European research finds that degrees do not guarantee jobs
Created by Catherine Howell (University of Cambridge) on December 07, 2005
Researchers at Finland's University of Helsinki have found that higher education does not guarantee employment.
This finding may not surprise, but it is very interesting given Finland's position within the European context for education and career progression / workforce mobility. As a small country with a strong social infrastructure, Finns place great emphasis on education (I've included a link to a detailed site for Finnish higher ed policy). However, like other small European nations, they too are increasingly suffering from the social effects of unemployment. Yet a recent World Economic Forum report identified Finland as the world's most competitive economy, citing its "culture of innovation." Education, evidently, has a large role to play in maintaining this position. But is it enough?
Researchers on the Academy of Finland Life as Learning (LEARN) research programme found that changing social conditions and labor market patterns mean that students are studying for longer, and earning more degrees. But even this extended "apprenticeship" period is no guarantee of a secure career path.
While each generation since the 1960s has enjoyed successively better access to education, there has been a corresponding raising of the bar in relation to the qualifications and even personal qualities that employers expect from potential employees.
One factor with important social consequences is that when older employees, for whatever reason, are compelled to re-enter the labor market later in life, they find it much harder to obtain employment since they will be competing with better-qualified (albeit less experienced) candidates. The implication is that patterns of social exclusion will become further entrenched unless ways are found to bring candidates back within the circuit of workers with "current" skills.
This finding may not surprise, but it is very interesting given Finland's position within the European context for education and career progression / workforce mobility. As a small country with a strong social infrastructure, Finns place great emphasis on education (I've included a link to a detailed site for Finnish higher ed policy). However, like other small European nations, they too are increasingly suffering from the social effects of unemployment. Yet a recent World Economic Forum report identified Finland as the world's most competitive economy, citing its "culture of innovation." Education, evidently, has a large role to play in maintaining this position. But is it enough?
Researchers on the Academy of Finland Life as Learning (LEARN) research programme found that changing social conditions and labor market patterns mean that students are studying for longer, and earning more degrees. But even this extended "apprenticeship" period is no guarantee of a secure career path.
While each generation since the 1960s has enjoyed successively better access to education, there has been a corresponding raising of the bar in relation to the qualifications and even personal qualities that employers expect from potential employees.
One factor with important social consequences is that when older employees, for whatever reason, are compelled to re-enter the labor market later in life, they find it much harder to obtain employment since they will be competing with better-qualified (albeit less experienced) candidates. The implication is that patterns of social exclusion will become further entrenched unless ways are found to bring candidates back within the circuit of workers with "current" skills.
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