Graduate Employability Research Articles

Linguist is as linguist does: A comparative study on the employment and income of graduates from linguistics programs in Canada

Abstract: This study attempts to answer a perennial question asked of and by every student of linguistics: ‘What can you do with this degree?’. We address the question through an in-depth analysis of administrative and tax data from Statistics Canada (2009–2018). Specifically, this article (i) maps out educational and employment pathways of linguistics graduates in Canada, (ii) compares their earnings to graduates from other ‘competitor’ programs that future linguists consider as viable alternatives, and (iii) verifies the range of careers advertised by linguistics departments against the reality of the industries in which graduates from those departments are employed. These findings enable us to draw conclusions about the optimal and suboptimal educational and career pathways that involve a linguistics degree. Linguistics graduates tend to earn less than their peers in comparable programs, unless they pursue a lengthy educational path. The findings also point to a partial mismatch between potential careers advertised by Canadian linguistics departments and actual areas of employment after graduating with a linguistics degree. We provide suggestions for linguistics departments on how best to align the policies and practices of these programs with the ground truth of the labor market.

The Situation of Graduates and Students in the Polish Labour Market

Abstract Subject and subject of work The subject of the study is to indicate the situation of students and graduates on the Polish labour market, taking into account data on the number of students and graduates, as well as employment and unemployment statistics in selected years. Materials and methods The study used the method of analysis of legal acts, data of the Central Statistical Office and analysis of the literature on the subject. Based on the qualitative analysis of the available documents, the main changes in the employment of university and secondary school graduates were indicated, taking into account the main factors limiting their employment. Results People with higher education are in a particularly good situation on the labour market compared to secondary school graduates. In the process of hiring employees, the age, the field of study of the candidate and the actual situation on the labour market are important. Conclusions Factors limiting employment were identified, both on the part of employers and the graduates themselves, taking into account the selected time period and the situation on the labourmarket.

Linguist is as linguist does: A comparative study on the employment and income of graduates from linguistics programs in Canada: Supplemental material

Linguist is as linguist does: A comparative study on the employment and income of graduates from linguistics programs in Canada: Supplemental material

Employment and Performance of Graduates: Basis for an Extension Project

One of the biggest challenges in teacher education isemployment. Teacher education graduates are requiredto pass the Board License Examination for ProfessionalTeachers (BLEPT) before applying to a public school.We conducted this study to identify the profile,employment status, BLEPT performance, and trainingneeds of teacher education graduates. A descriptivemethod, documentary analysis, a questionnaire, and amediated interview were utilized. The frequencycounts, percentages, and ranks were used to analyzedata. Results showed that most of the graduates arefemale and specialize in general education, andtechnology and livelihood education. There are66.20% graduates who passed the BLEPT, and 61.90%are already employed. Moreover, 116 alumni areteaching in both public and private schools; 67.77% ofthem need training on teaching strategies. The study'soutput is the formulation of an extension project toassist the alumni in enhancing their performance intheir workplace. This extension project might addressgaps in teaching competencies of graduates that couldcontribute to their promotion and employment.Moreover, this extension initiative will be of great helpfor those who failed in the licensure examination.

Addressing Unemployment Issues and the Role of Universities as Platforms for Graduate Employability

Addressing Unemployment Issues and the Role of Universities as Platforms for Graduate Employability

Recontextualising graduate employability in support of pedagogical reform in public universities in the Kurdistan Region‐Iraq

AbstractIn light of the high graduate unemployment rate and migrant crisis, graduate employability in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq is an ever more pressing issue. Reducing the issue of graduate employability to a skills gap between Kurdish graduates and the private sector labour market is too simplistic and dismisses other sociocultural and structural factors that are external to graduates and higher education institutions (HEIs), and which impact the former’s employability. Through a qualitative study and using Bourdieu’s (1977) habitus as an explanatory framework for the analysis, this article aims to recontextualise graduate employability by exploring five stakeholders’ perceptions of what impacts graduate employability in the region. The findings uphold previous labour market reports that there is a skills gap, but also reveals other sociocultural and structural factors that also impact graduate employability. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) has introduced a programme of pedagogical reform in KRI’s public HEIs and is in the process of training its academic practitioners in the tenets of Freire’s (1970) critical pedagogy. This article supports the implementation of Freire’s critical pedagogy in KRI’s public HEIs as a critical pedagogy can address the skills gap while also creating spaces for students to explore, question, analyse and evaluate the sociocultural and structural factors that impact graduate employability in KRI.

