Creating Linkages between the Labour Market and Agricultural Higher Education in Iran

Employment of agriculture graduates in Iran is a major problem that needs to be addressed. There are three main issues: lack of robust strategies for linking agricultural higher education and the labour market, the lack of relevance of agricultural curricula to the real needs of the labour market, and diminishing levels of government services for the recruitment of graduates. The aim of the research reported in this paper was to identify effective strategies and mechanisms for establishing and maintaining partnerships between academia and the labour market, with a view to improving the employment prospects of agriculture graduates. The study used both quantitative and qualitative data and focused on agriculture graduates and faculty members of the Bu-Ali-Sina University in Iran and employers in different sectors of agriculture. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that six key mechanisms – managerial, support, information provision, research, collaboration and spatial (infrastructure facilities) – could help to link the university more effectively with the labour market.