In our study we analyse the risk factors of precarity among young graduates. We aim to explore the characteristics that can turn young graduates towards precarity. The position of young graduates is ...better on the labor market than that of job seekers with lower qualification. Nevertheless, there are some risk factors that can also affect young graduates, such as the uncertainty on the labor market, and the chance and danger of falling into precarity. In this paper, different interpretations of and approaches to precarity are validated as a theoretical framework, taking into account the main theories dealing with the concept of precarity and with precarity as a class. We focus on young graduates as a group at risk of precarity, and thus also analyse the theories dealing with their situation. Our empirical investigation tests the claims of the main theories. For this purpose, we conduct a secondary analysis of the 2018 database of the Graduate Tracking System based on the responses of 15 102 recent graduates. Studies show that the risk of precariousness in Hungary is mainly shaped by the level of education and the post-graduation job. However, since no similar empirical analysis has been conducted for the country, our study is exploratory in nature, which gives it both its value in terms of novelty and its limitations.
Entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises are the foundation of the Malaysian furniture industry. Yet, in a multi-ethnic society such as Malaysia, the success factors of entrepreneurs and small ...and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the furniture industry have not been studied. Therefore, this study evaluated the success factors of entrepreneurs of the Malay and Chinese ethnic groups in the furniture industry and discerned the growth trajectory of young entrepreneurs from wood science and technology programs in the furniture industry. A questionnaire-based survey was used with the assistance of relevant trade associations and universities. The results were statistically analyzed to establish the significant differences between the two ethnic groups in their perceived success factors. The results revealed that Malay entrepreneurs pay more attention to political and socio-cultural factors to gain success, whereas Chinese entrepreneurs focus on enhancing their competitiveness to remain viable. Further, young graduates showed a reduced desire to pursue a career in the furniture industry, as they deem it not environmentally sustainable in addition to limited career growth. These results suggested that current entrepreneurship development programs may need to be revised, so as to assist in producing more resilient and successful entrepreneurs in the future in the furniture industry.
The aim of the article is to propose a job quality composite indicator (JQCI) by which to measure the quality of young graduates' jobs. We design JQCI by grouping jobs' objective and perceived ...characteristics into three dimensions—economic, professional, and work–life balance—following a theory-driven approach, and weighting each dimension according to its importance. We apply the resulting JQCI to a sample of Italian graduates 3 years after graduation and validate it by measuring their motivation to leave their jobs, assuming that poor quality could be a reason to want to leave a job. We find that the professional dimension scores the highest. Relevant differences in job quality are related to individual (gender, degree level, disciplinary field, whether the graduate worked while studying) and organizational characteristics (company size). Implications for policy-makers and for firms interested in attracting and retaining Generation Y workers are discussed.
The recession suffered in the western world since 2007 has left thousands of people unemployed. One of the countries most affected by unemployment is Spain and specially its young population (34.7%). ...Considering this context, we try to find out the role of psychological resources, well-being, distress, and eustress, among young employed and unemployed graduates. We worked with a sample of 542 young graduates, of whom 48.3% were unemployed, and those employed held job positions related to their academic background. Our results suggest that: 1) it is somewhat likely for young recent graduates to find a job if they score high in optimism; 2) resilience, optimism, autonomy, self-efficacy, environmental mastery, and overall life satisfaction are deteriorated in unemployment youth, while negative affect is increased in this group; and 3) environmental mastery plays a fundamental role among young unemployed graduates, for its loss is related to distress while its gain is related to eustress. The results of this research are relevant with regards to the implementation of training programs that contribute to the improvement of the well-being and life quality of these unemployed individuals, therefore allowing them to be in a better position to find a job.
Young European graduates are crossing borders to work abroad more often than in the past. This trend is particularly evident in Southern Europe, where recent economic downturn has significantly ...diminished professional opportunities and career prospects. This study will investigate Spain, a country where unemployment has increased dramatically since 2008, as a case study to examine recent graduate’s experiences to develop a professional career in Germany. In particular, this study will draw upon various sources: official statistics; review literature; and education and training policies throughout the European Union. The investigation features an interview with Spanish graduates working in Germany to offer insight into the experiences of perhaps the best-prepared generation of the Spanish workforce. Our results indicate that young Spaniards, leaving the country to work out of necessity rather than choice, learn through the benefits and challenges of a career abroad. We finish our article by discussing the notions of education, competencies and adaptation, and how citizen and professional identities are redefined after the experience of working abroad.
Purpose
The researchers wanted to compare a “traditional career attitude” (TCA), which stresses upward mobility at one company, with a “boundary-less career attitude” (BCA), which focuses on career ...mobility
Design/methodology/approach
To test their hypotheses, the authors looked for recent master’s graduates from a large Portuguese university who had been working more than one year. They were students of business studies, human resources management, healthcare management, accounting, marketing and strategy. The graduates received questionnaires to fill in. A total of 131 completed them successfully, with 63% being female respondents.
Findings
The results showed a TCA had a positive effect on internal employability (IE), but no negative impact on external employability (EE). Meanwhile, the results also confirmed the negative impact on IE of a BCA, whereas there was no significant positive effect on EE.
Originality/value
The authors felt their study made a number of important contributions both to the academic community, and to increasing the employability of graduates.
