ERIC Number: EJ752133
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0952-8733
EISSN: N/A
The Labour Market Perceptions of High Achieving UK University Graduates: The Role of the First Class Credential
Smetherham, Claire
Higher Education Policy, v19 n4 p463-477 Dec 2006
This article reports the main findings of research examining the labour market perceptions, orientations and experiences of UK university graduates with First Class Honours degrees, the UK's highest level of degree classification. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with 50 graduates holding a First Class degree, it explores how they perceive the role their credentials served in the competition for jobs and careers. While having a First may give them a positional advantage at the initial stages of recruitment, graduates recognize the importance of such factors as personal capital, soft skills and employability. However important these traits are, in practice, those with First Class degrees orient themselves to the labour market in different ways.
Descriptors: Graduates, Credentials, Labor Market, Education Work Relationship, Foreign Countries, Competition, Social Capital, Interpersonal Competence, Employment Qualifications, Employment Potential, Interviews, Student Attitudes, Job Skills, High Achievement
Palgrave Macmillan. Brunel Road, Houndmills, Bassingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS, UK. Tel: +44-1256-357893; Fax: +44-1256-328339; e-mail: subscriptions@palgrave.com; Web site: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/hep/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A