The Ongoing Debate: Experience vs Qualification
Career AdviceFrom the title of this article, i know you might have asked yourself this same question. if you haven't then ask yourself what's more important to employers, Experience or Qualifications? I know you just did. LOL. To start with this article we will break down into what Experience and Qualification means and we will move down to their benefits and i will share my opinion. After all i am the one writing this article. You can express your opinion in the comment box below if you disagree with me. Ok so lets begin!!!
What is Work Experience?
"Work experience is any experience that a person gains while working in a specific field or occupation, but the expression is widely used to mean a type of volunteer work that is commonly intended for young people — often students — to get a feel for professional working environments. " says Wikipedia.
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Matt Hackett, manager of digital & marketing recruitment team at Orchard, sees the value of experience in the workplace.
“Nowadays everyone seems to have a or wants to have a degree, and there is still a tendency to jump straight into starting one as soon as possible. But is it the right way to go?
Is a 21-year-old with 3 years solid experience who has completed some relevant industry qualifications during this time a more, or less, valuable resource that a newly qualified university graduate who has barely stepped foot in an office environment before?
Putting yourself in that position, do you think you would be stronger placed having spent 3 years starting a career and having earned at least £30,000 during that time, or having learnt about a subject with limited practical experience and potentially built up large debts? If it’s the former, do employers need to re-evaluate who they are taking on in their entry level positions?
A degree qualification used to be a major deciding factor in who got the job, but I think as more and more people have gained degrees, especially over recent years, employers have become less impressed on the whole, and focused more on experience.
If you asked most employers if they would select a raw graduate with 3 years in education but no tangible experience, or a college leaver with 3 years relevant experience, I would expect the vast majority would favour the latter.
Most job specs I receive stating reference to any required educational and qualifications are usually mentioned at being ‘ideal’ or ‘beneficial’ rather than essential.
When reviewing CVs, both personally and alongside employers, experience is reviewed before education in most cases, apart from entry/junior level positions.
A 3-year study-only degree doesn’t really work, so apprenticeships are starting to become much more commonplace within this sector, along with other workplace learnings.
Obviously this differs in some vocations where a certain level of education is required to progress beyond a certain point, i.e. law, accountancy, engineering etc.
The ideal is a good combination of both theoretical knowledge and practical understanding, and I believe this is better. However, from what I see on a day to day basis, the comfort blanket of seeing an individual with the exact match of experience to a vacancy swings an employer in most circumstances”.
Now that you know what some of the world top recruiters think, find out [ Why Your CV Gets Rejected by Recruiters ]
My Opinion
Related to Ghana, I think experience is more important. If you will agree with me, anytime a job advert is placed in Ghana, you see something like a minimum of some of years experience is needed. Meanwhile the job position calls out to HND, Degree or SHS certificate holders. Which makes only the years of experience stand out. I believe more employers in Ghana will go in for applicants with more field work experence than highly qualified graduates with less or no experience.
Who do you side with?
I side with Matt Hacket on this
Join the debate and let us know your thoughts in the comments box below. Feel free to do so.