This article considers the problem of vocationalism in Norwegian higher education at the institutional and individual level and uses case studies of curriculum changes at the University of Oslo to examine the university's relationship to the labor market, effects of externally funded research, and academization of the labor market. (DB)

The failure of education systems around the world to establish and exploit the crucial link between education and the labor market is examined. Suggestions are made for closing the gap by educational enhancement, redirection, balancing costs, and promoting school-industry links. (MSE)

Educational attainment provides some indication of the extent to which a person will be "trainable" for professional purposes, with the result that preference is given to the more education. Unemployment rate trends among young people in France and Italy are analyzed and "under-utilisation" is described. (MLW)

Developments in both universities and public sector postsecondary institutions are reviewed. Discussed are: status differences, government control, enrollment from 1971 to 1981, effects of structural change, women, engineering education reform proposals, professionalized studies, government policy, and staff reductions. (LB)

The formulation of priorities in educational policy in the Federal Republic of Germany and their transformation into concrete goals were heavily influenced by the expected demographic change, which is the most important determinant of educational demand (enrollments) and the situation in the labor market and employment system. (MLW)

An analysis of unemployment rates, wages, and policy initiatives for school "early leavers" in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom suggests that early withdrawal from school represents a substantial, transnational problem attributable to basic policy problems. It is noted that no policy initiatives directly address…

A discussion of labor force development worldwide, especially as it relates to use of new technologies, looks at the interplay of such factors as demand for and supply of appropriately trained workers and the world's changing demography. Policy considerations in matching supply with demand are examined. (MSE)

The problem of overqualification is related to the educational aspirations in a comparative cross-national study using data collected in opinion surveys in four European countries (Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, and Poland) and the United States. (JMF)

A discussion of vocational education in the Netherlands covers the options available to students, enrollment and distribution trends, testing, and the link between vocational education and employment. (MSE)

Dramatic changes in Poland's economy since adoption of a free market and parliamentary democracy in 1989 are chronicled, and resulting changes in the occupation structure, vocational and higher education, earnings, and unemployment are examined. The experiences of other Western countries suggest that a strategy of flexibility and adaptation in…

The relationship between education and the labor market, with a focus on the technical side and on the economic connection, is investigated. A potential role of educational planning for smoothing out market imperfections and thus preventing the emergence of social problems relating to the education-work relationship is discussed. (MLW)

An examination of the relationship of higher education and employment in Spain looks at: issues in the internal debate over the relationship; the evolution of the job market within the Spanish economy; existing analyses of employment trends and labor needs; and the response of Spanish universities to graduate employment problems and the…

A study of the Israeli labor market examined the relationships between earnings, educational level attained, and three kinds of mobility (occupational, geographic, and inter-firm) among high school and college graduates. (MSE)

Problems created by a lack of congruence between education and employment are examined. It is suggested that deterioration in employment prospects for young people is due to a malfunctioning in the relationship between the education sector and the labor market. Addressed are: manpower planning, human capital theory, screening theory, and labor…

This article proposes that in France, following recent rapid expansion in access to education, new interest has developed in the relationship between higher education and employment. The impact of this concern on the structures of higher education and the flow of graduates is examined, and the situation of graduates in the labor market, currently…