This book explores the highly significant and contested area of graduate employability and employment which is paid so much attention by those in the media and policy-makers. This is driven largely by concerns over the wider economic impact and value of graduates as increasing numbers complete their studies in higher education. At a time when graduates are seen as key to economic success, the critical question remains as to how their employability plays out in a changing labour market. This book brings together innovative approaches and research to present an extensive survey of the field. It provides insight on what is a complex and often elusive social and economic problem, ranging from how graduate employability is constructed as an economic and policy agenda to explorations of how graduates manage the transition from higher education to paid employment and finally to suggest future directions for curricula, policy and research.

In a world where there are increasing concerns about graduate underemployment and likely career trajectories, it is not surprising that there is a significant body of literature examining graduate careers in post-industrial societies. However, it has become increasingly evident in recent years that there is a stark disconnect between academics who research employment and education, and careers and employability professionals. Graduate Careers in Context brings these two separate groups together for the first time in order to provide a better understanding of graduate careers. The book addresses the problems surrounding the graduate labour market and its relationship to higher education and public policy. Drawing on varied perspectives, the contributors provide a comprehensive examination of issues such as geography, mobility and employability, before presenting and discussing the benefits of future collaboration between practitioners and academic researchers. The interdisciplinary focus of this book will make it of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the areas of education, sociology, social policy, business studies and career guidance and coaching. It should also be essential reading for practitioners who wish to consider their role and responsibilities within the changing higher education market.

This open access book offers critical, multidisciplinary analyses on graduate employability. The book examines employability at the macro, meso and micro levels: higher education policy, the labour market, higher education institutions, organisations, individuals and social groups, in European, North American and Australian contexts. The contributors provide social and contextual analysis of graduate employability as a theoretical concept, a discourse and policy imperative and a social and discursive practice. The volume also introduces novel methodological perspectives to study the process of graduate employability. There is an urgent need for comprehensive and unified critical perspectives on graduate employability, as such analyses have so far been scarce and often isolated. Besides filling this gap in the literature, the book will also serve as essential reading on courses that focus on graduate careers and employability as well as higher education policy and practice.

This book reports on the findings from a research study of vocational and higher education graduates’ employability challenges. The nature and extent of these challenges, their underlying causes, and effective strategies to address the problems in this area are all analysed from a multiple-stakeholder paradigm. The primary focus of the book is on governments; secondary, vocational, and higher education systems; and industry employers - rather than graduates themselves - in order to highlight the policy and strategy implications for governments, industry and educational systems. Readers will acquire comprehensive information on the nature and extent of graduate employability in terms of country-specific challenges, together with a deeper understanding of their complex causes, and the inter-relatedness between governments, educational systems, industry sectors, and potential employers. They will also be provided with a broad range of stakeholder strategies designed to effectively address these challenges within integrated national and regional approaches.

The worldwide marketization of higher education has resulted in a growing pressure on universities’ accountability, particularly in terms of more tangible learning outcomes directly related to paying higher tuition fees. Covering globally diverse perspectives, Innovate Higher Education to Enhance Graduate Employability uses a range of international case studies to help practitioners and researchers review, reflect on and refresh their ability to bridge the gap between university and industry. A timely response to the need to improve the quality of higher education in order to build work readiness in students, this book: Adds a critical, global dimension to this topical area in higher education as well as society’s concerns Provides a number of practice-based case studies on how universities can transform their programmes to enhance graduate employability Acts as a source of practical suggestions for how to improve students' sufficient employability including their skills, knowledge and attitudes Provides insights from theory, practices and policy perspectives. A crucial read for anyone looking to engage with the global issue of graduate employability, Innovate Higher Education to Enhance Graduate Employability covers both theoretical frameworks and practical models through an exploration of how universities around the world are using innovative techniques to enhance employability.

This book explores the issue of graduate employability in regional Vietnam. It provides a critical discussion of not only the demands of the labour market but also the practices and challenges in the development of graduate employability and career capacity building at the national, institutional and individual levels. It discusses graduate employability in Vietnam by analysing government and institutional policies and taking into account the perspectives and experiences of three key stakeholders: employers, graduates and universities. The book highlights the development of ‘employability in context’ for graduates in regional Vietnam to be able to adapt to the specific social, cultural and demographic conditions of the region and tackle new employment challenges.

This book addresses the issue of graduate employability (GE) within the changing context of contemporary Vietnam. GE has become a highly topical and contested issue in Vietnam. Employers report that university students are not suitably prepared for work, and universities are often criticised for their poor commitment to developing student employability assets. However, it is suggested that enhancing GE in Vietnam involves many factors that are often underplayed in the general literature. In the Vietnamese context, both the education system and the economy remain relatively underdeveloped; students are schooled to be passive learners; and corrupt employment practices remain rife. Moreover, Confucian cultural features of face saving, hierarchical order in decision making, and the role of rumour and hearsay in a collectivist culture each play an important part in the different ways university graduates negotiate their transition to employment. Thus, in order to enhance the development of GE in Vietnam, all related stakeholders need opportunities to collaborate so that a mutual understanding of the problem is arrived at and feasible solutions are developed and implemented.