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The purpose of this paper is to show the effects of the six competence areas of Garcia-Aracil and Van der Velden (2007) on new graduates' labor market success measured by salary.

The paper starts with a literature review about the role of competencies in higher education. Then the Graduate Career Tracking System (GCTS) carried out at the University of Pécs (UP) in Hungary provides a good basis to understand the competence assessment methodology better. Furthermore, GCTS is suitable for carrying out an exploratory, a confirmatory factor analysis and an OLS regression to discover the connection between competencies and level of income.

The analyzed results, using a representative online survey based on 6,190 respondents, show that the six competence sets do exist, but that not all of them have a significant effect on salaries. With the control variables involved, 24.3% (EFA) and 23.0% (CFA) of the global competencies account for variance in salaries. The impact of methodological and the socioemotional set on salaries can be clearly seen among those with new degrees, and based on the results and the literature review, the HEIs can improve them.

In the absence of nationwide general competence assessment, the results are limited only for the UP graduates of Hungary, even if this HEI is one of the biggest ones.

Based on the results, more soft-competence development courses and opportunities should be offered by the HEIs.

The findings of the study help us to understand the role of the institutions in tertiary education, the extra service to be provided to assist students in being successful in life. Based on the literature review, there is a need to understand better the connection between competencies and labor market success. This paper contributes to this and also presents an opportunity for further comparative research. The sample is robust to allow other researchers to use this conceptual model and apply it to other countries.

The purpose of this paper is to add supplement to the theory of human capital with a less researched aspect: diversification possibilities of the professional profile. Our empirical analysis tested the research question, whether there is a significant difference between diversificational and specialist career strategies in the BA-MA transition based on labour market data on salaries and time of getting employment.

Present study analyses data from the Graduate Career Tracking System from 2011 to 2015 and the Integrated Administrative Databases from 2017. Graduates of master's courses were divided and compared in three groups: generalists, specialists and field changers. To evaluate career strategies the measurement of success was based on salaries and the time taken to get jobs.

The analysis showed that there are visible differences between the results of the three groups regarding factors of employment, so at the time of reaching the absolutorium a lower rate of major subject changers are employed, while field changers get jobs significantly faster. Based on net salaries we could not reveal a difference between major subject retainers and changers, while field changers earn significantly more.

Specialists (major subject retainers) have jobs that match with their degree and specialty outstandingly, field changers have notably weaker matches, while major subject changers differ only minimally. Considering this it may be due to distorted perception that specialists think the least that their master's studies are essential for the proper execution of their jobs.

In the literature review we found a research gap: Although there is a large number of excellent works analysing the effects of education on wages (salary curve) and career, but only a few of them investigates the impact of the professional portfolio (diversification or specialisation). The novelty of our research is that we developed a new methodology to test this question on example of the Hungarian students of business and economics focused.

Based on empirical data, this study investigates the intention of BA/BSc students in higher education to either pursue their studies or start working.

This paper analyses how students' attitudes towards higher education and studying (quality of undergraduate education and performance in higher education), as well as the intention to meet labour market needs, influence the decision of pursuing studies in a Master's programme.

The main reason why respondents do not intend to pursue their studies is not because they do not want to work. It is primarily the acquisition of knowledge and the motivation to learn that encourages students to stay in higher education. Moreover, individual performance in Bachelor programmes has no influence on the decision made by students to study or work after graduation.

As for the limitations of the study, the authors have to mention that although the survey is based on data from a single country, the similarity of the international and Hungarian previous research results suggests that similar results would have been obtained in an international sample. Furthermore, the impact of the current ongoing epidemic on the further learning of young people in tertiary education at primary level could not be investigated by the authors.

The bivariate logistic regression results show that the correlation between secure job placement in a field of study and the quality of education is not significant. Furthermore, students are primarily motivated by the desire to learn and acquire knowledge. The reasons can therefore be explored based on the analysis of more detailed data, which could be the subject of a subsequent study.

The authors conducted their research in Hungarian higher education at seven universities between 2019 and 2020 to determine the influencing factors of career choice decisions, the degree of students' satisfaction with their selected course, their attitude towards higher education and learning, their job opportunities after graduation and the extent to which their decision is made according to their labour market orientation. Although the study relies on data from a single nation, the similarity between the findings of previous international (Hovdhaugen and Ulriksen, 2021; Sikyr et al., 2019); and Hungarian (Berezvai, 2022; Kiss and Varga, 2022) research suggests that an international sample would have produced similar results.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and interpret the critical quality attributes of core educational services at the course level both with student and lecturer involvement. Significant differences between the viewpoints of these two directly involved stakeholder groups are also demonstrated to provide a better understanding of student expectations.

