Title: The%20Future%20of%20Graduate%20Employment%20and%20Work%20and%20the%20Implications%20for%20Higher%20Education
1The Future of Graduate Employment and Work and
the Implications for Higher Education
- Contribution to the OECD/France International
Conference Higher Education to 2030 What
Futures for Quality Accessin the Era of
Globalisation? - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
- Paris, 8 9 December 2008
- Ulrich Teichler
- International Centre for Higher Education
Research Kassel
INCHER-KASSELUniversity of Kassel, 34109
KasselGermanyTel. 49-561-804 2415Fax
49-561-804 7415 E-mail teichler_at_incher-uni-kass
el.de
2The Educational Functionsof Higher Education
- To transmit understanding of academic theories,
methods and knowledge - Cultural enhancement and personality development
- Preparing students for future work by conveying
the tools and rules of conventional
professional work - Prepare students to call into question the
established rules and tools of professional
work to be sceptical and critical, to handle
indeterminate work tasks, to strive for innovation
3Higher Education Needs Knowledge on Graduates
- Employment
- Work
- Knowledge utilisation
- as a feed-back in order to reflect the
consequences of one of its core activities, i.e.
those of knowledge transmission, in the domain of
curricula, teaching and learning. - This holds true irrespective of the extent to
which the higher education systems as a whole,
certain types of institutions, types of study
programmes or fields or study have a - vocational/professional or
- academic
- emphasis.
4Growing Public Interest
- The public interest in the employment and work
- outcome of higher education has grown over the
- years in Europe as a consequence of
- higher education expansion, because the
expanding lower level programmes and graduates
are expected in most European countries to be
more directly prepared for the world of work
(cf. in the Bologna Process the employability
debate and the concern about the professional
relevance of university bachelor) - growing utilitarian expectationsharboured with
research to higher education (cf. in the Lisbon
Process the call to make Europe the most
competitive economy with the help of knowledge
enhancement) - increasing pressures to provide evidence about
proper processes and desirable outcomes (cf. the
popularity of terms and measures such as
evaluation, accreditation, accountability
or evidence-based policy).
5Two Major Ambivalences in the Worldwide Debates
on Higher Education and the World of Work
- The quantitative ambivalence
- On the one hand Expansion of higher education is
beneficial for economic growth - On the other hand Over-education (employment
problems faced by graduates) - The functional ambivalence
- On the one hand Call for professional relevance
of study programmes and study or for
employability - On the other hand Concerns about too little
emphasis on academic learning, general education,
and benefits beyond the labour market, about
sub-ordination on current employers and neglect
of critical function as well as of preparation
for indeterminate work tasks and of innovation in
general
6Higher Education has to Look Forward for About 40
Years
- Curricular innovation might need five years
- Period of study might last five years
- Graduates will be employed for about 30 years on
average - Potentials and Limitations of Long Term
Strategies
7Options of Higher Education vis-à-vis Long-Term
Developments of Graduate Employment and Work
- Quantitative HE expansion and graduate
employment - Structures Diversity of HE systems and the
composition of graduate employment and work - Functions Increasing life-long
learning/continuing professional education - Curricula I Competences and job requirements
- Curricula II Preparation for labour market
dynamics and uncertainties - Curricula III Assumption of international
convergence or persistence of differences
between countries - Curricula IV Internationalisation
8Quantitative Options for Higher Education
- OECD 1997 (Reconsidering Tertiary Education)
Trend towards universal tertiary education - Growing relevance of tertiary education for
associate professionals - Over-education or growing relevance for
middle-level occupations?
9Low Level of Over-education in Europe 2005
Occupation (ISCO88) by Type of Study Programme
Occupation (ISCO88) Occupation (ISCO88) Type of Study Programme Type of Study Programme Total
Occupation (ISCO88) Occupation (ISCO88) University (long duration) University (short duration, Fachhochschule, HBO, AMK, etc.)
Other 2 4 3
Clerks 4 6 5
Assoc. prof. 15 40 23
Professionals 70 42 61
Manager 8 8 8
Total Total 100 100 100
Source REFLEX 2005 INCHER-Kassel
10Low Level of Over-education in EuropeAppropriate
Level of Education is Below Tertiary Education
(4-5 Years After Graduation )
Source CHEERS 1999 and REFLEX 2005
INCHER-Kassel
11Structural Options of Higher Education
- Options
- Types of institutions and programmes
- Intra-institutional diversity or
inter-institutional diversity in HE - Flat or steep vertical quality/reputation
differences - Issues
- Types of theoretical vs. applied occupations?
- Bachelor-/master-structure intra-institutional
diversity in some but not in all countries? - Are we moving towards an elite knowledge
society or towards a mass knowledge society? - Tensions between vertical and horizontal
diversity
12Major Curricular Options
- Alternatives
- Academic vs. professional fields of study
- Academic reflections vs. reflections of the
tensions between academic and professional
problem-solving - Theoretical vs. applied approach
- Specific vs. general
- Key issues
- Do long-term views call for general education?
- Do the country distinctions between professional
vs. general emphasis disappear or continue?
13Major Terms and Concepts of Competences Other
Than Specific Knowledge(Employability Skills,
Key Skills etc.)
- Transfer of (academic) knowledge to professional
work assignments (problem-solving activities) - Development of typical working styles (e.g.
working under pressure, working independently
without clear assignments) - Development of typical working values
(loyality, achievement orientation) - Social skills (leadership, team work, etc.)
- Supplementary knowledge (foreign languages, ICT,
organisational knowledge, etc.) - Context awareness (adaptation, reflection,
risk tasking, etc.) - Learning to manage ones own career
14Stability of Work Requirements1999 2005
(arithm. mean)
Source CHEERS 1999 and REFLEX 2005
INCHER-Kassel
15Possible Curricular Consequences
- Strengthen disciplinary and professional
knowledge - Strengthen knowledge transfer (problem-solving
abilities) - Strengthen independent learning, reflection and
critical thinking - Strengthen experiential learning (project, work
experience in dialogue with the university,
temporary study abroad, etc.) - Strengthen generic skills (general education!)
- Strengthen personality development
16Work Experience During the Course of Study( of
persons graduating in 1995)
D F UK I E
Work experience prior to study 45 17 19 8 7
Study-related work while studying 61 69 20 22 23
Non-study related work while studying 53 47 44 29 24
Internship 79 83 32 22 57
Source REFLEX Survey
17Relevance for Employers Decision to Recruit
Graduates as Perceived by 1995 Graduates ()
D F UK I E
Contact to employers during the course of study 10 7 7 4 4
Work experience prior to study 29 18 30 10 29
Work experience during the course of study 55 52 41 21 20
Source CHEERS Survey
18Internationalisation
- Employment of graduates abroad less than 5
percent from OECD countries? - Sent abroad by employers more than5 percent?
- Study abroad at least temporarily more than 10
percent? - What do we expect in the future?
19The World of Work and the Responsibilities of the
University
- The subordinated university
- The ivory tower autonomous university
- The knowledgeable, reflective university
- The pro-active university