A Study on the Problems Faced by Graduates’Employability and Strategies for Improvement

The study of employability in modern societies is important because it concerns individuals, the education system, employers, and society. This article analyzes the employability of graduates from the perspective of soft skills, hard skills, interpersonal skills, creativity and innovation, and leadership skills. Graduates face numerous issues and challenges in terms of employability. Therefore, schools and educational institutions, governments, and enterprises need to work together to enhance their competitiveness and chances of success in the workplace.

University students' perceptions of graduate employer selection tests

PurposeThe purpose of the current study was to examine university students' knowledge, confidence and experience of popular graduate employer selection tests.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional self-report survey was administered to gather a sufficient number of quantitative responses from undergraduate students. A total of 241 students completed the survey with most of them being psychology students from Swansea University. Four key variables were examined: (1) students' experience, (2) confidence and (3) knowledge of selection tests and (4) their desire for more information about selection tests as part of their degree. An audit of selection tests used by the Times Top 100 graduate employers was also conducted.FindingsStudents tended to misjudge how often selection tests were used by employers, and generally lacked experience with these tests. Students' confidence in completing each test varied as a function of the selection test; however, prior experience with these tests positively predicted confidence. Additionally, over 70% of students reported a desire for further information about selection tests as part of their degree.Practical implicationsThese novel findings suggest that students could benefit from further information about selection tests as part of their degree programme which would be of benefit to both students and universities.Originality/valueThese findings are, to the authors knowledge, the first to explicitly assess second- and third-year undergraduate students' knowledge, experience and confidence with popular graduate employer selection tests and demonstrate that students would like more information about these tests on their programme.

Exploration and Analysis of the Improvement Path of College Students’ Employment Ability Under the Concept of Career Planning

In the face of the fierce environment of employment, the employment of college students is a hot topic in all walks of life. The concept of career planning plays an important role in promoting the employability of college students. The career planning course for college students is a course generally offered by colleges and universities, which can help college students to better determine their employment goal and direction, and lay a solid foundation for the improvement of the employment rate of Chinese college students. This paper analyzes the reasons for the difficult employment of college graduates, puts forward the application value of career planning education in the improvement of college students’employability, points out the reasons for the difficulties of college students’ employment, and makes targeted measures to improve the employability of college students under the concept of college students’career planning.

Research on Employment Stability Evaluation and Influencing Factors of College Graduates under Data Mining Technology

Abstract In this paper, while analyzing the specific performance of college graduates’ employment behavioral decision-making changes and significant differences in employment choices, we use data mining technology to analyze the data on the employment stability of college graduates, select gray correlation analysis and hierarchical analysis to determine the index weights of employment stability and construct an evaluation model of employment stability of college graduates. This paper makes an empirical study on the factors affecting the employment stability of college graduates, analyzing the differences in employment stability in terms of gender, education, type of graduation institution and location of the unit. The analysis shows sig<0.05, which means that it shows a significant difference at the level of 0.05, then there is a significant difference in the employment stability of college graduates in the early stage of graduation in terms of education and the type of graduation institution. Thus, we should strengthen the awareness of college graduates about their education and their advantages so as to promote the stable employment of graduates.

Engineering employability skills: Students, academics, and industry professionals perception

Graduate employability is a major focal point of higher education. Designing curricula that equip graduates with the skills and attributes necessary to gain and retain employment is a challenge for Universities worldwide. This article investigates the perception differential between students, academics, and industry professionals. The aim is to identify the relevant skills and attributes to facilitate the transition of mechanical engineering graduates from education to employment. The results establish an upper second-class degree as the most desirable qualification. Studying a professional-body accredited course and being a student member of a professional institution are seen as crucial, despite the latter not being recognised as such by students. Significant differences are identified in the importance of Information Technology skills and software packages, with an institutional bias identified amongst academics. Lastly, the key skills and attributes to secure graduate employment are determined, with striking differences between industry professionals and students, the former desiring a personal and professional attitude and professional conduct above all else, the importance of which is underestimated by students. The findings provide novel insights into employability skills for mechanical engineers, and it is envisaged they may contribute to aligning engineering curricula with employer expectations, allowing graduates and academics to identify key employability skills and attributes, and improving graduate employment.

