Competencies, Higher Education and Career in Japan and the Netherlands

Abstract

This book investigates how social and cultural factors affect the education, training and career development of graduates of higher education in Japan and the Netherlands. Despite their different historical paths, both countries are now subject to the common pressure of globalisation. As a result, the higher education sector in both countries is becoming more universal and available to a larger population, and the economy and society are becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive. The aim of this book is to explore how Dutch and Japanese graduates choose and develop their careers in reference to the above-mentioned challenges. It is based on a unique data set consisting of surveys held among graduates three and eight years after leaving higher education. Chapters include: Policies on the transition from higher education to employment since the 1990s / Naoyuki Ogata, Egbert de Weert and Keiichi Yoshimoto; Competencies acquired at university and required in the workplace / Naoyuki Ogata; University and college differences in the returns to education in Japan and the Netherlands / Rolf van der Velden, Peet van de Loo and Christoph Meng; University education and its relevance to working life: selection, education and career effects / Keiichi Yoshimoto and Hiroshi Yamada; On the use and generation of knowledge economy competencies / Paul Ghijsen and Christoph Meng; Influence of diversified employment on the initial career of higher education graduates / Reiko Kosugi; Career and mobility in Japan and the Netherlands: a comparative study of early-career patterns of recently graduated employees / Peter Muhlau; Japanese and Dutch graduates’ work orientations and job satisfaction / Sendy Farag and Jim Allen; Individualism and collectivism: the differential impact of job competencies and characteristics on wages and employee well-being in Japan and the Netherlands / Christophe Boone, Christoph Meng and Rolf van der Velden; Does higher education provide opportunities for career development of men and women? / Yuki Inenaga; The relationships between higher education and employment in Japan and the Netherlands: a view from outside / Ulrich Teichler.