Graduation is a time when students are being released into the industry from the ivory towers of academia as they prepare to establish their careers while replenishing the industry with fresh blood and human capital. However, of late there has been much discussion on whether graduates are able to meet the requirements of the local industry. This month's poll delves into the views of readers on this issue in gaining further insight on local human capital development.

On whether local graduates meet market requirements, readers generally believe that graduates do not sufficiently meet them (48%), while 24% believe otherwise and a further 19% suggested that it would be possible.

On what disability that graduates have upon entering the industry, respondents generally believed that it would be soft skills (49%) followed by industry knowledge (30%), while knowledge in research and business and marketing knowledge (11% respectively) were also mentioned.

In playing a role in improving the quality of graduates, readers generally believe that university should play a more important role (59%), contrasting with the efforts of the students themselves (14%), seocndary schools (16%), while other reasons include parents (8%) and primary school (2%).On whether students understand their field before enrolment, readers are generally split, with equal amounts of readers agreeing and disagreeing to the statement (39%) while 21% of readers were on the fence.