Gerbrand Tholen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198744481
- eISBN:
- 9780191805714
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198744481.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management
This chapter examines the notion of graduate occupations and examines how occupational boundaries are structured within the four occupations. Various existing analytical approaches link graduate ...
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This chapter examines the notion of graduate occupations and examines how occupational boundaries are structured within the four occupations. Various existing analytical approaches link graduate occupations to skills use or requirements, high autonomy, or the prevalence of degree holders. These classifications cannot deal very well with the fact that what counts as graduate labour in a graduatizing and competitive labour market is symbolically negotiated (and therefore socially constructed). On top of this, substantive differences in skill requirements and job tasks make the use of existing classifications for distinguishing the graduate and non-graduate occupations challenging. The chapter also shows that many graduate occupations may lack the organizational power, occupational identity, or knowledge base for professionalization to develop.Less
This chapter examines the notion of graduate occupations and examines how occupational boundaries are structured within the four occupations. Various existing analytical approaches link graduate occupations to skills use or requirements, high autonomy, or the prevalence of degree holders. These classifications cannot deal very well with the fact that what counts as graduate labour in a graduatizing and competitive labour market is symbolically negotiated (and therefore socially constructed). On top of this, substantive differences in skill requirements and job tasks make the use of existing classifications for distinguishing the graduate and non-graduate occupations challenging. The chapter also shows that many graduate occupations may lack the organizational power, occupational identity, or knowledge base for professionalization to develop.
Gerbrand Tholen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198744481
- eISBN:
- 9780191805714
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198744481.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management
The expansion of higher education (HE) has been one of the most important changes to affect Western labour markets. More than a third of all British workers are now degree holders. The graduate ...
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The expansion of higher education (HE) has been one of the most important changes to affect Western labour markets. More than a third of all British workers are now degree holders. The graduate labour market is often understood as that part of the labour market characterized by high skills and high knowledge intensity and required in an increasingly complex economy. HE is presumed to be the developer of these advanced skills. Yet with the graduatization of the workforce come growing concerns about as well as misunderstanding of what jobs graduates occupy, how they utilize their skills, and education’s role within graduate work and the competition for jobs. The book examines some of the assumptions placed on graduate work, graduate jobs, graduate skills, and graduate careers. It provides valuable insights into how we can understand the meaning of graduate work within a rapidly changing economic, technological, and organizational context. Based on in-depth qualitative case studies on software developers, financial analysts, laboratory scientists, and press officers, the book shows that the graduate labour market is more heterogeneous than often is understood. What counts as graduate work remains contested and under constant reinterpretation and renegotiation. Also, access to work, job performance, and career advancement are not necessarily driven by university qualifications and skills associated with HE. The book begins to explore how, and to what extent, those workers with university degrees are defined by their educational experiences, status, and qualifications, mounting a powerful critique against the idealization of graduate work.Less
The expansion of higher education (HE) has been one of the most important changes to affect Western labour markets. More than a third of all British workers are now degree holders. The graduate labour market is often understood as that part of the labour market characterized by high skills and high knowledge intensity and required in an increasingly complex economy. HE is presumed to be the developer of these advanced skills. Yet with the graduatization of the workforce come growing concerns about as well as misunderstanding of what jobs graduates occupy, how they utilize their skills, and education’s role within graduate work and the competition for jobs. The book examines some of the assumptions placed on graduate work, graduate jobs, graduate skills, and graduate careers. It provides valuable insights into how we can understand the meaning of graduate work within a rapidly changing economic, technological, and organizational context. Based on in-depth qualitative case studies on software developers, financial analysts, laboratory scientists, and press officers, the book shows that the graduate labour market is more heterogeneous than often is understood. What counts as graduate work remains contested and under constant reinterpretation and renegotiation. Also, access to work, job performance, and career advancement are not necessarily driven by university qualifications and skills associated with HE. The book begins to explore how, and to what extent, those workers with university degrees are defined by their educational experiences, status, and qualifications, mounting a powerful critique against the idealization of graduate work.
Gerbrand Tholen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198744481
- eISBN:
- 9780191805714
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198744481.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management
This introductory chapter outlines the aim and the organization of the book. It starts off by explaining how the growth of higher education has changed the labour market. The labour market for ...
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This introductory chapter outlines the aim and the organization of the book. It starts off by explaining how the growth of higher education has changed the labour market. The labour market for graduate workers has never been so under pressure and in flux. The chapter outlines a range of trends that are changing the work of, and the demand for, graduate workers. It has become hard to define terms such as graduate occupation, graduate skills, and graduate careers as well as to define the role of higher education in work. It is this gap in our understanding that the book aims to tackle. The chapter describes the empirical sociological study on which the book is based and the organization of the book.Less
This introductory chapter outlines the aim and the organization of the book. It starts off by explaining how the growth of higher education has changed the labour market. The labour market for graduate workers has never been so under pressure and in flux. The chapter outlines a range of trends that are changing the work of, and the demand for, graduate workers. It has become hard to define terms such as graduate occupation, graduate skills, and graduate careers as well as to define the role of higher education in work. It is this gap in our understanding that the book aims to tackle. The chapter describes the empirical sociological study on which the book is based and the organization of the book.
Larry M. Gant
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- July 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190463311
- eISBN:
- 9780190463342
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190463311.003.0010
- Subject:
- Social Work, Communities and Organizations
Abstract: This chapter describes models and approaches of field instruction used by the UMSSW/TAC. The chapter presents an overview of field instruction models and essential student skills; it ...
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Abstract: This chapter describes models and approaches of field instruction used by the UMSSW/TAC. The chapter presents an overview of field instruction models and essential student skills; it discusses the use of traditional field instruction, use of specific student groups (e.g., Community-Based Initiative MSW students, Semester in Detroit undergraduate students), and VISTA volunteers. The chapter outlines the migration of field instruction from UMSSW/TAC staff to community governance organizations. The chapter summarizes the experience of efforts to coordinate multiple courses within the SSW and across institutional partner programs (e.g., Urban Planning and Public Policy). The limits and challenges of field instruction approaches are reviewed; benefits to community residents and the Good Neighborhoods Initiative are discussed. Lessons learned are generated from Foundation, Community Partners, Supervisors, and Students. The chapter ends with thoughts about field instruction as a strategy for community development.Less
Abstract: This chapter describes models and approaches of field instruction used by the UMSSW/TAC. The chapter presents an overview of field instruction models and essential student skills; it discusses the use of traditional field instruction, use of specific student groups (e.g., Community-Based Initiative MSW students, Semester in Detroit undergraduate students), and VISTA volunteers. The chapter outlines the migration of field instruction from UMSSW/TAC staff to community governance organizations. The chapter summarizes the experience of efforts to coordinate multiple courses within the SSW and across institutional partner programs (e.g., Urban Planning and Public Policy). The limits and challenges of field instruction approaches are reviewed; benefits to community residents and the Good Neighborhoods Initiative are discussed. Lessons learned are generated from Foundation, Community Partners, Supervisors, and Students. The chapter ends with thoughts about field instruction as a strategy for community development.
