Business graduates and management jobs: an employability match made in heaven?

Abstract

The rapid growth in undergraduate business education over the last three decades has coincided with the growing dominance of an economic ideology of higher education (HE); that its role is principally one of contributing to national competitiveness through the development of graduate ‘employability’. In particular, undergraduate business education has been promoted as one means by which to address long‐held concerns about managerial skills shortages in the UK and employers’ criticism over the work‐readiness of graduates. There are concerns, however, about the extent to which HE is able to adequately prepare graduates for employment. Drawing on data drawn from a questionnaire survey of 1999 graduates, four years after graduation, and a programme of follow‐up qualitative interviews, this article reports on the experiences of recent business and management graduates. In particular this article explores the relationship between skills developed on undergraduate programmes and those subsequently used in employment, particularly in managerial careers.

Keywords:

• employability
• management
• skills
• graduates
• higher education
• labour market

Notes

1. The Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC2000) was used to disaggregate the sample by occupation, and major group 1 (‘Managers and senior officials’) is used to identify those working as ‘managers’. SOC2000 is based on two concepts: the job and the skill. The main tasks of managers and senior officials include the direction and coordination of the functioning of organisations and businesses, including internal departments and sections. Most occupations in this major group require significant knowledge of the administrative and production processes and the service requirements for efficient functioning of the organisation (ONS 2000).