The study investigates how the Finnish model of providing initial vocational education and training (IVET) has succeeded in terms of enhancing educational progress and employability. A relatively high level of participation in IVET makes the Finnish model distinctive from those of three other Nordic countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. All four…

This research explores the relationship between place and the career experiences of STEM-educated recent college graduates in the U.S. over the 2000-2010 decade. Specifically, it seeks to understand how these graduates' early career outcomes (earnings, odds of unemployment and underemployment) are contingent on the location where they received…

Though a relative small part of the school sector, private schools have an important role in British society, and there are policy concerns about their negative effect on social mobility. Other studies show that individuals who have attended a private school go on to have higher levels of educational achievement, are more likely to secure a…

Gainful employment and earnings to support a family living are significant policy goals of the applied baccalaureate program. Therefore, employment is an important metric to study; however, there are limitations in the data and process used in past reports that make understanding the true impact of applied baccalaureate programs on an individuals'…

Washington's community and technical colleges (CTCs) play an important role in producing baccalaureate degree graduates in the state. They expand opportunities for both graduates and employers, build upon professional-technical associate degrees, and provide a clear pathway for students who may be place bound or have difficulty finding a transfer…

This four-year mixed method longitudinal study utilises data collected from four cohorts of Outdoor Education (OE) students to compare "fresher" and "graduate" identities and to explore the impact of identity on graduate employment. Findings demonstrate that compared to other programmes, and the university as a whole, OE…

In most advanced countries, young people are now expected to remain in education until the age of 18 and, in a context of poor opportunities for those who leave at an early stage, there are concerns about those who are being left behind. In this paper we use comparable survey data to focus on the destinations of young people in two contrasting…

Since 2003, Chinese university students have faced a dangerous level of unemployment after graduation. Current trends indicate that the situation is likely to remain at this level for some time. This article argues that it is difficult to generalize that there has been a decline in the competitiveness of all university students in the job market…

In this article we use comparative micro data for 15 European countries covering the period 1992-2007 to study the impact of labor market reforms on the skill-related individual risk of holding a temporary contract and the risk of being unemployed. Our results indicate no general increase in either of these skill gaps. Using two-step multilevel…

An innovative employment counseling model, Customized Employment Supports, was developed for methadone-treatment patients, a population with historically low employment rates. The effectiveness of a key component of the model, "vocational fieldwork," the delivery of services in the community rather than only within the clinic, was assessed through…

Findings from a three-year study to determine the ratio of male and female graduates employed in industrial-related jobs after completing industrial technology programs at Black Hawk College, Moline, Illinois, show no significant difference in the employability rate. Several factors may limit the study validity. (MF)

A study of the use of employment and unemployment patterns of recent graduates as predictors of a university's graduates' employability found that differences in employment patterns are more a function of the mix of majors among a particular institution's graduates, and that use of these predictors is unstable over time. (MSE)

A new study based on data from a national longitudinal study reveal that, although former students who competed in college athletics are doing better economically by age 32 than those who did not, the education the athletes received is of questionable quality. Some criticize the study's methodology and conclusions. (MSE)

Rate of return studies address the economic benefit realized by persons making individual investments in higher education and the economic benefit realized by society as a whole as a result of making investments in higher education instruction. Data strongly support the public policy of continuing social investment in higher education. (MLW)

Data from the 1986 Current Population Survey (March Supplement) indentified characteristics of working heads of poor families that might assist policymakers involved in alleviating nonmetro poverty (in 1985, 18.3% of persons living in nonmetro areas were poor compared to 12.7% of persons living in metro areas). Comparing the South (a 17-state…