Employability Skill

The book makes a significant contribution to critical higher education studies, specifically to graduate employability research and to capabilities and education research. The book moves beyond the simplistic conception of alleged 'gaps' in graduate skills and 'mismatches' between employers and universities, and instead provides an innovative multi-dimensional and intersectional human capabilities conceptualisation of graduate employability.

This book explores the issue of graduate employability in rural labour markets. European higher education institutions are expected to be crucial players in terms of regional innovation, contributing through research, education and formation of human capital. The author asks how this role be played out equally in urban and rural areas. In rural areas, the most educated young members of society often find it impossible to contribute to the local economy and feel forced to seek better prospects in urban centres.

This book takes an in-depth look at the European Commission’s Erasmus programme. In its current Erasmus+ format, the programme supports international exchange visits among students, trainees, volunteers and academic members of staff with a view to enhancing employability and encouraging intercultural understanding. Against the backdrop of the 30th anniversary of Erasmus, the authors explore the successes of the programme, most prominently the undergraduate exchange programme, as well as areas of on-going development, including the incorporation of short duration mobility projects focused on specific social issues into the initiative.

This book provides a unique insight into negotiations around language investment for employability in the context of public employment services. Drawing on extensive ethnographical research carried out in Regional Employment Offices in Switzerland, the authors follow the stories of various job seekers.