The Social Construction of Competition for Graduate Jobs: A Comparison between Great Britain and the Netherlands
Tholen, G. (2013). The Social Construction of Competition for Graduate Jobs: A Comparison between Great Britain and the Netherlands. Sociology, 47(2), pp. 267-283. doi: 10.1177/0038038512444815
Abstract
This article examines how Dutch and British students socially construct the positional competition for jobs within their educational and labour market contexts. The findings illustrate two contrasting approaches to employability. The competition for jobs as understood by the Dutch students is based on absolute performance, an unclear relationship between skills and the labour market, and the development of human capital in areas of experiences, skills and abilities. For the British students it is based on relative performance, ranking of candidates and the importance of signals. The study also shows that these principles are aligned to national labour market and educational contexts. These results highlight the importance of the institutional context in how the positional competition for graduate jobs is played out.
Publication Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | Copyright Sage 2013 |
Publisher Keywords: | competition, cross-national comparison, education, graduate employability, labour market, skills |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor |
Departments: | School of Policy & Global Affairs > Sociology & Criminology |
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