This article proposes that in France, following recent rapid expansion in access to education, new interest has developed in the relationship between higher education and employment. The impact of this concern on the structures of higher education and the flow of graduates is examined, and the situation of graduates in the labor market, currently…

The inadequacy of current information exchange between higher education and the labor market in the Czech Republic is discussed, focusing on how the structure of higher education affects this situation. Proposed higher education legislation that reflects new expectations about the match between higher education and labor requirements is also…

Dramatic changes in Poland's economy since adoption of a free market and parliamentary democracy in 1989 are chronicled, and resulting changes in the occupation structure, vocational and higher education, earnings, and unemployment are examined. The experiences of other Western countries suggest that a strategy of flexibility and adaptation in…

This article proposes that efforts to coordinate higher education and employment of graduates depends on both the educational structure of the population and the structure of employment opportunities, making comparison across countries difficult. The situation in Europe, and particularly in Finland in relation to other countries, is examined.…

An examination of the relationship of higher education and employment in Spain looks at: issues in the internal debate over the relationship; the evolution of the job market within the Spanish economy; existing analyses of employment trends and labor needs; and the response of Spanish universities to graduate employment problems and the…

This article considers the problem of vocationalism in Norwegian higher education at the institutional and individual level and uses case studies of curriculum changes at the University of Oslo to examine the university's relationship to the labor market, effects of externally funded research, and academization of the labor market. (DB)

A discussion of labor force development worldwide, especially as it relates to use of new technologies, looks at the interplay of such factors as demand for and supply of appropriately trained workers and the world's changing demography. Policy considerations in matching supply with demand are examined. (MSE)

Discussion of technical/vocational education in Portugal looks at the system's recent history, characteristics, and the influences of class stratification and industrial demand. Recommendations include reform in college/university admissions policy, universal exposure to technical/vocational education, specialized training for economic…

Analysis of recent vocational education reforms in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak republics looks at the nature of modernization efforts and structural changes, and the role of foreign assistance and international cooperation. Current initiatives are seen as an attempt to catch up with the Western world of the 1970s. (MSE)

Government policy around the world is heavily influenced by a human capital perspective. Education systems are pressed towards developing young people for their roles in the labour market: in the UK this is signalled in the term employability. Curricula differ in the ways in which they respond. Data are provided from three recent UK surveys that…