Are Malawi’s Universities producing graduates for jobs that don’t exist?

The call by more than 1,600 unemployed laboratory professionals for government recruitment raises a bigger question: is Malawi producing professionals without adequately planning how their expertise will be used?

Government cannot employ every graduate, and professionals should also explore opportunities in the private sector, research, academia and entrepreneurship. But that argument should not end the debate about whether Malawi has properly aligned education with national workforce needs.

Laboratory professionals play an important role in healthcare, supporting disease diagnosis, surveillance, blood safety, treatment monitoring and research. Their importance is particularly significant in rural areas, where limited diagnostic capacity can contribute to delays in treatment.

The key issue, therefore, is not simply how many laboratory professionals are unemployed, but how many Malawi actually needs, where the gaps are, how many positions remain vacant and how many professionals universities continue to produce each year.

If trained professionals are unemployed while some health facilities lack adequate laboratory services, Malawi may be facing a workforce-planning problem rather than simply an oversupply of graduates.

Universities also need to be considered in the wider picture. Higher education should equip people with skills that contribute to national development, while government should have a clear understanding of the professionals the country will need in the coming years.

At the same time, laboratory professionals cannot depend entirely on government employment. Private laboratories, research institutions, universities, pharmaceutical companies and other organisations can provide alternative opportunities, although establishing laboratory services requires significant investment, equipment and regulatory compliance.

The issue also highlights Malawi’s wider challenge of using its own human capital. While foreign experts and development partners can provide valuable knowledge and specialised skills, Malawi should increasingly build and utilise local expertise wherever qualified Malawians are capable of doing the work.

Training professionals requires substantial investment from families, institutions and the country. When skilled graduates remain unemployed for years, Malawi potentially loses the economic and social benefits their expertise could provide through healthcare, research, innovation and other services.

The laboratory professionals’ demand should therefore be viewed beyond the question of government jobs. Malawi needs stronger workforce planning that connects universities, government and the labour market, ensuring that the country trains the skills it needs and effectively uses the expertise it already has.