Young European Graduates Research Articles

Educated for migration? Blind spots around labor market conditions, competence building, and international mobility

Young European graduates are crossing borders to work abroad more often than in the past. This trend is particularly evident in Southern Europe, where recent economic downturn has significantly diminished professional opportunities and career prospects. This study will investigate Spain, a country where unemployment has increased dramatically since 2008, as a case study to examine recent graduate’s experiences to develop a professional career in Germany. In particular, this study will draw upon various sources: official statistics; review literature; and education and training policies throughout the European Union. The investigation features an interview with Spanish graduates working in Germany to offer insight into the experiences of perhaps the best-prepared generation of the Spanish workforce. Our results indicate that young Spaniards, leaving the country to work out of necessity rather than choice, learn through the benefits and challenges of a career abroad. We finish our article by discussing the notions of education, competencies and adaptation, and how citizen and professional identities are redefined after the experience of working abroad.

Polish Graduates and British Citizenship: Amplification of the Potential Mobility Dynamics beyond Europe

In light of the EU enlargements and a promise of unrestricted mobility within EU borders for European nationals, the opportunity was rapidly taken up in particular by young and highly educated Poles. However, some aspirant migrants wished to travel beyond EU borders and such individuals sought different strategies to migrate, including obtaining British citizenship and passports. The paper highlights the possibility of a go-stop-go mobility, which can be described as a stepped approach to citizenship, and a key feature of the new elite cohort of young European graduates, who use their European citizenship to obtain an alternative citizenship that acts as a passport literally and metaphorically to mobility beyond Europe.

Some facts behind graduate’s entrepreneurship in Europe

As carcterísticas educacionais, motivacionais e econômicas são analizadasnuma amostra de jovens pós-graduados europeus para identifi car os elementos diferenciais do espírito empresarial. Os resultados sugerem, em primeiro lugar, queo gênero e o país de origem são relevantes para a decisão de se tornar um empresário;segundo, que os futuros empresários antcipam as demandas mais elevadasde competência que eles enfrentarão e se comportam consistentemente duranteos seus estudos; e, terceiro, que através do espírito empresarial os pós-graduadosconseguem rendas mais elevadas e situações de trabalho mais satisfatórias do quepor meio de outras formas de participação laboral.

The relationship between life goals and fields of study among young European graduates

This paper analyses the relationships among life goals, job prospects and fields of study for a sample of young European higher education graduates. The results show that there is a characteristic pattern for each field of study with regard to the variables used. Graduates in a given field have similar life goals and job prospects, as well as a similar educational and social background, irrespective of cultural and labour market differences associated with their country of residence.

The Distribution of Job Satisfaction among Young European Graduates: Does the Choice of Study Field Matter?

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsLuis E. VilaLuis E. Vila is Head of the Economics of Education Research Unit in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Valencia, Spain. He is also a former visiting scholar at the Center for Educational Research at Stanford University (CERAS). Adela García-Aracil is Researcher at the Institute for Management of Innovation and Knowledge (INGENIO), Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain. José-Ginés Mora is Director of the Valencian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Education and Director of the Centre for Higher Education Management (CEGES) at the Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain.Adela Garcia-AracilLuis E. Vila is Head of the Economics of Education Research Unit in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Valencia, Spain. He is also a former visiting scholar at the Center for Educational Research at Stanford University (CERAS). Adela García-Aracil is Researcher at the Institute for Management of Innovation and Knowledge (INGENIO), Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain. José-Ginés Mora is Director of the Valencian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Education and Director of the Centre for Higher Education Management (CEGES) at the Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain.Jose-Gines MoraLuis E. Vila is Head of the Economics of Education Research Unit in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Valencia, Spain. He is also a former visiting scholar at the Center for Educational Research at Stanford University (CERAS). Adela García-Aracil is Researcher at the Institute for Management of Innovation and Knowledge (INGENIO), Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain. José-Ginés Mora is Director of the Valencian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Education and Director of the Centre for Higher Education Management (CEGES) at the Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain.

The Distribution of Job Satisfaction Among Young European Graduates: Does the Choice of Study Field Matter?

The influence of study field on job satisfaction was analyzed using a sample of young European higher education graduates. Results show that the choice of study field influences the distribution of job satisfaction. Graduates’ perceptions about both educationjob match and the fulfillment of job prospects are predictors for job satisfaction.

Monetary Rewards and Competences of Young European Graduates

We use data from a sample of European higher education graduates at early stages of their working careers to provide evidence on the determinants of the human capital competences (talents, skills and capabilities) acquired by young graduates in Education and of those required by the jobs they perform. More than 36 000 graduates holding a first higher education degree were surveyed about four years after graduation (graduates from 1995 were surveyed in 1999). The data set used examines in detail a number of human capital competences of the graduates and their utilisation on the job, as well as the extent to which the graduates consider their position and tasks linked to their educational careers. Regarding the labour market, both human capital theory, from the supply side, and job competition theory, from the demand side, misses the definition of the links between the competences possessed by higher education graduates and those required by jobs. By looking at realised matches in the labour market, we try to identify those competences associated to graduates’ professional success, as well as their determinants and any possible surpluses and shortages of these key competences and their payoffs. Regression techniques are used to gain insight into the labour-market role of those competences generated or promoted through higher education. The following research questions are addressed: What competences are more demanded by jobs performed by young graduates? Do graduates’ competences match those required by their jobs? How are competences rewarded in the labour market? By Jose-Gines Mora, Adela Garcia-Aracil, Jose-Miguel Carot and Luis E. Vila

International career directions of young European graduates

Abstract From a large survey of graduate applicants to a pan-European Conference in 1990, Tharsi Taillieu has made an analysis of the views, aspirations and preferences of the young men and women concerning an international business career. He then matches these attitudes to profiles of the graduates —nationality, sex, educational and linguistic background and previous foreign experience. A picture is built up of a large pool of talented graduates looking for international careers, with appropriate backgrounds. The enthusiasm of young graduates for a transnational career in the Single European Market has greatly increased in recent years.