C.M. Meng

Fitting to the job: the role of generic and vocational competencies in adjustment and performance

This paper provides new insight into the role of generic and vocational competencies during the transition from education to the labor market. Using data on the labor market situation of Dutch higher education graduates, we analyze the allocation over different educational domains, the incidence of on-the-job training and its impact on wages. The results reveal the different roles of competencies. Vocational competencies influence positively the chance of being matched to an occupation inside the own domain. Generic competencies influence positively both the chance of being matched to an occupation outside the own domain and the training participation.

An investigation into the role of human capital competences and their pay-off

In this paper, the role of three different types of competences in the labour market for higher education graduates is investigated. The article distinguishes discipline‐specific competences, general academic competences and management competences, the first being an example of competences acquired at school, which are of direct use in the labour market, the second being a type of competences also acquired in school, but which fulfil an indirect role by facilitating the acquisition of new competences after graduation from school, and the third, management competences, being an example of competences acquired mainly in a working context and, like discipline‐specific competences, being of direct use in that context. This paper shows that, first, the level of discipline‐specific competences obtained in higher education offers a comparative advantage for graduates working inside the own discipline‐specific domain, and therefore has a pay‐off for those graduates who are able to find a job in this domain; second, the management competences are valued in the labour market but seem to be more likely acquired in a working context than in higher education, and third, the general academic competences acquired in higher education do not pay off directly, but have a significant supportive role when learning competences that have a direct pay‐off in the labour market, like management competences, but are more likely acquired outside education.

The effects of higher education programme characteristics on the allocation and performance of the graduates

Using a unique European data‐set, we investigated the significance of five higher education programme characteristics for the labour market position of the graduates: the academic versus discipline‐specific character of the competencies generated; the standardization of these competencies; the combination of working and learning; the internationalization; and the exclusive entrance to particular occupations. Our results reveal the importance of the competence orientation. Graduates are allocated in such a manner that the competence orientation of the programme is in congruence with the competence orientation of the occupation. We will also show that the standardization of the programme allows for higher earnings.

University and college differences in the returns to education in japan and the netherlands

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Competition for talent: retaining graduates in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine

ABSTRACT Graduates are considered a convenient source of human capital in today’s knowledge-based economy. It is therefore crucial to understand what drives their mobility intentions to retain larger numbers of graduates. This is particularly true for peripheral regions, which need to compete with economic centres that are assumed to be more attractive. This paper adds a euregional perspective to the existing literature on graduate migration by investigating whether or not students intend to stay in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) after graduation. It takes into account the role of hard and soft locational factors, social factors as well as individual characteristics in shaping future graduates’ mobility preferences. Using survey data from 2015 from five higher education institutions in the EMR, this paper finds that mobility intentions are determined by students’ perceptions of the quality of life, openness and career opportunities in the euroregion. In addition, distance to the partner and other social ties such as family and friends influence migration intentions.