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Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case of business and management graduates

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  • Nick Wilton

Abstract

Two dominant rationales are offered by UK policymakers for the continued expansion of higher education: to service the high-skill labour requirements of a knowledge economy, and to increase educational and employment opportunities for under-represented groups. The discourse of employability connects these two rationales in a simplistic manner. Individual employability is described as both the means by which to obtain and maintain high-quality employment and to eradicate the social reproduction of inequality. However, evidence drawn from a survey of graduate careers suggests that for a cohort of recent business and management graduates, the relationship between employability and employment is far from straightforward. The data suggest that traditional labour market disadvantage still appears to be an impediment to achievement, regardless of the extent to which graduates develop employability skills during their undergraduate studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Nick Wilton, 2011. "Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case of business and management graduates," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 25(1), pages 85-100, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:25:y:2011:i:1:p:85-100
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017010389244
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Ewart Keep, 2004. "The Economic and Distributional Implications of Current Policies on Higher Education," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 20(2), pages 298-314, Summer.
    6. Smith, Jeremy & McKnight, Abigail & Naylor, Robin, 2000. "Graduate Employability: Policy and Performance in Higher Education in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(464), pages 382-411, June.
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