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Navigating the graduate labour market: the impact of social class on student understandings of graduate careers and the graduate labour market

Burke, Ciaran; Scurry, Tracy; Blenkinsopp, John

Authors

Tracy Scurry

John Blenkinsopp



Abstract

Significant expansions in higher education over the last few decades have raised concerns about an over-supply of graduates in the labour market, such that a degree no longer seamlessly translates into a graduate career or occupation, with the increased life chances this could bring. In this paper, we report a study of undergraduates’ perceptions of graduate careers and the graduate labour market. As the data showed perceptions were shaped strongly by social class we applied a Bourdieusian theoretical lens to examine the role of capitals and hysteresis of habitus on students’ expectations. The study demonstrates how the classed nature of the graduate labour market manifests itself through differences in the level of understanding and preparedness for navigating the labour market. We highlight the structural barriers ‘non-traditional’ graduates face when entering and navigating a volatile graduate labour market.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 3, 2019
Online Publication Date Dec 26, 2019
Publication Date Aug 1, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 24, 2019
Publicly Available Date Jun 27, 2021
Journal Studies in Higher Education
Print ISSN 0307-5079
Electronic ISSN 1470-174X
Publisher Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 45
Issue 8
Pages 1711-1722
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1702014
Keywords graduate employment, habitus, hysteresis, knowledge economy, social class, labour market, career
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4073439
Related Public URLs https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/251725

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Higher Education on 26/12/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2019.1702014.





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