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Graduate Employability in Context pp 87–107Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Critical Perspectives on Graduate Employability

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Abstract

Fundamental changes in the nature of UK Higher Education have led to an increased emphasis on the notion of Higher Education (HE) investment ‘paying off’ for individuals and society with graduate labour market outcomes increasingly being used to evaluate and demonstrate the value of this investment. For example, one of the four UK Performance Indicators (UKPIs) for HE is the employment of graduates (HESA 2016), some however, question the appropriateness of this as a goal of HE, arguing that there is a need for universities to emphasise the importance of university education beyond employability and ‘pay cheques’ (Redmond 2014). This is not a new debate and given the increased cost, both economic and social, of HE to individuals and society, graduate employability is an increasingly high-stakes issue. We argue that the significant focus on labour market outcomes as a proxy measure of the value of higher education – by individuals, policy makers and institutions – makes a critical reconsideration of graduate employability timely. We examine existing conceptualisations of graduate employability and consider the value of applying alternative theoretical perspectives to provide a more nuanced approach to conceptualising graduate employability, allowing us to move beyond the dominant perspectives of graduate employability that over-emphasise individual agency.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ulster University, Newtownabbey Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

    Ciaran Burke

  2. Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

    Tracy Scurry

  3. Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

    John Blenkinsopp

  4. Hull University Business School at Scarborough, Scarborough, UK

    Katy Graley

Authors
  1. Ciaran Burke
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  2. Tracy Scurry
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  3. John Blenkinsopp
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  4. Katy Graley
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Southampton Education School, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

    Michael Tomlinson

  2. Susanna Wesley Foundation, Southlands College, University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom

    Leonard Holmes

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Burke, C., Scurry, T., Blenkinsopp, J., Graley, K. (2017). Critical Perspectives on Graduate Employability. In: Tomlinson, M., Holmes, L. (eds) Graduate Employability in Context. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57168-7_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57168-7_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57167-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-57168-7

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