Analysis of the graduate and postgraduate courses demand on Feira de Santana industry

The municipality of Feira de Santana plays a pivotal role in the economic growth in the state of Bahia. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the municipality has approximately 624,000 inhabitants and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around 15 billion Brazilian reais annually, ranking as the 3rd largest in Bahia and the 74th in Brazil. To ensure the continuous economic growth of the municipality, there is a pressing need for a qualified workforce. Therefore, the aim of this study is to systematically examine and analyze the demand for undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the industry of Feira de Santana. The methodology employed was based on data collection, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches, from industries located in Feira de Santana and the microregion within the Portal do Sertão. The project's development encompassed six stages: 1 – selection of the data collection instrument; 2 – formulation of a questionnaire with closed-ended questions; 3 – creation of an electronic questionnaire; 4 – data collection; 5 – data analysis; 6 – presentation of the study’s results at technical and scientific events. Results indicate a demand for undergraduate programs in Engineering or Management and a postgraduate program in the field of Management in the form of MBA specialization. It is noteworthy that currently, the Center for Science and Technology (CETENS) at the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB) does not offer the community Management courses such as Administration, Accounting, or Economics, nor does it offer postgraduate courses in the same area. Thus, we identified two growth vectors in the project. The first is based on the ongoing expansion of Engineering/Technology courses, such as Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Automation, and Architecture. The second vector is focused on management courses, as mentioned earlier. A study was conducted to understand the problems and difficulties encountered during the project's execution using quality tools such as Brainstorming (BS), Ishikawa, 5 Whys, 5W2H, and PDCA. A proposed solution was put forth for the continuation of activities. An analytical study was carried out, stratifying the 627 industries in Feira de Santana, and a recommendation of 27 undergraduate courses was suggested to meet this demand. Nevertheless, the results indicate the strengthening of the relationship between CETENS and the industry, a potential improvement in the future employability of CETENS graduates, and the proposal of guidelines for the development and introduction of new undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the advanced campus of CETENS/UFRB.

Towards a Framework for Integrating Employability Outcomes in the Quality Assurance Roadmap

To a great extent, HEIs are responsible for the employability of their graduates. To fulfill this responsibility, they must help ensure their graduates possess the skills, competency, and other relevant attributes required for employment. Putting in place Quality Assurance mechanisms and linking HEIs’ Quality Assurance to employment indicators could set relevant factors in motion to help realize the HEIs’ aspirations and the graduates’ aims for employment. However, despite the implementation of Quality Assurance, HEIs still need to improve the employability of graduates. To address the above predicament, this study aimed to develop a framework that HEIs can use for integrating employability outcomes in HEIs’ Quality Assurance roadmap. In search of relevant factors and mechanisms linking quality assurance and employability towards developing a relevant framework, this paper found the following important factors to consider: employability as part of the institution’s mission, strategic and operational plans; available guidelines in place through relevant policies and programs; employment enablers integrated into the HEIs’ tri-focal function; engaging the key stakeholders in developing, planning, and implementing policies, programs, and activities; forming a dedicated unit to take charge of employability targets; providing relevant support services for students and alums; and conducting employment promotion activities considering local and global job market realities. On the whole, the graduates need to possess knowledge-skills-and values as near as possible to what the job needs and requires, either for local or international employment. Keywords: quality assurance, employment indicators, integrating quality assurance and employment indicators, quality assurance-employability link, quality assurance-employability framework

The status quo, causes, and countermeasures of employment difficulties faced by college graduates in China

ABSTRACT The employment of college graduates is related to social stability, and graduates with difficulties are at a disadvantage when seeking jobs, therefore they should be given greater concern. Based on defining the graduates with difficulties, this study analyzes the employment status of college graduates and the causes of employment difficulties from the perspective of fresh graduates and non-fresh graduates. Firstly, the questionnaire survey of fresh graduates is analyzed. Secondly, an in-depth interview analysis of fresh graduates and experts is conducted. Finally, the quantitative analysis of non-fresh graduates is carried out. The results show that the supply of fresh graduates does not match the job demand in the labor market and non-fresh graduates who are married find it difficult to return to work. Through further analysis of the causes, this study finds that fresh graduates are restricted by four aspects: high expectations and low abilities, less family pressure, insufficient in-depth school guidance, and inadequate support from employers. Non-fresh graduates are subjected to gender barriers that make it difficult for them to find jobs. This study provides a new perspective for understanding and has reference value for promoting the employment of college graduates.

