This article reports the main findings of research examining the labour market perceptions, orientations and experiences of UK university graduates with First Class Honours degrees, the UK's highest level of degree classification. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with 50 graduates holding a First Class degree, it explores how they…

Purpose - The significance of young, well-educated workers in the Greek labour market has been largely neglected in studies addressing the issue of low participation rate in the labour force of the country. This study focuses on the reluctance of Greek students to enter the labour market and combine studies with paid work. This article reports on…

Using data from the 1997 Alberta University Graduate Survey, this study compares earnings of visible minority graduates and their non-visible minority counterparts who received degrees in 1994. The central question is whether investments in human capital in the form of Canadian post-secondary education by visible minority members and other…

This paper studies the determinants of age-specific employment rates among Swedish males, focusing on the effect of education on employment. We use cohort specific data for the time period 1984-1996 covering male cohorts aged 21-45. It is found that aggregate age-group-specific employment rates increase with the proportion of the cohort with an…

The South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) withdrew its accreditation of 15 Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees in May 2004. MBAs for which accreditation was withdrawn include those offered in South Africa by Bond University (Australia) and De Montfort University (UK). CHEs decisions have significant implications for students,…

Brain drain has been a long-lasting phenomenon. It existed in the former Yugoslavia, and was affected by various factors, from political through economic ones to the attractive offers for advanced studies and work in scientific institutions or firms in developed countries. Some ad-hoc analyses were made concerning individual groups or periods, but…

The Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence in 1991. Like other republics of the former USSR, during the last decade of the Twentieth Century, Moldova initiated social and economic reforms aimed at the country's transition to a market economy. A series of relevant social changes were achieved in Moldova but, contrary to initial estimates,…

UK Higher Education Institutions are being required to reflect on the balance between academic and vocational aspects of their course provision and to identify more clearly how they are preparing their students for employment. This is not a simple matter. The UK arts and cultural sector is highly complex, with the characteristic features of a…

This article empirically examines the spread of higher education in Japan and the resulting changes in labor quality in the last two decades. This study uses the Divisia index numbers to measure the labor quality and quality-adjusted labor supply. It points out that quality might have declined rapidly in the recent past among higher educated…

This report observes that, while Maine's economy is changing at a rapid pace, its workforce is not, and to compete, Maine must dramatically increase the educational attainment levels of its citizens. Many of Maine's core industries face significant shortages of skilled workers, a shortage that is slowing the growth of the state's economy and…

Purpose: Higher education environments have become increasingly competitive and institutions have to compete for students in the recruitment markets. With the introduction of student fees, it is hypothesised that potential applicants to HE will increasingly become consumerist. The research upon which this paper was based was aimed at finding out…

This article is a sociological study of postdiploma professional education. The authors state, that under the conditions of the mounting dynamics of social and economic processes, the only way that an individual can retain and increase the level of his professional and social competence and, consequently, his ability to compete in the domestic and…

The institution is part of a national market and its presidential options are dictated by that market, the reputation, the challenges of the position, and the relative compensation for the opportunity to lead the organization. Many in academe are uncomfortable with the idea that hiring in higher education should be governed by the laws of supply…

This paper examines an important development in Chinese higher education in the late 1990s and early 2000s, namely, its radical expansion of enrollment starting from 1998. After a brief review of the related literature on educational expansion, the paper analyzes the higher education expansion in China in detail. The paper argues that a variety of…

In recent years sociologists of youth have drawn attention to the growing disparity between the stated goals of education and labor market policies on the one hand, and the changing priorities, choices and experiences of young people on the other. This article explores a similar disparity in the transitions of young people graduating from…