The rewards of human capital competences for young European higher education graduates

Abstract

The labour market rewards for a number of required human capital competences are analysed using a sample of young European higher education graduates. Factor analysis is applied to classify competences by jobs into eight orthogonal groups, namely participative, methodological, specialised, organisational, applying rules, physical, generic and socio-emotional competences. Estimates for the total rewards for competences are obtained through conventional wage regression, whereas estimates of the total rewards are derived in terms of job satisfaction through ordered logit regression. Explanatory variables include personal characteristics, job attributes, occupational titles, fields of study, type of higher education institution and country dummies. Results on wage rewards show that jobs with higher requirements of participative and methodological competences are best paid; conversely, jobs with higher requirements of organisational, applying-rules and physical competences are worse paid. Results on total rewards suggest that jobs with higher requirements of competences increase graduates' satisfaction, the only exception being applying-rules competences.

Entrepreneurial skills and wage employment

“…All this research clearly demonstrates that skills and, particularly what Heckman considers as "soft skills" (Heckman and Kautz, 2012), bring positive and significant returns in the labor market. Using CHEERS data (Career after Higher Education -A European Research Survey), Garcia-Aracil et al (2004), for instance, show that what they call "participative" skills -which entail among others decision-making ability, assertiveness, and personal involvement -are the most rewarded in the European labor market. In another paper, also based on the CHEERS data, Garcia-Aracil and Van der Velden (2008) show that it is the jobs with higher "participative and methodological competency requirements" that pay higher wages to those who possess high levels of these skills.…”

What Kinds of Skills are Expected by Portuguese and Polish Employers?

“…They are grouped, for instance, in the work of Garcia-Aracil et al [2004]. Most of the typologies cover general skills connected with work or a job title [Garcia-Aracil et al, 2004]. One of the most popular, useful and applied to the job and educational market and context is a dichotomous division into hard and soft skills.…”

Aukštųjų mokyklų absolventų išsiugdytų bendrųjų kompetetingumų ir darbo rinkos poreikių atitiktis

“…• Aukštasis mokslas ugdo integruotą asmenybę, kuri gy vena sutardama su savimi ir aplinkiniu pa sauliu (Solbrekke, Karseth, 2006). Taip pat aukštasis mokslas ugdo asmens gebėjimą pasirinkti, priimti pagrįstus sprendimus ir elgtis atsakingai, didina produktyvumą ir ge bėjimą džiaugtis (GarciaAracil, Mora, Vila, 2004).…”

“…Duderstadt (2009), etc. The conceptualiza tion of generic skills that should be developed in higher education was defined by Heijke, Meng and Ramaekers' (2003), Rychen (2003), GarciaAracil & Mora, Vila (2004), Allen, Ra maekers & van der Velden (2005), Hager & Holland (2006), Campbell (2010, Keneley & Jackling (2011). The empirical findings of this paper were based on the survey of higher edu cation graduates from 5 countries (4 EU mem ber states, namely Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and EU associated state -Turkey) performed under the project "Higher Educa tion as a Generator of Generic Competencies" (2007Competencies" ( -2009 …”

“…• High er education develops an integrated personal ity who lives in piece with oneself and the sur rounding world (Solbrekke and Karseth, 2006). It fosters the ability of a person to choose, make reliable decisions and act responsibly, provides with increased productivity and greater capac ity to enjoy things (GarciaAracil, Mora, Vila, 2004).…”