Engineering Graduates' Skill Acquisition and Employers Skill Need as applied to Science Education in Ethiopia

Demand for relevant skills and competences have increased with changing science and technology, globalization, and the intensity and complexity of the business environment across the world. This study investigated levels of engineering graduate skill acquisition and employers' skill needs as applied to science education. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The study involved 275 participants recruited using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA. The study found a wider mismatch between levels of higher education supply and labor market needs for indicators of academic, technical, interpersonal, and generic skills. While higher education moderately equipped engineering graduates with the majority of indicators of these skill sets, labor market needs for the same skills remain high. The mismatches between the demand and supply of skills have several implications, it compromises firms' productivity, result in market losses, hamper economic growth, competitiveness, and innovative capacity at the macro-economic level, decrease quality human capital by discouraging investment in education and training, and challenge graduates in finding jobs suitable for their field of study. These require universities and employers to conduct real labor market skills' needs assessments before designing training curriculum; shifting curriculum delivery from theory-focused to practical-oriented modes of teaching and ensuring learners' acquisition of skills demanded by employers; and establishing strong and sustainable linkages between industries and training institutes. It is also good if future research focuses on skills employees acquire at work through experience and factors attributed to mismatches between higher education skill supply and employers' skill needs.

Empowering STEM Education: Navigating Challenges and Embracing Innovations

This article exposes the main arguments of each article published in this issue. In Tara Brabazon's article, the focus is on addressing student attrition in universities, advocating for strategies like universal design and the abundance model to support student success. Lineo Lynnette Tool's study in South African universities explores underrepresented groups in STEM leadership, suggesting that targeted efforts can encourage their ascent, using a mixed-methods approach. Asmera Teshome Negeri and Jeilu Oumar's article from Addis Ababa University investigates the gap between engineering graduate skills and employers' needs in Ethiopia, emphasizing the importance of real labor market skills assessments and practical-oriented teaching. Dominic Patric G. Galdonez's research at the Philippine Science High School-Ilocos Region Campus highlights mixed perceptions of research support and strong motivation among teachers for research-related activities. Khut Sokha and Shimizu Kinya's study establishes a framework for teaching science through an integrated STEM approach (ISTEMA), identifying six elements and exploring the integration of science with engineering and technology in primary and lower secondary education. Ethel Reyes-Chua, et.al., from Paranaque City College, delve into metacognitive strategies employed by college students in the Philippines during the pandemic, emphasizing self-motivation and students' resilience. Sunil Dehipawala, et.al., address challenges in teaching measurement uncertainty in physics lab classes during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing insights into experiential learning and assessment rubrics for remote delivery. Prasart Nuangchalerm & Veena Prachagool's paper discusses the integration of AI in STEM education, analyzing transformative potential of AI-driven learning analytics, highlighting the need for ethical considerations in implementing technological innovations.

Employment Analysis of College Graduates and Feasible Suggestions

In China, the population is constantly growing, and with it comes a large number of graduates pouring into society. However, the market cannot bear the influx of so many graduates, resulting in employment difficulties for many graduates. This research mainly analyzes the social phenomenon of difficult employment for college students. This article first analyzes the reasons for the employment difficulties of contemporary university students from three factors: individual college students, social enterprises, and the government. Afterwards, in responses to the problem of difficult employment for graduates, suggestions are proposed to students to have insight, plan for themselves, and adjust students mindset. Regarding social enterprises, more tolerance and friendly suggestions should be given to college students, and it is also hoped that the government will provide more encouragement to college students. Research has found some problems, including some college students having some psychological and ideological problems, enterprises exploiting college students, and the schools lack in regulating of students' emotions. This indicates that the issue of better employment for graduates not only requires individual actions from college students, but also requires active action from all sectors of society to jointly overcome this difficulty and help graduates find better employment.

