‘When it comes to what employers are looking for, I don’t think I’m it for a lot of them’: class and capitals in, and after, higher education^*

* This quote from Paul was selected during the full cohort analysis as a title for the piece as it usefully summarises the experience of many participants in the labour market after graduation.

ABSTRACT

Much research on adults in higher education has focused on issues of access and participation. As a result little is known about what happens to working-class students after leaving university even though employability is high on the agenda HE research on this topic in relation to such students is sparse. This research focuses on the voices of working-class students and their aspirations in relation to employability. Using two student narratives this paper draws on the findings of two countries, England and Ireland, from a six-country European project on employability of non-traditional students using biographical research methods. Their stories reveal an awareness of class inequalities in the labour market in relation to cultural, economic and social capital and issues of locality, gender and age. The stories also indicate a sense of precarity in their lifecourse in a society which has become highly reflexive and fluid (Alheit, P., and B. Dausien. 2002. “The ‘Double Face’ of Lifelong Learning: Two Analytical Perspectives on a ‘Silent Revolution’.” Studies in the Education of Adults 34 (1): 3–23).

KEYWORDS:

• Non-traditional students
• employability
• class inequalities
• biographicity
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

* This quote from Paul was selected during the full cohort analysis as a title for the piece as it usefully summarises the experience of many participants in the labour market after graduation.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by EU Erasmus + [grant number 2014-1-UK01-KA203-001842-TP].