Abstract
Labour markets foster qualification models and professionalisation strategies characterised by insecurity and deregulation. This article analyses narratives of precarious graduates through a subject-oriented approach, taking into account the increasing vulnerability, insecurity and fragmentation that characterise the professional experiences of graduates in the current global economic and financial crisis. Drawing upon information-rich evidence from 21 focus group interviews carried out in a research project in Portugal, this article aims to highlight how young graduates are experiencing, interpreting and managing dilemmas in their transitions from higher education into the labour market. It concludes that ambivalent and unpredictable paths have become the ‘main route’ for accessing a profession in a context of precariousness.
Highlights
Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) are the three Latin words that are used in the Olympic motto and which seem to express dominant discourses on graduate employability
Our study aims to contribute towards an improved understanding and evaluation of the labour market as one of the main facets of social and socio-economic insecurity and risk in contemporary European societies
The employability of young graduates has been flagged up as a social problem that has become progressively more visible than the high rates of youth unemployment, the long waiting to obtain their first job and the increasing mismatch between academic qualifications and the functions required in the workplace
Summary
Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) are the three Latin words that are used in the Olympic motto and which seem to express dominant discourses on graduate employability. When developing this idea, we borrow Tomlinson’s (2012:408) statement that ‘graduates are perceived as potential key players in the drive towards enhancing value-added products and services in an economy which demands stronger skill-sets and advanced technical knowledge’. Concerns have been raised regarding flexible economies and labour market uncertainty. Labour markets foster qualification models and professionalisation strategies characterised by insecurity, deregulation and surveillance in the context of a neoliberal ideology that could obscure alternative futures, especially for young graduates
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Submitted Version (
Free)
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call