The effects of work experience during higher education on labour market entry: learning by doing or an entry ticket?

Weiss, Felix; Klein, Markus; Grauenhorst, Thomas

doi:10.1177/0950017013506772

Cited by 76 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Following recent contributions (Robert and Saar, 2012;Weiss et al, 2014), we argue that university students may decide to work not only to pay for tuition fees or to gain financial independence, but also because work experience could represent an advantage in the job-seeking process as a graduate. Indeed, one should consider that, nowadays, competition among tertiary graduates in the transition to the labour market is likely to be stronger than in the past.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Work experience during higher education and post-graduation occupational outcomes: A comparative study on four European countries

Passaretta

Triventi

2015

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

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This article examines the relationship between work experience acquired during higher education and post-graduation labour market outcomes in four European countries: Germany, Italy, Norway and Spain. A theoretical framework that shows in which institutional contexts work experience may be a 'competitive advantage' for young graduates is developed. In the empirical analysis, data from the Higher Education and Graduate Employment in Europe (CHEERS) and Research into Employment and Professional Flexibility (REFLEX) surveys are used to examine the effect of a typology of student employment (accounting for both length and coherence of work experience with the field of study attended) on several occupational outcomes 4-5 years after graduation. The empirical results show that, in Italy and especially in Spain, work activities during tertiary education are associated with better labour market positions after graduation: any type of work experience increases employability and reduces the risk of unemployment, and furthermore, previous work experience -especially when coherent with the field of study -decreases the probability of skill mismatch in future occupations. The effect of student employment, however, is smaller for most outcomes in Germany and negligible in Norway.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Work experience during higher education and post-graduation occupational outcomes: A comparative study on four European countries

Passaretta

Triventi

2015

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

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“…For instance, Weiss et al (2014) have shown that field-specific work experience before graduating from higher education smoothens graduates' labour market integration in Germany. It would be worthwhile to investigate whether such qualitative differences within fields matter more in terms of labour market returns than in former times.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The association between graduates’ field of study and occupational attainment in West Germany, 1980–2008

Klein

2016

J Labour Market Res

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Over the course of higher education expansion and growing numbers of graduates, employers are supposed to have increasing difficulties to regard a higher education degree as reliable signal for productivity. As a consequence, they may take into account 'qualitative' differences such as graduates' field of study more often than in previous times when hiring labour market entrants. Both from a supply-and demand-side perspective graduates from humanities, social services or arts may be increasingly disadvantaged in terms of labour market outcomes compared to graduates from science, technology, engineering and mathematics over time. The article tests this argumentation by assessing changes in the relationship between graduates' field of study and risk of unemployment as well as access to the service class in West Germany between 1980 and 2008. Changes in returns to field of study may contribute to growing (social) inequalities among graduates amidst educational expansion and are therefore important to consider. Based on Microcensus data, the results show that field of study differences in terms of both labour market outcomes did not increasingly diverge over time. The paper concludes that due to a limited educational expansion and the prevalence of an occupationally segmented labour market higher education remains a good investment in terms of labour market returns in West Germany irrespective of graduates' field of study.

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“…Despite the impressive research on curricular internships and the public discourse encouraging the use of such strategies, many questions remain unanswered. First, evidence on the practical benefits of internships tends to be based on students [36] or employers (see, for example, [30,[37][38][39][40][41] expectations and perceptions. In fact, there seems to be an absence of empirical research cross-checking the perspectives of the main stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of internships (degree coordinators, supervisors), whose perceptions have been 'terra incognita' in this domain.…”

Section: Internships Within the Knowledge Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education

et al. 2019

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Curricular internships are increasingly seen as an effective strategy capable of contributing to the objectives and targets of the sustainable development paradigm, both in its social, economic and institutional dimensions. This positive outlook is ingrained within the large bulk of existing research, which has been focused on the discussion of positive outputs, such as the enhancement of graduates competences (employability) and their work integration (employment). An important, albeit relatively unexplored, feature of the sustainable institutional politics of curricular internship management pertains to the assessment of its associated liabilities and tensions. This article seeks to address this challenge, by analyzing two interrelated dimensions. First, it seeks to understand the internship processes ranging from the planning to the implementation stages. Second, it elicits the associated negative aspects (the 'lunar side') of internships, allowing for an assessment of the features where there is room for improvement. Empirically, this article draws on in-depth qualitative research. It presents the results of four focus groups, voicing the perceptions of top management structures and students involving first cycle degrees in the areas of Marketing, Management, and Accounting from four public Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)-three polytechnics and one university. Findings confirm the general positive outlook of internships. Perceived negative perspectives report to both internal problems (such as the lack of institutional support and curricular design) and external problems (e.g., the shortage of suitable internship placements), constituting barriers towards sustainable institutional policies and strategies. Adaptive strategies to overcome specific difficulties are highlighted (e.g., establishment of advisory committees with local businessmen). Finally, recommendations regarding curricular internship management at HEIs are delineated (e.g., investment in monitoring and evaluation strategies of internships).

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The effects of work experience during higher education on labour market entry: learning by doing or an entry ticket?

Cited by 76 publications

References 36 publications

Work experience during higher education and post-graduation occupational outcomes: A comparative study on four European countries

Work experience during higher education and post-graduation occupational outcomes: A comparative study on four European countries

The association between graduates’ field of study and occupational attainment in West Germany, 1980–2008

The ‘Lunar Side’ of the Story: Exploring the Sustainability of Curricular Internships in Higher Education

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