Doctoral education and employment in the regions: the case of Catalonia

Abstract

Even though the doctoral degree was originally designed for an academic career, there is an increasingly important labour market for doctorate holders outside academia, mainly because of a shortage of job opportunities within it. Doctoral degrees are granted only by universities; thus, universities are the only suppliers of the doctoral workforce to the labour market. Understanding the needs of non-academic employers is thus crucial if universities are to adapt their doctoral education curriculum. Many studies have analyzed labour markets for doctorate holders at national and transnational scales, but few studies focus on the regional scale. The present study explores regional data for Catalonia in Spain on the employment situation of doctorate holders in order to define the characteristics of the regional, nonacademic labour market for doctorate holders. Descriptive statistics suggest a high retention rate of doctorate holders within the region and a large part of doctorate holders (two-thirds) having a job that does not require a doctoral degree. This study highlights the existence of a skills mismatch that might be linked to the preference for a better paid or more stable job, or to the lack of development of skills that represent added value in the eyes of employers. These characteristics can be formulated as hypotheses to be tested in further qualitative or quantitative studies. They have several implications for universities, nonacademic employers and regional policy-makers, such as the need to work on the valorization of the doctoral degree in the non-academic labour market.

Doctoral education in Europe: models and propositions for transversal skill training

“… Universities should improve their doctoral curriculum to enhance employability of their graduates for and nonacademic jobs by inviting industry professionals in teaching and supervision of doctoral students (EC, 2011a). Although the demography of doctoral students and industry employers are uniquely different, universities should adapt its curriculum to meet diverse needs of regional employers (Germain-Alamartine, 2019). Where applicable, professional doctorates programme can be substituted with traditional doctorates to provide doctoral candidates with deeper insights into various skills required by industry (Germain-Alamartine and Moghadam-Saman, 2020).…”

“…Industry recruiters require a combination of technical skills and transversal skills such as ability to work with others, business management and project management (De Grande et al , 2011), leadership, people management, project management, collaborative and interpersonal skills, needed to gain employment in industry positions (Rodrigues et al , 2018). Although academic career is the primary destination of doctorate holders (Germain-Alamartine, 2019), private enterprises are increasingly becoming a career option for PhD graduates because of the expansion of private sector research and development capacity (Germain-Alamartine and Moghadam-Saman, 2020). Research evidence shows that type of discipline determines the extent to which transversal skill training can be integrated into academic programs.…”

Anchoring talent to regions: the role of universities in graduate retention through employment and entrepreneurship

“…While studies on graduate retention tend to focus on urban contexts, more attention is needed to retention dynamics in peripheral regions and non-metropolitan areas. Benneworth and Fitjar (2019) show that, in peripheral regions, there are substantive challenges associated with the "absorption" of graduates on both the supply and demand sides, leading to skill mismatches and graduate underemployment (see also, Evers, 2019;Germain-Alamartine, 2019). Moreover, given their lower concentration of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and high-tech manufacturing, peripheral regions tend to be less capable of absorbing graduates' supply (Pinto et al, 2015;Bonaccorsi, 2017).…”

Forecast of the Number of Doctorate Holders in Russia

“…В этих публикациях рассматриваются карьерные траектории докторов наук, их преимущества на рынке труда. Также обсуждается вопрос о совместной подготовке докторов наук образовательными организациями и промышленными предприятиями [22].…”