Regional Differences in European Higher Education and Graduate Labour Market Success

The smooth transition from academia to the world of work, permanent contracts, well-paid positions and reasonable correspondence between education and work are not self-evident for European graduates in the 21^st century. The purpose of this paper is to explore the transition from higher education to the labour market, as well as the labour market success of graduates in three European areas. The study is comparative, focusing on three different regions; Northern, Central and Southern Europe.

The data consist of over 20,000 graduates who graduated in 1994 or 1995, and it was collected about five years after graduation. This data set forms a part of the larger CHEERS data. Labour market success is measured by using graduates’ annual gross income and their own evaluations about the correspondence between education and work as indicators. Labour market success will be explained with factors related to demographical elements, educational choices, competencies and work history. The data were analysed statistically by using logistic regression analysis as a basic method.

There are three main conclusions that can be drawn from this study. Firstly, we can sum up that the smoothness of graduates’ transition from higher education to work and the degree of labour market success they achieve varies greatly between the regions. Secondly, it can be said that higher education reproduces inequality in terms of gender and family background in each part of Europe. Despite the numerous years graduates have spent in schooling, demographic factors still hold decisive influence on graduates’ labour market success. Finally, this study reveals that higher education as such is not an adequate route to labour market success in any part of Europe. Rather, the choices made during one’s studies are more crucial.