The advantages of higher education have received significant attention over time. However, recent research seems to challenge this assumption. It highlights that returns to education may be subject to inflation, may vary in relation to skills, and may not be equally distributed, thus posing new questions about the role of formal education. Against…

As governments and international organisations have pressured universities to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of tertiary education, universities have started to highlight graduate employability as a key driver and measure of university outcomes. This paper contributes to the underutilised "processual" employability studies by…

The protracted COVID-19 pandemic has exerted considerable pressure on the employability landscape. Even when the global economy continues to recover gradually after the pandemic, many challenges remain, and it is too early to celebrate. This research adopts a mixed-method approach. A questionnaire survey (n = 151) and focus group interviews (n =…

Using mixed methods research approach, this study explores the employment experiences of the Kazakhstani graduates with international human capital in the domestic labour market. Human and social capital theories and Spence's signalling theory are utilised to explain and consider how investment into and internationalisation of those capitals and…

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the daily continuity of young people by causing financial insecurity, remote work/studies, loss of work, loneliness, stress, and unpredictability of the future. This study explores the experiences of pandemic-time graduates from Finland and Sweden in the transition from higher education to work. Finland and Sweden…

This research contributes to debates on intern labour, particularly preparing young workers for careers in the culture industries and exploitative experiences that may hinder their success. The purpose of this study is to enrich our understanding of the skillsets required by young practitioners and how creative autonomy can be a fruitful…

'Employers know that they can hire worldwide now … so, there is limitless supply of people … who can do the job … . they're all qualified, most of them are actually over-qualified … . I'm a wage slave basically, I don't think we have very much social status … . we are replaceable workers … I mean, the employer holds all the cards really. We are…

Gender inequality in the workplace remains a persistent issue that impacts upon women from their first point of entry into the labour market. In this paper, we explore the experiences, of 20 women in the UK as they take their initial steps onto the career ladder upon graduation. Adopting an interpretive methodology that uses a Bourdieusian…

Higher education is based on a disciplinary system and science-specific educational programmes, but multi/interdisciplinarity (MD/ID) knowledge, working methods and collaboration are becoming common in the workplace with complex tasks and digital work environments. This article will provide an insight into these issues by presenting a study of the…

In South Africa, a national peak structure, the Human Resource Development Council, led by the Deputy President and consisting of key Cabinet Ministers, senior leaders from organised labour and business, community representatives, professional bodies and experts from research and higher education, was established to enable high-level coordination…

A fundamental shift is taking place in the way we think about the future of work and its relationship to education, training and the labour market. Until recently, expanding higher education was widely believed to result in higher earnings, reflecting an insatiable demand for knowledge workers. In the United Kingdom, this race to higher education…

Using multivariate linear regression models, this study estimates the relationship between graduates' self-reported skill improvements from attending a virtual university, the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), and their salaries after obtaining the degree. Our results show that graduates made considerable earnings gains and especially high rates…

This is an applied econometric analysis of labour market data for the United States. We study the impact of several factors on overflow of overeducated employees into various job categories. We use panel data regression analysis with fixed and random effects. We also use data visualisation to investigate the overeducation trends during 2002-2016…

Each year, students graduate from schools, colleges and universities. Some find a job quickly -- others do not. Delays in the transition from education to work have been associated with scarring effects and detrimental effects on later employment and career progression. Increasing numbers of graduates from universities and colleges are descendants…

This study examines graduates' understanding of the labour market and its association with structural and agentic factors in the transition from higher education to work. Research has shown that besides possessing and exerting different forms of capital, it is foremost important for graduates to be aware and understand which forms and expressions…