Putting ‘Bologna to work’. The influence of the Bologna process on the employability of higher education graduates

Mgr. Margot Koenders, MSc

Master's thesis

Anotácia:

The transition from higher education to the labour market is a topic of discussion amongst scholars. Throughout the last 50 years, the demands of employers have changed. An emphasis is now put on the need that higher education graduates need to have certain ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills in order to be fully equipped to enter their first jobs. The concept of graduate employability entails the competences graduates need to have in order to meet the demands of the labour market. At the same time, higher education has been internationalised and student mobility is argued to be a catalyst for acquiring competences that could increase employability. The Bologna process has put employability and mobility high on its agenda. This master’s thesis examines in which way the process influences students’ employability. The perception of stakeholders is taken as the basis for an analysis of this process within Germany and the Netherlands. It is concluded that employability may not be fully enhanced through the Bologna process and that it is desirable that mobility be fostered further, either in the form in which it is known now or in other ways. It is argued that is more a case of the perception of stakeholders and their involvement in the process, than that there is not enough recognition for the demands of the labour market within the process’ instruments.

Abstract:

The transition from higher education to the labour market is a topic of discussion amongst scholars. Throughout the last 50 years, the demands of employers have changed. An emphasis is now put on the need that higher education graduates need to have certain ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills in order to be fully equipped to enter their first jobs. The concept of graduate employability entails the competences graduates need to have in order to meet the demands of the labour market. At the same time, higher education has been internationalised and student mobility is argued to be a catalyst for acquiring competences that could increase employability. The Bologna process has put employability and mobility high on its agenda. This master’s thesis examines in which way the process influences students’ employability. The perception of stakeholders is taken as the basis for an analysis of this process within Germany and the Netherlands. It is concluded that employability may not be fully enhanced through the Bologna process and that it is desirable that mobility be fostered further, either in the form in which it is known now or in other ways. It is argued that is more a case of the perception of stakeholders and their involvement in the process, than that there is not enough recognition for the demands of the labour market within the process’ instruments.

Keywords

Bologna process, graduate employability

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 14. 9. 2015

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 14. 9. 2015
• Vedúci: prof. Dr. Joop Schippers
• Oponent: prof. PhDr. Vít Hloušek, Ph.D.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Master programme / odbor:
International Territorial Studies / European Governance