Tests of new instrument for measuring Dublin Descriptors

In the summer of 2007 a new instrument was developed which aimed at providingan operationalisation of the Dublin descriptors (Appendix 1). Special attention waspaid thereby to the so-called ‘anchor problem’ inherent in most self-assessments:the lack of an objective frame of reference against which different respondents canassess their own level of competence.The instrument consists of a combination of general and specific items. First of alla general item was formulated for each of the 5 Dublin descriptors. The generalitems were formulated in such a way as to match the original descriptors as closelyas possible. Anchors were developed for each of these items which correspond tojunior college, bachelors and masters levels. For example, for the item“communication” the junior college level was indicated by the anchor “is able totransmit information”, the bachelors level by "is able to communicate ideas andtransmit solutions” and the master level by “is able to communicate conclusionsand the knowledge, motivations and considerations that underlie these conclusionsin a convincing manner”. The anchors for the bachelors and masters level arederived more or less directly from the Dublin descriptors, and those for the juniorcollege level are based on the European Qualification Framework. For practicalreasons it was decided not to develop anchors for the PhD level. The anchors wereplaced in a scale ranging from 1 to 8, with the junior college level being assigned ascale value of 2, the bachelors level the value 5 and the masters level the value 7.This allowed respondents the option of choosing a level above masters level orbelow junior college level if they find that appropriate. The distances betweenjunior college, bachelors and masters level approximates the mean differences inyears of education corresponding to each level.labour market entry and occupational careers;

Do business administration studies offer better preparation for supervisory jobs than traditional economics studies?

The question whether graduates of business administration (BA) are better prepared for supervisory jobs and have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory jobs than non-BA economics graduates, forms the central theme of the paper. In addition, special attention is given to the question whether having a supervisory job pays off, particularly with an educational background in BA. In order to answer these questions, we have used a data set that relates to the labour market position of graduates from Dutch universities at the early stages of their careers.We have found that BA graduates, despite their multidisciplinary education and the fact that they have fewer deficiencies in their education with respect to the ability for teamwork than non-BA graduates, do not have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory jobs than graduates from non-BA economics courses. We have also found that having a supervisory job pays off, regardless of the education (BA versus non-BA). Lastly, we have found that most of the skills required for managerial leadership are acquired through work and not in education. This suggests that a combination of working and learning may be more effective for developing managerial skills than a purely educational setting.Key words: business administration and non-business administration graduates, supervisory jobs, required competences, job chances, earnings.JEL classification: J 24, J 31, J 44.labour market entry and occupational careers;

An investigation into the role of human capital competences and their pay-off

Learning is possible both in school and later on when working. The learning process is thereby dependent on the context wherein it takes place. This implies that in particular three groups of competences can be distinguished. First of all, competences acquired in school, which are of direct use in later work, secondly, competences acquired in school, which facilitate acquiring new competences after graduation from school and finally, competences acquired mainly in a working context. Using a unique dataset on Italian university graduates, the target of this paper is to show that these three competences can indeed be distinguished and to discuss their different roles and pay-offs in the labour market.We will show that, firstly, the level of field-specific skills obtained in higher education offers graduates a comparative advantage when working inside the own field-specific domain and therefore has a pay-off for those graduates who are able to find a job in their own field-specific domain; secondly, that management skills are valued in the labour market but seem to be more effectively acquired in a working context than in higher education and thirdly, that general academic competences acquired in higher education do not pay off directly but have a significant supportive role when learning skills that have a direct pay-off in the labour market but are more effectively acquired outside education.labour market entry and occupational careers;

Loopbanen na de Universiteit Maastricht: metingen 2006 en 2007

Het Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt (ROA) verricht sinds 1990 in samenwerking met het Studentenservicecentrum (SSC) periodiek onderzoek onder alumni van de Universiteit Maastricht (UM). Dit onderzoeksproject, de UM-Scanner, wordt uitgevoerd in opdracht van het College van Bestuur van de UM. Het betreft een langlopend project dat informatie verschaft over de gevolgde opleiding, arbeidsmarktintrede en het verdere verloop van de loopbaan van Maastrichtse alumni. Hiertoe worden alumni ongeveer 1½ jaar (t+1), 5½ jaar (t+5) en 10½ jaar (t+10) na afstuderen benaderd. De alumni ontvangen een vragenlijst waarin wordt gevraagd naar de afgesloten opleiding, de arbeidsmarktintrede, het verdere verloop van de loopbaan, verworven en vereiste competenties en de opleiding aan de UM achteraf bezien. De drie vragenlijsten die jaarlijks worden afgenomen verschillen van elkaar, afhankelijk van het tijdstip van de meting. Voor alumni die na 1½ jaar een vragenlijst ontvangen, staat de arbeidsmarktintrede centraal. Met deze meting wordt meer inzicht verkregen in de overgang van de UM naar de arbeids¬markt. In de vragenlijsten die alumni 5½ en 10½ jaar na hun afstuderen ontvangen, staat het loopbaanverloop centraal.labour market entry and occupational careers;

MBO-diploma in tijden van crisis. Doorleren of werk zoeken?

Omdat Nederland in een economische malaise verkeert, zijn scholieren van het mbodie in de zomer van 2009 hun eindexamen hebben gedaan middels het School ExProgramma aangespoord om door te leren. Dit om een oplopen van de jeugdwerkloosheidtegen te gaan. Het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, hetMinisterie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid en het Ministerie van Landbouw,Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit hebben het Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs enArbeidmarkt (ROA) van Maastricht University gevraagd om, via een Quickscanonder de gediplomeerden, na te gaan hoe het deze gediplomeerden in het eerste halfjaar na het behalen van hun diploma is vergaan. In totaal zijn 20.000 jongeren, die hetmbo-diploma in het schooljaar 2007-2008 hebben behaald, benaderd. Uiteindelijkhebben ruim 3.200 de vragenlijst op internet ingevuld. In de voorliggende rapportagewordt over dit onderzoek verslag gedaan.labour market entry and occupational careers;