CHEERS I (abgeschlossen 2006)

Period

  • 1997 - 2006

Researchers

  • Meike Rehburg
  • Harald Schomburg
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrich Teichler
  • Alexis-Michel Mugabushaka
  • Volker Jahr

The aim of the research project "Higher Education and Graduate Employment in Europe" was to analyse employment and work of graduates from institutions of higher education in nine European countries during the first few years after graduation.
From autumn 1998 to spring 2000, about 3,000 graduates each from nine countries in the European Union (Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), one EFTA country (Norway), one of the Central and Eastern European countries in transition (the Czech Republic) and one economi-cally advanced country outside Europe (Japan) provided information through a writ-ten questionnaire on the relationship between higher education and employment three to four years after graduation. In total, over 40,000 graduates from higher education institutions answered questions on their socio-biographical background, study paths, transition from higher education to employment, early career, links between study and employment, job satisfaction and their retrospective view on higher education.

The study provided a unique opportunity to examine the extent to which the relationship between higher education and the world of work are similar or different among the Western European countries. This became clearer through the inclusion of one country each from the Central and Eastern European countries and one country outside Europe. The study also helps to understand the common elements and differences between various fields of study and occupational areas. It helps to look at current salient issues of higher education, i.e. equality, the role educational levels play, the demand for specialized or general competencies, the growing role of international mobility and of life-long education, the regional diversity in higher education. Last not least, the study allows examining the extent to which socio-biographic backgrounds, educational experiences and achievements as well as the transition process determine early career and links between competencies and work assignments.

The study was supported by the Europena Commission in the framework of the Targeted Socio-Economic Research Programme.   

Project Output

Aguilera, J. et al. (eds) (2003). Educación superior y empleo: la situación de los jóvenes titulados en Europa. La encuesta CHEERS. Granada: Universidad de Granada 2003.

Aracil, A. G. (2003). Labour Market Analysis for European Higher Education Graduates. Ph.D. thesis, Departament d'Anàlisi Económica, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.

Brennan, J. et al. (2001). The Employment of UK Graduates: Comparisons with Europe and Japan. London: Open University  (HEFCE Report 01/38).

Guggenberger, H., Kellermann P., and Sagmeister, G. (2001). Wissenschaftliches Studium und akademische Beschäftigung. Vier Jahre nach Studienabschluss - Ein Überblick. Forschungsbericht. Klagenfurt.

Javier, V. G. (ed) (2003). Métodos de análisis de la inserción laboral de los universitarios. Consejo de Coordinación Universitaria (Madrid); Universidad Leon, Secretariado de Publicaciones y Medios Audiavisuales, Leon.

Kôtôkyôiku to shokugyô ni kansuru kokusai hikaku chôsa – yôroppa-gawa hôkoku (ooshûiinkai heno hôkoku) kara no bassui (International Comparative Study on Higher Education and Employment: Excerpts from the Report by the European Side to the European Commission). Tokyo: Nihon Rôdô Kenkyû kikô 2003 (Shriô shirizu, no. 135.

Mohr, J. et al (2000). “Studieren zum Erfolg. Die Berufschancen der Studenten”. DER SPIEGEL, 46.

Murdoch, J. (2002). The Effect of the Reputation and the Teaching Quality of Higher Education Departments on Graduate Employment – A Comparison across 7 European Countries and Japan. Ph.D. thesis, IREDU, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.

Sáenz de Miera, A. (ed) (2002). En torno al trabajo universitario. Reflexiones y datos. Madrid (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Cuadernos del Consejo de Universidades).

Schomburg, H. et.al. (eds) (2001). Erfolgreich von der Uni in den Job. Regensburg, Düsseldorf und Berlin: Fit for Business.

Teichler, Ulrich (Hg.) (2007): Careers of University Graduates. Views and Experiences in Comparative Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer (Higher Education Dynamics, 17).

Teichler, Ulrich; Schomburg, Harald (2006): Higher Education and Graduate Employment in Europe. Results from Graduate Surveys from Twelve Countries. Dordrecht: Springer.

Yoshimoto, K., Inenaga, Y., and Nakajima, H. (eds) (2004): Ôshu no kôtôkôiku to rôdôshijo (Country Reports on Higher Education and Labor Market in Europe and Japan). Hiroshima: Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University (Reviews in Higher Education, no. 77).

Yoshimoto, K. (ed) (2001). University and Work in Europe and Japan - A Survey Report on Higher Education and Work among Twelve Countries. Tokyo: Japan Institute of Labour (report no. 143) (in Japanese).