This study investigates whether the completion of an optional 'sandwich' work placement enhances graduate starting salaries. We use a variety of multivariate regression techniques to investigate this issue and find that the graduate starting salaries of students who took professional work placements were significantly higher by £1686 ($2105)…

The aim of this study is to analyse the differences in employability among Spanish graduates from public or private universities. Private and public universities do not usually have the same profile. In a scenario in which private universities are becoming increasingly important, with mainly high-income students, a greater employability of their…

This study contributes theoretically and empirically to our understanding of students' transition from work placement to the graduate labour market, by exploring earning differentials due to heterogeneous job transitions. We developed a theoretical framework that underpins the relationships between work placement, job transition and graduate…

This dissertation consists of two essays at the intersection of the economics of education and inequality. The first chapter analyzes how increasing levels of student debt affect career and housing choices of bachelor's degree recipients in the United States. Using within-cohort across-school variations in financial aid policies, it shows that…

We use vocational training curricula to investigate how IT skills are trained within broader "skills packages" and how these relate to labour market outcomes. Skills packages are the typical combinations of IT skills (e.g., CNC) and technical or nontechnical skills (e.g., material sciences or work safety) that are jointly required in the…

Soft skills have become a critical factor in enhancing individual employability. A deeper understanding of the specific soft skills valued by employers in various types of enterprises enables higher education institutions to more precisely cultivate these qualities in students. This study focuses on 15 essential soft skill indicators categorized…

Secondary analysis of the UK's 2011/12 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey reveals that many existing assumptions about graduate internships are questionable. This article proposes a reliable way of estimating the true extent of internships including those reported as 'voluntary' jobs: hidden internships. In doing so the article…

Industry reports show that fresh engineering and non-engineering graduates from Indian universities are not readily employable. The Government-owned Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Academy (APITA) seeks to equip graduates from the state's degree and engineering colleges with industry-relevant skill sets for gainful employment. This study…

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers help drive our nation's innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas and new companies. For example, workers who study or are employed in these fields are more likely to apply for, receive, and commercialize patents. STEM knowledge also has other benefits; while often very…

Based on neo-racism theory and human capital theory, this study examined whether international bachelor's degree recipients who graduated from U.S. institutions have significant early career outcome differences compared to domestic bachelor's degree recipients in terms of major-job match, annual earnings, and job satisfaction. Recognizing the…

Human capital production is central to economic wellbeing from a national perspective: it improves productivity, spurs technological innovation, and promotes sustainable economic growth over time. Equally important, investments in human capital are central to economic wellbeing at the individual level. College graduates tend to earn more money,…

This article explains why the massification of higher education in Hong Kong has, contrary to the predictions of received wisdom, failed to enhance the upward social mobility of the youth in the city. Building upon recent literature in political science, it argues that massification can take different forms, which in turn determine the effects of…

There is a longstanding debate about whether helping welfare recipients quickly find work or helping them to first obtain some basic education and training better improves their economic well-being. This brief contributes to the debate by presenting long-term findings from three sites in the seven-site National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the status of recent Korean four-year college students' acquisition of vocational qualification certificates (hereinafter "certificates" or "qualifications"), the factors that influence certificate acquisition, and the resulting employment and wage effects.…

Chinese college graduates have faced increasing labor market competition since the expansion of tertiary education. Given rigid market demand, graduates with realistic earnings expectations may experience a more efficient job search. Using the 2008 MYCOS College Graduate Employment Survey, this study finds that a 1000 yuan reduction in a…