The impact of marketisation on postgraduate career preparedness in a high skills economy

Abstract

This study focuses on the consequences for high skills development of the erosion of the once clear demarcation between higher education and business. It contributes to the broader debate about the relevance of higher education for the well-being of the society of the future. The research explores the effects of marketisation on the postgraduate curriculum and students' preparedness for careers in public relations and marketing communications. Interviews with lecturers and students in two universities in the UK and Australia indicate that a tension exists between academic rigour and corporate relevancy. The consequences are a diminution of academic attachment to critique and wider social/cultural engagement, with a resulting impoverishment of students' creative abilities and critical consciences. Subsequently, graduates of public relations and marketing communications, and to some extent those from other profession-related disciplines, are insufficiently prepared for careers as knowledge workers in a future high-skills economy.