Nick Wilton

Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case of business and management graduates

Two dominant rationales are offered by UK policymakers for the continued expansion of higher education: to service the high-skill labour requirements of a knowledge economy, and to increase educational and employment opportunities for under-represented groups. The discourse of employability connects these two rationales in a simplistic manner. Individual employability is described as both the means by which to obtain and maintain high-quality employment and to eradicate the social reproduction of inequality. However, evidence drawn from a survey of graduate careers suggests that for a cohort of recent business and management graduates, the relationship between employability and employment is far from straightforward. The data suggest that traditional labour market disadvantage still appears to be an impediment to achievement, regardless of the extent to which graduates develop employability skills during their undergraduate studies.

The impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for business and management graduates

It has become a received wisdom that the completion of a work placement as part of a sandwich undergraduate degree is of positive benefit both to graduates and employers, particularly in an era that stresses the economic contribution of higher education through developing graduate employability. This benefit is twofold: first, work placements positively contribute to the development of generic employability skills; and second, placements provide a ‘head start’ for graduates at the outset of their careers. This article explores the value of a work placement in these two areas for a cohort of business and management graduates who completed their undergraduate studies in 2003, drawing upon both longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data. Whilst the qualitative data provides a positive assessment of the benefits of a work placement, the quantitative data suggests a more complex relationship between work placements, skills development and labour market outcomes.

Business graduates and management jobs: An employability match made in heaven?

The rapid growth in undergraduate business education over the last three decades has coincided with the growing dominance of an economic ideology of higher education (HE); that its role is principally one of contributing to national competitiveness through the development of graduate ‘employability’. In particular, undergraduate business education has been promoted as one means by which to address long‐held concerns about managerial skills shortages in the UK and employers’ criticism over the work‐readiness of graduates. There are concerns, however, about the extent to which HE is able to adequately prepare graduates for employment. Drawing on data drawn from a questionnaire survey of 1999 graduates, four years after graduation, and a programme of follow‐up qualitative interviews, this article reports on the experiences of recent business and management graduates. In particular this article explores the relationship between skills developed on undergraduate programmes and those subsequently used in employment, particularly in managerial careers.

Employability is in the eye of the beholder: Employer decision-making in the recruitment of work placement students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the findings from an exploratory research project investigating perspectives on the recruitment of work placement students among a diverse sample of employers in order to disentangle what constitutes student “employability” in the eyes of these employers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on data collected in 30 detailed qualitative interviews with managers responsible for the recruitment and selection of work placement students in a wide range of organisational settings. Findings – The paper identifies multiple facets of employability that are the explicit or implicit focus of student recruitment and highlights the often subjective, unknowable and shifting criteria used to select among similar candidates for employment. Research limitations/implications – Despite the richness of the data, the restricted sample of managers interviewed limits the degree to which the findings can be generalised. It provides, however, a strong rationale for a grea...

Strategic Choice and Organisational Context in HRM in the UK Hotel Sector

Human resource management in the UK hotel industry is typically held to be informal, instrumental and associated with poor employment relations. Some studies, however, have identified incidences of more formal, high-commitment HRM indicating greater diversity in employment practices. Using original research undertaken in south-west England, this article examines this diversity and the influence of organisational context in the formation of HRM strategy. By identifying patterns of employee relations practice it is possible to examine the influence of market factors and establishment size and the extent to which there is scope for strategic choice in HRM. The research indicates that whilst larger hotels operating in stable product markets might be more likely to display formal or strategic approaches to employee relations compared to the industry as a whole, this sub-sector still appears significantly divided in the extent to which managers feel able, willing or compelled to invest in associated practices.

Under-Funded and Overwhelmed: The Voluntary Sector as Worker Representation in Britain's Individualised Industrial Relations System

The majority of British workers are non-unionised. They face grievances at work alone. For the low paid among them, the main source of advice and support is the voluntary sector, in particular the Citizens Advice Bureaux and Law Centres. This article presents findings from a survey of front-line employment advisers in Citizens Advice Bureaux and Law Centres that show how under-funding by government at a time of rising demand from workers has affected the service they are able to provide and the quality of their own working life.

The path of least resistance? Choice and constraint in HRM strategy in the UK hotel sector

Guerrier and Deery (1998) suggest two central questions that are recurrent in HRM research in the hotel sector. Firstly, to what extent is the work of hospitality managers influenced by the industry context? Secondly, to what extent do hospitality managers engage in reaction or reflection? In this chapter, research-exploring patterns of HR practice and policy in the UK hotel sector will be used to address these questions. The chapter discusses the factors that appear to be influential in determining HRM strategy across the hotel sector and how different approaches to HRM translate into employee relations’ practices in respect of employee involvement and participation, skills utilisation and employment flexibility. In particular, it discusses the contextual pressures on HRM in the sector, particularly those relating to labour and product markets, the extent to which HR managers in the sector are able to formulate a range of strategic approaches and how HRM strategy relates to wider competitive strategy.

The impact of partnership and family‐building on the early careers of female graduates in the UK

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the impact of partnership and family‐building on the aspirations, expectations and orientations to work of a sample of highly qualified women working across a range of industry sectors.Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on both qualitative and quantitative data collected in a longitudinal study of the early careers of UK graduates, incorporating both a large‐scale questionnaire survey and detailed interviews with a sample of respondents.Findings – This paper highlights the persistence of gender asymmetries in both employment and domestic partnership and shows the complex decision‐making process which determines career prioritization among equally highly qualified partners. It also provides evidence of change in the values, priorities and orientations to work and the work‐life balance of UK graduates as they progress through early career development.Practical implications – The extent to which highly qualified women use (and are sometimes precip...