Purpose: Our work adds to the debate regarding higher education graduates' skills required in the labour market in Germany and beyond. Design/methodology/approach: Using Q-methodology and the accompanying narrations, we explore German employers' and employees' views (N = 26) on characteristics required at the entry level. Findings: Our findings…

Purpose: Given the exponential and massive technological disruption in work that Industry 4.0 will lead to, nowadays, authors and practitioners within the field of education and training are witnessing increased attention on the features of and threats to employability and integration in current labor transformations. The purpose of this paper is…

Purpose: This study examines the perceptions of human resource (HR) professionals regarding the use of micro-credentials in the job market. The research explores the role of micro-credentials as emerging credentials in job requirements, continuing education, soft skills acquisition, job application evaluation (JAE) processes, qualification…

Purpose: The article aims to describe the role of training and examines the impact on the wages of university and college graduates. Design/methodology/approach: We use nationwide administrative data on university and college graduates in 2019. The population includes 1.3 million observations, of which 222,000 ([approximately] 16%) received…

Purpose: Sustainable employability has emerged as a multifaceted construct that measures individuals' abilities to function in the labour market throughout their working lives. Therefore, it is no longer just about analysing how to achieve a successful transition from school/university to employment, but also about identifying the conditions that…

Purpose: This paper aims to find out what conditions are needed to enhance higher education curricula towards employability from the perspective of different stakeholders in the graduate labour market. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical study was developed, using a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews with higher…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show the effects of the six competence areas of Garcia-Aracil and Van der Velden (2007) on new graduates' labor market success measured by salary. Design/methodology/approach: The paper starts with a literature review about the role of competencies in higher education. Then the Graduate Career Tracking…

Purpose: The paper seeks to disclose the features and implications of the neoliberal VET and employment policy agendas for the social and institutional VET ecosystems and the integration of at-risk youth in the labour market in the Baltic countries. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on the comparative policy analysis approach with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the concept of graduate work readiness (GWR) from a stakeholder perspective. The research attempts to pull together the various multidisciplinary themes from the literature into a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between graduates and the labour market, considering the international…

Purpose: Available literature overlooks the factors that affect employers' opinions of the skills graduates bring to the labour market. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the perception of graduates' skills and the employers' anticipative and remedial strategies. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative multiple…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of correspondence between the academic training received by students and the demands of the job market. This was achieved by analysing the competences that are developed in internships to provide useful information for universities, students and tourism companies.…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate five job qualification programs for young apprentices, in Goiás, a Brazilian State. We expect to contribute to the improvement and strengthening of the job training programs in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach: We applied propensity score matching and extensions such as the generalized…

Purpose: This paper explores the implications for higher education of the rapid development in technology used by the manufacturing sector. Higher education programmes change or new courses are introduced in attempts to match labour market demands. However, the pace of change in the manufacturing industry challenges the authors to reconceive how…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is, first, to examine student perspectives of their university experience in terms of the soft employability skills they develop; second, how prepared those students feel for the future employment market and finally investigate whether there are differences in perceptions between Chinese and Malaysian students…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education. Design/methodology/approach: This paper employs the survey research method using questionnaires, focus groups and…