Что не так с концепцией готовности выпускников вуза к работе?

Экономическая социология. 2021. Т. 22. № 2. С. 109–138.

Maltseva V.

Equipping students with employability skills has become a novel mission of universities since the late XX century. Discussion on how to make students more job-ready has appeared as a core of the education policy agenda. The roots of job readiness agenda in higher education (HE) are mostly studied through the lens of changes in the HE sector and are regarded as a result of massification and vocationalisation of HE. But these explanations only implicitly consider labour market changes that triggered employability agenda. This paper challenges job readiness agenda in higher education, especially the pressure being put on HE institutions that are expected to fit students to employer’s needs. In order to find grounds and justification of the employability agenda, I study its cornerstone theses through the lens of labour market theories. The research reveals that not all of these theses are well-grounded in labour market theories and empirics. On the one hand, employability narrative is justified by decreased signalling function of education credentials and increasing demand for universal skills and update of technical skills. On the other hand, alarmism of skill deficit and skill shortage that pushes pressure of HE doesn't fully match theories and empirical evidence. The most relevant concept of employability and job readiness could be elaborated in the framework of universal competencies or 21st-century skills. Being job-ready means being ready for flexible career and lifelong learning instead of being fitted to the short-term requirements. This conceptual framework establishes shared responsibility for developing skills and managing skill gaps between individuals, employers and educational institutions.

Keywords: рынок труда, экономика образования, высшее образование, labour market, навыки, skills, employability, higher education

Publication based on the results of: From a school desk to a work place: career and educational choice in the context of culture and inequality (2021)