Modelling the Transition Process from Higher Education to Employment: The Case of Undergraduates from Debre Markos University

This study aimed to identify the factors that influence Debre Markos University bachelor degree graduates’ transition duration from higher education to employment. A retrospective study design and a total of 1448 undergraduates were considered in this study. Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional hazard, and parametric accelerated failure time survival analysis were used to identify the factors that influence the duration of the job search of graduates. The best parametric model that could describe the duration of the job search to obtain the first job was chosen using the Akaike information criterion. As per the study, 50% of graduates were able to get their first employment 18 months after graduation. The Weibull parametric accelerated failure time model performed better in predicting the time it takes for graduates to find their first job. College, cumulative grade point average, father education, graduate region, public advertisement, starting own business, and doing an internship during the study were found to be statistically significant indicators of the transition duration of the graduates to obtain the first job. Debre Markos University 2019 graduates had a longer period of unemployment. The institution should have a fully functioning career service office that provides job search training and connects students with employers.