Modern development trends in the labour market have been an increasingly important political and economic issue not only domestically but also on the European level. It proves the fact that in The ...Europe 2020 strategy, one of the main five points is the aim to increase the employment rate of the population (age: 20-64) from the current 69% to at least 75%. Various risk groups of job candidates emerge among the unemployed. The economic crisis in 2007 made the situation in the labour markets worse. The demand for labour decreased while the number of candidates increased. In recent years, fresh graduates under the age of 25 have been regarded as a high risk group sometimes nicknamed "the lost generation" or Generation Y. This generation is well accustomed to modern technologies which they use for their own benefit and they are willing and able to work from anywhere. On the contrary, those over the age of 35, who are sometimes referred to as Generation X, have different attitudes and requirements for the labour market. Despite the increasing level of education among young people, their unemployment has been worsening since the economic crisis began. The aim of this article was to ascertain how future university graduates (491 final-year students from 5 faculties at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic) perceive individual risk factors influencing the success of today's graduate of Generation Y in the competitive labour market. The target group, future university graduates, evaluated 13 risk areas on a five-point scale. These 13 risk areas were identified based on primary research among 1.059 employers in the Czech Republic, which is a part of a complete two-year research project IGA/FaME/2013/030. This article focuses on only two areas which closely analysed the perception of graduates as drifters, and their demands for high starting salaries. These two risk areas were mentioned by employers as the areas with the highest risk and therefore, these areas are examined in detail by the future graduates. A partial conclusion of this study indicated that future graduates, in comparison with the initial risk factor of high turnover, see much higher risk in their inability to solve problems, high initial costs of training or a lack of independence. It is the opinion of graduates, how these factors see the employers. On the other hand, graduates consider a lack of IT knowledge or few ideas/suggestions for improvement and innovation as less risky as high turnover.
This paper reflects theoretical and empirical interrogations regarding concepts which gain interest in recent research in relation to school results and school-to-work transition of high education ...graduates: school-engagement, valorization of work, work ethics and school social capital. The initiative of such approach is linked to the identification of the obstacles and implicitly the mechanisms which facilitate an easier school-to-work transition of high education graduates of economic studies. In the current research we followed which are the motivations regarding work, and the measures of school engagement, identifying that students with higher academic engagement present greater interest in general criteria related to work and are less intrinsically motivated. The research findings in this area on the one hand confirm the importance of school-engagement for the students from tertiary education. On the other hand, it suggests, besides the mediated effect on school results on the successful insertion on the labor market, also a direct impact on their work engagement of these graduates. In addition to these aspects less visible and less studied, research in this field revealed other obstacles that occur in the successful integration of graduates in the workplace. It was found that both employers and young graduates’ employees assigned increased importance for the success in the workplace to transversal skills that are considered less developed through tertiary educational system. In addition, experience at the workplace, the practical training and voluntary involvement in different actions can also be useful tools in preparing students for the labor market. The data, both qualitative and quantitative, analyzed in this paper were collected within the project "Practical training of economists students. Inter-regional partnership in the labor market between universities and the business environmentâ€. PRACTeam project is coordinated by University of Oradea - Faculty of Economic Studies, financed through European Social Fund - “Investing in People!†Contract no. POSDRU/90/2.1/S/64150.
L’article présente une recherche menée auprès de jeunes diplômés universitaires en provenance d’une région rurale (canton du Jura en Suisse) et discute trois grands résultats. Tout d’abord, les ...parcours migratoires des jeunes diplômés sont majoritairement orientés vers les zones urbaines ; ils sont néanmoins accompagnés de migrations de retour non négligeables. Ensuite, la propension des jeunes diplômés à revenir dans leur région d’origine est un phénomène sélectif qui varie en fonction de leurs trajectoires socio-familiales, migratoires et professionnelles. Finalement, les migrations internes sont bien plus qu’une réponse automatique aux différentiels du marché de l’emploi ; elles renvoient à une conjonction variable de facteurs relatifs aux opportunités professionnelles, au lien social et au cadre de vie. Ces résultats ont une portée plus générale et demandent à être intégrés et testés dans l’analyse d’autres formes de migrations interrégionales.
This paper attempts to unpack the role of failure, and subsequent international mobility, in affecting employment outcomes for ‘overseas educated’ university graduates in Hong Kong. It draws upon ...extensive fieldwork in Hong Kong and Canada, to scrutinise the link between international credentials and migration, asking : do experiences of living abroad – for schooling and the whole of a university education – confer distinction and subsequent social advantage upon already privileged individuals and their families, offsetting previous academic “failure” ? If so, then why does this process of valorisation occur ? In much of the extant literature on international education, the advantages bestowed upon internationally mobile students are taken for granted. In contrast, this paper begins with the premise that a ‘local’ university degree is widely considered significantly superior to one acquired abroad. Despite this, however, graduates educated overseas are clearly advantaged in many ways when they return to Hong Kong to find work. The analysis of the data shows that the cultural capital and social capital developed through living abroad and attending an overseas higher education institution override, in various ways, the inherent value of a local university degree. The paper contributes to wider debates around the role of international education in the reproduction of privilege and the continuation of class inequalities in educational outcomes.
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