Work-integrated learning (WIL) can significantly benefit student employability, institutional graduate outcomes, and quality talent pipelines. However, there are many caveats to this, such as course-wide flexible and scaffolded design, sustained external partner engagement, adequate resourcing, and ongoing evaluation that informs quality,…

Career development learning (CDL) equips students with the skills, knowledge and resources to navigate their careers amidst dynamic work and learning environments. While CDL is known to be facilitated by central careers services in higher education institutions, embedding CDL activities within the curriculum is purported to be an effective…

Research educators, scholars, and employers often debate the nature and purpose of doctoral training. Should doctoral degrees exist only to make new knowledge and replenish the academic workforce or are they part of broader societal-enhancement and employment agendas? Or both? This study aimed to identify and analyse tensions in Australian…

In recognition of the forty-year anniversary of "Higher Education Research & Development," this article reviews the research on higher education and the world of work in the journal, including how 'work' has been defined, prioritised, integrated, and predicted in the field of higher education research. Based on an analysis of…

There is growing evidence about the importance of establishing clarity around the 'work readiness' concept. A conceptual understanding of its meaning, structure, and components, as well as the essential characteristics for developing and assessing work readiness (WR), is not well established. This conceptual paper examines how WR can be…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is relied upon to meet important shared employability-related goals of institutions of higher education, students and employers. However, research indicates that not all students have access to and experience WIL activities. A clearer understanding of how WIL may be designed for inclusion of a diverse student…

Much research has investigated international graduate employability in home "or" host countries. However, limited studies have accounted for such employability "across" the home and the host. Drawing on Bourdieu's relational and reflexive sociology, this paper critically examined the first author's narrative of his employment…

An increasing mismatch between the global supply of PhD-qualified graduates with the global demand within the tertiary education sector comes despite academic positions remaining graduates' first choice of future career. The 'silver medal' choice, research work in industry, is increasingly a likelier outcome, leading to a need to understand…

Higher education students in Finland and all over the world are often engaged in a paid job alongside their studies. The purpose of the present study is to explore how humanities students' work experience is related to their career engagement and metacognitive awareness. More precisely, the aim is to investigate how the nature and amount of work…

The present study aimed to compare PhD holders' current working conditions, satisfaction, and changes in their job four years after graduation across three job sectors, namely universities, research institutes and industry. We analysed the responses to the survey on PhD graduates' employability of the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency,…

Declining graduate labour markets, perceived devaluing of degree qualifications, and intense focus on graduate employment metrics have increased pressure on universities to enhance their students' employability. Formal curricula developments have been accompanied by co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings intended to enhance students' career…

This study contributes theoretically and empirically to our understanding of students' transition from work placement to the graduate labour market, by exploring earning differentials due to heterogeneous job transitions. We developed a theoretical framework that underpins the relationships between work placement, job transition and graduate…

As part of their international higher education experience, international students in some degree programs are required to secure and complete work placements. This is challenging to many, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, there is limited research on how international students navigate challenges to secure placements in…

Pedagogical partnerships are rarely used to explore how students develop agency through Work Integrated Learning (WIL). This study contributes to this gap by exploring how pedagogical partnerships between students, industry experts and subject leaders in a postgraduate online WIL capstone assisted students to gain clarity about their professional…

Work placement is an important aspect of higher education studies and career preparation. Effective preparation is crucial for students to succeed in placements, yet little is known about international students' placement preparation, particularly regarding their sensemaking. This qualitative study, guided by an integrative theoretical framework,…