Call for Papers: 1st Forum Higher Education and the Labour Market (HELM)

Since the early 2000s, higher education in Germany has undergone fundamental changes. In addition to the replacement of the former Diploma by consecutive Bachelor and Master programmes, the past few years have been characterized, in particular, by a substantial increase in student enrolment. While in 2000 only 30 percent of an age cohort were pursuing a university degree, the corresponding figure in 2015 was higher than 50 percent. At the same time, the percentage of the respective age cohort obtaining a degree has almost doubled during this period, from a little below 16 percent to more than 31 percent. In the light of these developments, the question arises how these fundamental changes of the structure and content of tertiary education as well as the increase in the supply of highly qualified labour will affect the placement of graduates on the labour market. The aim of our workshop is to gather contributions that focus on the link between higher education and the labour market from different perspectives. Contributions might, for example, cover topics like:

• returns to tertiary education,
• overeducation among holders of tertiary degrees,
• labour market transitions of university drop-outs,
• job placement of graduates with different types of degrees (e.g., BA vs. MA, degrees in various disciplines, or from different types of educational institutions),
• implications of the increased take-up of university education for graduates’ placement on the labour market,
• regional mobility of university graduates.

We appreciate empirical contributions from various disciplines, in particular from Economics, the Social Sciences, and Education. Please submit a short abstract (500 words maximum) by May 31st 2018 to HELM@iab.de.

Please find further information on the workshops website