Higher education students in Sweden and their possibilities of getting a matching employment depending on individual and institutional factors

• There is a general confidence in higher education as a means of creating a good position for the individual on the labour market. However, there might not be as a good correspondence between higher education studies and the employment as may be expected. Some academics may be forced to accept an employment with lower demands in order to not be out of work. They may also accept employments within quite another sector compared to what their studies aimed at (Alpin et al., 1998; Arnesen, 2000; Kivinen et al., 2000). How graduates from higher education establish themselves on the labour market has been studied in several research projects (e.g. Alpin et al., 1998; Arnesen, 2000; Einarsdóttir, 2002; Kivinen et al., 2000). In determining whether or not graduates have been “successful” in obtaining an employment that corresponds to their education, has usually been studied in economical terms. That is, the salary has been used as an indicator of whether or not there is a good match (e.g. Dolton & Vignoles, 2000; HSV, 2005, 2006a; e.g. Kler, 2005). This study does not consider the economic outcomes; it focuses on the match, whether or not the former higher education student has obtained an employment that corresponds to both the field and the level of their education. This is a large scale study that draws on Swedish register data and the results are interpreted separately for men and for women.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Keyword

match

higher education

labour market

higher education

Pedagogik

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)