Higher education and the labour market

1. Higher education and the labour market Andrée Sursock, EUA OECD February 2007

2. Higher education’s response: • The boundaries between university/industry have become very porous: e.g., contract research and university spin-offs • In terms of governance, trend for external members on university boards, including employers or employer representatives • In terms of the curriculum: • stress on learning outcomes • flexible learning paths, ECTS and accreditation of priori learning, including work experience • development of a qualifications framework at European level shaped by HEIs, students, trade unions, employers and governments

3. Higher education’s response: • In terms of teaching methods: student-centred learning • In terms of student records: the Diploma Supplement • In terms of quality assurance: including employers on evaluation panels • Access issues: • outreach to secondary schools and to minority students. • working with vocational higher education institutions

4. What more needs to be done? • Strengthening research partnerships with industry • Developing career services and in general student services to deal with “first-generation” HE students • Promoting lifelong learning and recognition of informal learning • Implementing learning outcomes • Rethinking student assessment • Convincing universities and employers that it is possible to get a job after the first cycle • Encouraging work experience between cycles • Promoting a discussion about the kinds of graduates we need for the 21st Century