Integration of the Labor Market and the Institute of Education as a Factor of Socio-Economic Development of Regions: Foreign Experience

Relevance. The formation of human resources, reduction of unemployment, employment of graduates of professional institutions are priority tasks of both the Russian Federation and foreign countries. Human resource potential plays one of the main roles in ensuring the welfare and economic growth of the state. A direct participant in the process of "creating" a promising specialist is a professional educational institution, where the modern educational trajectory provides for the formation of competitive personalities. Given the rapid growth rates of the economy in different regions, the real business sector needs qualified personnel, where the modern foreign labor market imposes its own requirements for skills and competencies, taking this into account, universities use tools for the effective participation of graduates in competitive market relations. The purpose is to consider foreign models of promoting the employment of graduates, to study the tools of integration of universities and enterprises in the field of employment. Objectives: to analyze the means and methods implemented by foreign countries in the process of integrating the labor market and the institute of education. To formulate the main aspects of the implementation of foreign models to promote the employment of graduates. Methodology. In this work, the following research methods were used: analysis, synthesis, generalization and logical methods of information processing. Results. The main aspects of the implementation of foreign models of facilitating the employment of graduates are formulated, an analysis of the means and methods implemented by foreign states in the process of integrating the labor market and the institution of education is carried out. In addition, methods are proposed to improve planning and coordination of actions related to labor potential in the youth labor market. Conclusions. In the framework of cooperation between universities and enterprises in the field of employment of graduates in a number of foreign countries, an insufficient number of means and methods are used. For more effective interaction between the parties, a set of measures has been presented that will help improve the situation on the youth labor market.

Machine learning prediction model based on enhanced bat algorithm and support vector machine for slow employment prediction.

The employment of college students is an important issue that affects national development and social stability. In recent years, the increase in the number of graduates, the pressure of employment, and the epidemic have made the phenomenon of 'slow employment' increasingly prominent, becoming an urgent problem to be solved. Data mining and machine learning methods are used to analyze and predict the employment prospects for graduates and provide effective employment guidance and services for universities, governments, and graduates. It is a feasible solution to alleviate the problem of 'slow employment' of graduates. Therefore, this study proposed a feature selection prediction model (bGEBA-SVM) based on an improved bat algorithm and support vector machine by extracting 1694 college graduates from 2022 classes in Zhejiang Province. To improve the search efficiency and accuracy of the optimal feature subset, this paper proposed an enhanced bat algorithm based on the Gaussian distribution-based and elimination strategies for optimizing the feature set. The training data were input to the support vector machine for prediction. The proposed method is experimented by comparing it with peers, well-known machine learning models on the IEEE CEC2017 benchmark functions, public datasets, and graduate employment prediction dataset. The experimental results show that bGEBA-SVM can obtain higher prediction Accuracy, which can reach 93.86%. In addition, further education, student leader experience, family situation, career planning, and employment structure are more relevant characteristics that affect employment outcomes. In summary, bGEBA-SVM can be regarded as an employment prediction model with strong performance and high interpretability.

Graduate employability skills of business students: the moderating role of reflective practices

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of the reflective practice of business students on how it helps to develop their employability skills through various university strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a simple random sample to select undergraduate level 400 students from the Universities under study (the University of Ghana, University of Professional Studies Ghana, Lancaster University Ghana and Webster University Ghana). Only final-year students with an informed judgement on the reflective practice and various institutional practices to acquire graduate employability skills were participated. The independent variables of the study are institutional strategies (curriculum design, extra curriculum, work-integrated learning, career development centre, university collaboration with the industry, student engagement, internship job placement), the moderator is the reflective practice and the dependent variable of the study is graduate employability.FindingsThe study found that the moderation role of reflective practice had a significant effect on institutional strategies (extracurriculum, career development centre, university collaboration with the industry, student engagement and internship job placement) and graduate employability.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to only undergraduate business students from four universities ignoring other disciplines and postgraduate students.Practical implicationsThe practical implication is that reflective practice must be an integral tool for various universities if they want students to use their strategies to sharpen their employability skills.Social implicationsThe social implications of the study emphasise the reflective practice of graduate students in universities. This implies that firms and other institutions must consider reflective practice for the maximum output of their employees.Originality/valueThe concept of employability is a bit complex as it concerns many stakeholders of the educational process; the students, academic staff, employers, policymakers and higher education; the private sector; and the government. Although examining students' employability development skills is of great importance, students' reflective practice tends to be overlooked in most studies. Therefore, the focus of this study examines how the reflective practice of graduate students promotes employability through the various university strategies, which had not been considered.