The relationship between Higher Education and labour market in Greece : the weakest link?

The high level of graduate unemployment, even though it is acknowledged as one of the most distinctive characteristics of the Greek labour market, it has not attracted enough attention in the academic literature. This paper utilizes micro-data from the Labour Force Survey in order to investigate how the employment situation of young (aged 35 and below) graduates varies across fields of study. The findings suggest that graduates of disciplines that have high levels of private sector employment, such as Polytechnics and Computer Science, are in general better off in the Greek labour market. On the other hand, graduates of disciplines that are traditionally related to the needs of the public sector, such as Sociology and Humanities, face poor employment prospects. The findings of this study highlight the need for drastic reforms of the Higher Education system

Transitions to Working Life: Securing Professional Competence

This chapter examines the transition from education to work as a critical phase of professional career and the development of professional competence Literature on transition to working life has identified several challenges that many graduates meet in the early stages of their career such as: threat of unemployment, inadequate knowledge and skills, decreased self-efficacy and increased stress, instability of professional identity, newcomers’ role and position in a work community, early attrition and changing occupation. The importance of workplace learning in supporting graduates as they transit to the workplace is influential in assisting graduates deal with these challenges. This chapter examines each of these challenges from the professional competence point of view drawing upon examples from several research projects undertaken by the authors to accentuate how these challenges might be addressed. In particular special attention is paid to the role of social partnerships in meeting the challenges.peerReviewe