Jannecke Wiers-Jenssen

Does Higher Education Attained Abroad Lead to International Jobs

This article investigates the early career of graduates who have studied abroad (mobile students) compared to graduates who have undertaken the entire education at domestic higher education institutions (nonmobile students). The main question is to what extent mobile students get jobs with international assignments compared to nonmobile students. Results show that mobile students—particularly those who graduated abroad— more often than nonmobile students search for and gain work experience abroad. The vast majority of mobile students return from abroad after graduation. In the domestic labour market, mobile students hold jobs with more international assignments than nonmobile students.

Labour market outcomes of higher education undertaken abroad

The aim of this article is to analyse the transferability of higher education undertaken abroad to a domestic labour market. More specifically, how do Norwegians who have undertaken their education abroad cope on the labour market compared to those who have a corresponding education from Norway? To examine this, we analyse short‐term labour market careers among graduates. Three measures of labour market outcome are investigated: job probability, skill mismatch and wages. Results show that education undertaken abroad has both positive and negative effects on labour market outcome. Graduates with a foreign degree have a lower job probability and a higher risk of over‐education relative to home graduates. But among the employed, ‘abroad’ graduates have higher wages. The latter is explained partly by more abroad graduates than home graduates being employed in the private sector. Highest job probabilities are found among those who have parts of their education from abroad. The main results are significant and robust across models, but the quantitative differences in labour market outcomes between abroad and home graduates are relatively small.

Foreign Diploma Versus Immigrant Background Determinants of Labour Market Success or Failure

This article compares the labour market situation of graduates with different types of international background. The authors look at four groups of graduates: immigrants and ethnic Norwegians graduated in Norway and immigrants and ethnic Norwegians graduated abroad. By employing multinomial logistic regression analyses the authors find that ethnic Norwegians educated abroad face a higher risk of labour market mismatch in terms of unemployment and overqualification than Norwegians graduated domestically. Non-Western immigrants had an even higher risk of unemployment and skills mismatch, regardless of the origin of their education. The results indicate that education from abroad is not fully transferable to a domestic labour market and, in addition, that forms of discrimination against non-Western immigrants exist.

Background and Employability of Mobile vs. Non‐Mobile Students

In this paper, a comparison is made of the background and the early career of graduates with higher education from abroad to graduates with all domestic degrees, based on a survey among Norwegian graduates. Results show that those who have studied abroad constitute a selected group regarding social origin and mobility capital (exposure to international experiences). Exchange students have a higher performance score from upper secondary school than others. Regarding labour market outcomes, positive as well as negative effects of education from abroad are seen. Graduates with a diploma from abroad face more challenges entering the labour market, but obtain higher economic rewards compared with other graduates. Exchange students do not seem to encounter any particular difficulties in the transition from higher education to work. Exchange students as well as mobile degree students obtain more international jobs than non-mobile students. The relative success of exchange students is partly explained by selectivity.

Degree Mobility from the Nordic Countries Background and Employability

Full-degree mobility from Western countries is a topic that has been little researched. Existing literature tends to be normative; mobility is seen as an advantage per se. In this article it is questioned whether mobility is an advantage when investigating degree mobility and employability of students from the Nordic countries. Results show that students who undertake a full degree abroad constitute a selected group regarding social origin and “mobility capital.” Overall, the employability of mobile and nonmobile students is fairly similar, and there is little evidence that degree mobility enhances employability. But the mobile degree students are more likely to hold international jobs in the domestic labor market; hence mobility has an impact on “horizontal” career opportunities. Degree mobility implies a risk of brain drain, and the authors find that a substantial proportion of students from Finland, Denmark, and the Faroe Islands stay abroad after graduation. Norwegian and Icelandic students are far more likely to return to their home country. It is suggested that this pattern is not only due to labor market opportunities but also due to the structure of public support schemes. Generous support systems encourage a larger number of students to go abroad, not only the most dedicated. Widened participation is seen to result in more students returning to their country of origin.

Higher Education in the Nordic Countries : Evaluation of the Nordic agreement on admission to higher education

The Nordic agreement on admission to higher education aims to ensure that in all the Nordic countries applicants to higher education from another Nordic country should be considered for admission o ...

Employability and Mobility of Norwegian Graduates Post Bologna

A new degree structure in Norwegian higher education was implemented in 2003 following the “Quality Reform” (Ministry of Education and Research, 2001). It follows up the objectives of the Bologna Process in the European higher education and aims at the implementation of a 3 + 2 + 3 degree system with a Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD structure in accordance with European standards. The reform also introduced a new grading and quality assurance system in line with the Bologna Process.

Transition from higher education to work: are master graduates increasingly over-educated for their jobs?

In this paper we address the transition from higher education to work among graduates with a master’s degree, with a particular focus on over-education. We relate to an ongoing debate on whether too many students undertake a master’s degree, and the consequences a surplus of graduates may have. Our data show that the transition from higher education to work has not become much more difficult during the period 1995–2013, despite a huge increase in the number of graduates. Unemployment rates fluctuate, but were lower at the end of the period than at the beginning. Regarding over-education, we find an increase at the beginning of the observation period, but a striking stability in years when the number of graduates rose sharply. When considering all educational groups together, we find no association between the number of graduates, business cycles and the prevalence of over-education. However, we find some exceptions when looking at different subject fields.

Paradoxical Attraction? Why an Increasing Number of International Students Choose Norway

Between 2000 and 2015, Norway has experienced a large increase in the number of international students compared with many other countries. At first glance, this may seem paradoxical considering that Norway is a country with few well-known universities, a high cost of living, and a geographical location on the northern fringe of Europe. This article sheds light on why more students find their way to Norway. Global trends of increased student mobility as well as EU policies influence the flow of students to Norway. Nevertheless, national higher education policies and in this development. Courses in English and more active partnerships with higher education institutions abroad have been established to attract international students. Furthermore, tuition fees are not charged in state-owned universities and colleges, and this has become a comparative advantage in an era when institutions in other countries are introducing or increasing tuition fees for national as well as international students. Asking the international students themselves about their motivation for studying in Norway, we find that the rationale is pragmatic rather than related to perceived quality. Their choices still appear rational; they get free higher education in a safe country, and increase their career opportunities.

Russian Students in Norway – Facts and Figures

The number of Russian students in Norway has increased substantially since the turn of the millennium. This chapter addresses different aspects of being a Russian student in Norway; motivation for studying abroad, assessment of educational quality, challenges related to studying in Norway, and future career plans. The factors students rate as most influential regarding choice of Norway as a study destination are absence of tuition fees, improving career possibilities in Norway, a peaceful and safe society, technologically advanced society, and English-taught programmes. This illustrate that academic as well as non-academic and more pragmatic reasons are important. Exchange students strongly emphasise the importance of institutional exchange agreements, which illustrates that decisions on where to study depends upon the opportunity structure. Russian students have a more positive assessment of the teaching, feedback and learning environment than other international students, however, getting to know Norwegians and dealing with the high cost of living is more difficult than expected. Interaction with Norwegians is limited, but this is also a challenge for students of other nationalities. The majority of Russian students are interested in remaining in Norway upon graduation. Russian exchange students are clearly more interested in this than other international students.