Poll: University Students Fear They’re Unprepared for ‘Real World’

Israeli students are mostly satisfied with the education they are receiving, but many worry about whether or not university is giving them practical skills for the job market. In the poll of 8,000 students conducted by the Israel Students Association, 64 percent said that they feared they were not being well prepared for the job market, while 83 percent said that universities needed to shore up their efforts to prepare students for the real world.

With that, 64 percent of students said they felt they were getting a good education, and the same number felt they were being properly treated by professors and staff. Most students felt that staff were available, and willing to help them with issues and problems.

Students at the Open University were most satisfied with their education, rating the school at 3.97 on a scale of 1 to 6. The Technion was rated second best, with a 3.75 rating, followed by the University of Haifa (3.55), Bar Ilan University (3.44), Hebrew University (3.41), and Tel Aviv University (3.4). At the bottom of the list were Ariel University and Ben Gurion University.

Ram Shefa, head of the Association, said that “all of us are concerned over the future of education in Israel. The employment market is changing at a dizzying pace, and students are concerned, since they depend on their diplomas to build their career. Institutions that do not provide the answers students need will find that they vote with their feet, and find other places to study.”