![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
Abstract
In a context of considerable changes in the labour market and higher education sector in the UK, a discourse of employability has become increasingly dominant. Universities are urged to ensure that they produce ‘employable’ graduates, and graduates themselves are exhorted to continually develop their personal skills, qualities and experiences in order to compete in the graduate labour market.
Drawing on a study of ‘non‐traditional’ graduates from a post‐1992 inner‐city university in England, this paper offers a critical appraisal of the discourse of employability. In contrast to assumptions of a level playing field in which graduates’ skills and personal qualities are the key to their success in the labour market, social class, gender, ethnicity, age, disability and university attended all impact on the opportunities available. It is argued that the discourse of employability, with its emphasis on individual responsibility and neglect of social inequalities, has potentially damaging consequences for these graduates.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Becky Francis and Barbara Read for very helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
Notes
1. Percentage based on the number of people graduating from higher education first degrees during the year as a percentage of the population at the typical age of graduation.
2. While employers received 37.2 applications on average for every graduate vacancy in 2001–2002, this figure increased to 42.1 applications in 2002–2003 (AGR, Citation2003). This strong competition between ‘entrants’ to the labour market has been identified as a particular pattern of youth employment in the UK (Couppié & Mansuy, Citation2000).
3. Firsts results from a survey conducted by Sloan and O’Leary at the University of Wales (Guardian, May 31 2005) reveal that rates of return are not as high as supported by the Government when defending its plans to set up top‐up fees (£150,000 down from £400,000).
4. Identification of ethnicity was based on self‐definitions in relation to the categorisation used on the university enrolment forms. This data was recoded in four categories to provide groups of sufficient size for statistical analysis, although we recognise this risks disguising difference. In the qualitative data, students’ own definitions were used.
5. Throughout the paper, the age group corresponds to the age at date of entry back in 1999.