flexibility, trends, and impact on the university education, as well as the outputs of the educational operation within its institutes. This study should also achieve a number of additional objectives represented in the following:
Identifying the actual labor market needs of the graduates from the higher education institutes.
Evaluating the outputs of higher education and their satisfying labor market needs.
Developing a mechanism for coordination between labor market needs and the outputs of the higher education institutes for short and long terms.
Suggesting the appropriate strategic methods that enhance the quality of the higher education institutes in light of coping with labor market needs.
The scope of this study and its aspects includes -at least- the following:
The labor market characteristics and needs, its current situation, supply and demand flexibility, the prediction of the developmental plans needs, the futuristic trends towards production processes and technology development, local and international changes, environmental variation, modern trends and methods, and –finally- the new and expected job opportunities and their trends in both quality and quantity.
The characteristics of the academic programs, their necessity, quality, response towards the jobs and skills needed in the labor market, and the availability of jobs opportunities for the graduates from the system.
An effective plan and methods for producing satisfactory outputs from the current higher education system capable of meeting the labor market needs in terms of: quality, variety, rehabilitation needs that satisfy the advanced labor market needs and the community organizations. Further, the plan should propose means of generating high quality graduates that satisfy the developmental needs and technical and international development levels, current and futuristic trends for labor and technical production methods and fields, both currently and in the future, and the relation of these components to the educational process.
Developing effective models and methods to link the labor market with the activities of the higher education system, that indicate the needed foundations for the planning of curricula and programs, and designing it to achieve the acceptable training levels for the market needs.
The information used for the study should be complete and authorized. In addition, the study needs the contribution of both stakeholders and the audience via convening seminars, workshops, and intensive brainstorming meetings.
A qualified and skillful team should be formed, and the team shall consult international experts -when needed- in order to complete the study as requested. Moreover, the established scientific procedures should be used in satisfying the needs of the study.
The study’s perspective for the future should comprise the duration of the plan for the coming 25 years (i.e. until the year 2032).
The basic components of this study should be indicated accurately, and studied in terms of the various changes, indicators, and both local and international criteria, in addition to the Kingdom’s development including the economical, social, demographic, technical, and scientific aspects, as well as the requirements of consecutive national development plans.
Literature, theoretical concepts, international experience, and best practices should be reviewed for not fewer than five higher education information technology experiences from different countries of varying development records. The characteristics of those experiences, the reasons for their positive and negative outcomes in the study, as well as the possibility and the way of applying their positive outcomes, and dealing with the findings in the Kingdom effectively, all should be previewed.
The current situation should be studied by reviewing the different aspects of this study, such as challenges and problems, different phenomena, supply and demand, and the effects of different operations in higher education institutes that are related to the study.
The conditions of higher education institutes in the Kingdom should be compared and contrasted within the framework of this study locally, and then compared with international experiences and against educational standards.
Various aspects of the current situations should be analyzed, and the efficiency of related policies and methods should be estimated. In addition, the vital methods required for developing the higher education system should be identified in order to achieve synchronization with the developmental needs and various issues according to their importance and changes both for now and in the future.
A comprehensive strategic analysis for the subject of this study should be performed and should indicate the related issues, aims and future objectives. The analysis should reflect on the challenges and opportunities, obstacles, and the areas of strength and weakness (through comparative and gap studies), then the needs of the stakeholders should be addressed. Indicating the basis of success, drawing the expected scenarios, analyzing the strategic options and their applicability, all help in achieving the real objectives of that long-term plan.
All the changes mentioned in this study should be linked so as to enable deriving comprehensive conclusions. Achieving this might -as needed- demand designing mathematical models to represent interactions between various reciprocating relationships such as components and variables related to the scope of this study. That will provide the tool required to forecast the future behavior of these variables and to conduct reliability analyses for the coming 25 years, .i.e. until the year 2032.
The most effective factors in this study should be the subject of prognostic studies that should be compiled and supported whenever applicable by graphical representation.
The methods and best practices should be presented, and the requirements for achieving the objectives of the study should be proposed.
The study should introduce total quality methods and mechanisms that shall achieve close and harmonic coordination among the parameters of the study and the recommended practices so that their application fits labor market demands, international changes, and the current and future local needs.
Determining the results and giving recommendation
Specific Requirements
Diagnosing the deficiencies in the quality of the higher education output and the means to eliminate them.
Studying and proposing methodologies for upgrading the quality of the output of the higher education system.
Suggesting a practical mechanism and methods for the coordination between supply and demand of the higher education system outputs both qualitatively and quantitatively. Those methods should also satisfy the labor market needs as well as the current and futuristic vital national needs.
A seminar, workshops, and meetings with focus groups should be held in order to conceive and take note of different opinions that help in giving recommendations.
All the activities done in these brainstorming meetings, the seminar and the workshops should be documented and presented to the Supervising Committee of Aafaq.
This study should present a comprehensive report that includes the following:
An executive summary of the study.
A documentation of all reference information included in the study.
Highlights of the outcomes of meetings with focus groups, general seminars, brainstorming seminars, workshops, etc.
An analysis of the scientific and the objective outcomes of studying and evaluating the labor market current satisfaction including the results of the current situation analysis study, comparative studies, prognostic studies, and the needs of development plans and labor market.
Studying the different scenarios, evaluating and suggesting the methods and needs to enhance the quality of the higher education system, its satisfaction and efficiency towards the environmental changes, various developmental issues, and strategic options in order to achieve the objectives of the long-term plan at the end.
Identifying the main issues of the higher education outputs and their satisfaction towards the labor market needs according to their importance. In addition, identifying the strategic options that help in achieving the objectives of the long-tern developmental plans.
The methods, plans, trends, criteria, and mechanisms needed to enhance the quality of the higher education outputs and their satisfaction towards the labor market needs should be suggested.
Suggesting appropriate variants to develop a practical model that serves the objectives of the study.
Determining the needed methods of execution, budgets, temporal plan, execution responsibilities, training requirements, changing demands, and other technical parameters that affect the foreign quality of higher education.
Suggestions and recommendation to enhance the labor sector’s contribution in suggesting curriculums and programs should be given.
Defining a monitoring and control system, benchmarks, measuring criteria, and standardized indicators.
