This study provides a "narrative synthesis" of the findings published in journal articles from a broad range of scientific fields about the impact of extracurricular activities (ECAs) on the academic success and employability of university students. The analysis included 39 articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, published…

Graduate employability has become a central part of the policy debate on the relevance and value of higher education in Europe, often associated with meeting the economic demands of society. This has led to a sense of institutional vulnerability to the vagaries of market forces and public opinion, leading some higher education institutions to…

This paper focuses on how universities are increasingly made responsible for the employment of their students . Drawing on Governmentality Studies, we suggest framing this pressure as an employability dispositif. We join critical studies which link the employability imperative to a neo-liberal transformation of the higher education landscape.…

The world is experiencing significant changes, including exponential growth of the global population, global warming and climate change, biodiversity loss, international migration, digitalization, smart agriculture/farming, synthetic biology, and most recently a global human health pandemic. These trends pose a set of relevant challenges for the…

Until today, thousands of young adults still dropout of school with no or low qualifications and experience difficulties in entering the labour market. The European Commission offers funding and opportunities for young adults to enter employability enhancing training, often organised under its flagship initiative 'The Youth Guarantee'. The aim of…

Purpose: In the last decade, graduates' employability has assumed a central role in scholars' concerns. This was mainly due the high rate of recent graduates' unemployment in some European countries, as well as the Bologna Process reform of the European higher education system and the new Europe Strategy 2020. The purpose of this paper, driven by…

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the effect of different educational orientations at the upper-secondary level on labour market outcomes across European countries. The study separates safety net effect and the diversion effect of Vocational Education and Training (VET). Using PIAAC data, we show cross-national differences in the early…

The link between higher education and employment is central to the understanding of social stratification and social mobility. We use three theories to analyse the importance of education and credentials in recruitment decisions in European graduate labour markets: human capital (HC), network capital (NC) and reputational capital (RC) theory.…

This article provides an overview of the literature that contributes to the study of the key factors that explain the process by which university graduates enter the labour market. It is approached from the standpoint of the Spanish experience but also discussesother European initiatives. Understanding this process is paramount for the…

Many governments in developing countries are realising that good quality jobs matter for development. However, little attention has been paid so far to explore what actually matters for young people in terms of job characteristics and employment conditions. Today, in many developing and emerging countries, a key development challenge is that…

The article examines how far the key Bologna objective of student mobility has been achieved in Portuguese higher education institutions and the main factors shaping it. It analyzes credit mobility, outgoing and incoming, between Portugal and Europe. Although mobility overall has risen, incoming mobility has grown faster, making Portugal an…

Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) outlines that 49% of EU citizens identified "job creation" and 33% identified "education and skills" as the top priorities for science and technology innovation over the next fifteen years. Both documents justify the needs in Europe for the ICT field especially for the NEET (not in…

This publication presents some structural indicators on graduate employability in 40 European education and training systems. It examines whether countries use regular labour market forecasting to improve the employability of graduates; moreover, other indicators include the involvement of employers in external quality assurance procedures,…

The information in this Eurydice Brief is drawn from the report, "Modernisation of higher education in Europe 2014: access, retention and employability." The report is the second in a series examining the evolution of the European Commission's modernisation agenda for higher education in Europe. Information for the report was gathered…

The report sheds light on current national and institutional policies and practices aimed at increasing and widening access, reducing student dropout, and improving the employability of higher education graduates in Europe. The primary objective is to support Member States in their reform efforts by outlining and analysing national policies, and…