Students of quality management courses were invited to collect those attributes that could have an impact on their perceived educational service quality. The compiled list of 23 characteristics has been formed on the basis of a four-point Likert scale-based questionnaire. With approximately 360 responses, thorough statistical analyses have been executed to investigate whether any significant differences could be detected between the quality attributes perceived by the different student segments. A group of lecturers has also been invited to fulfil the same questionnaire to compare their viewpoints with those of the students.

The results allow us to identify critical quality attributes which may be used in all platforms and interactions with students. The conclusions can be implemented on the course level to adjust the plan-do-check-act-based improvement of courses in which lecturers are directly interested.

As the new generation of students increasingly regard themselves as customers, they have become more aware of how they are taught and how they participate in the learning process. Institutionalizing this approach may contribute to the shaping of the organizational quality culture by emphasizing student focus and may result in the identification of best practices and standardization of processes at the course level.

This chapter seeks to provide insights into a hitherto neglected topic – that of gender segregation among those who have taken part in vocational education and training (VET). In spite of a growing body of work on the link between educational and occupational segregation by gender, relatively little attention has been given to the specific role played by VET in facilitating gender-specific occupational segregation. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) for 20 European countries and comparable macro data from different European sources, the study examines the extent to which cross-national differences in the gender-typical or atypical occupational allocation of vocational graduates aged 20–34 can be attributed to VET-specific institutional differences.

The findings are consistent with earlier research showing the protective role played by VET in reducing non-employment levels. The findings in relation to the gender-typing of work are somewhat surprising, as they indicate that VET system characteristics make relatively little difference to occupational outcomes among women, whether or not they have a VET qualification. Slightly stronger, but still modest, relationships are found between VET system characteristics and occupational outcomes for men. Male VET graduates are more likely to be in a male-typed job in systems with a higher proportion enrolled on vocational courses. In tracked systems, however, they also tend to be more likely to enter female-typed jobs. In systems where VET prepares people for a wider range of occupations, a VET qualification can act as a protective factor against non-employment, at least for men.

This paper aims to extend the scope of previous studies on education-occupation mismatch to explicitly focus on the role high school track choices have on the risk of being mismatched in the labor market.

The paper uses the most exhaustive available database regarding the early-career paths of university graduates in Romania. Using a novel matching technique, entropy balancing (EB), our study relies on multinomial logit models and logit regressions to estimate the effect of the completed high school track on the likelihood of being mismatched in the labor market. The empirical analysis focuses on two types of education-occupation mismatches: horizontal and vertical mismatches.

We show that studying a different field in college compared to the completed high school track increases the risk of being skill mismatched in the first job after graduation. Five years after college graduation, the influence of the high school track fades, while being skill mismatched in the first employment plays a more important role. In contrast, we find no evidence that pursuing a college major unrelated to the completed high school track increases the probability of being overeducated. However, being overeducated in the first job increases the risk of being overeducated five years later.

The study brings new reliable evidence on the extent to which high school track choices may contribute to the risk of being mismatched in the labor market.

This book chapter uncovers the black box of PreK-12 African American male students’ experiences and outcomes as a result of their participation in career and technical education. Theoretical and scientific literature – related to benefits and challenges of African American male students’ educational experiences in career and technical education and school reform initiatives that may contribute to their educational outcomes – is discussed. Additionally, recommendations for educational research, practice, and policy are summarized providing future directions for educational and noneducational stakeholders to consider on how career and technical education may serve the unique needs of African American males.

Explains that fast‐track programmes have traditionally been the preferred mechanism for recruiting and developing high potential graduates to become the senior management cadre of the future. However, many recent changes within organizations have led to more fluid structures that no longer support traditional hierarchical career progression opportunities. Presents a qualitative study of 20 major fast‐track recruiters which was designed to explore the philosophies, strategies, and human resource management policies and practices used to manage the careers of the fast‐track population, within the current context. Demonstrates that for many organizations, owing to internal and external changes, there has been a shift in career philosophy. Organizations are revising their career management policies and practices, to reflect the “new deal” offered to fast‐track graduates. Highlights some apparent paradoxes between organizations’ career philosophies, policies and practices and the fast‐track philosophy.

The study aims to examine the factors that determine the success of graduates in the labour market. This success is measured in several ways, namely, above-average wages in the economy, employment in accordance with the field of study and job satisfaction. The research explores the employment outcomes of graduates from Jagiellonian University, which is the oldest and one of the best in Poland. Not only does the analysis focus on degree-related predictors such as discipline or faculty, but it is also extended to include activities undertaken during studies and family background.

The analysis is based on data collected in the graduates' career survey, which is conducted six months after graduation. For this article, a database of over 6,000 graduates from four subsequent editions of the survey was compiled. In order to identify the predictors of graduates' success, a logistic regression model was applied.

The study reveals that graduates' success in the labour market is influenced not only by their discipline, but also by the activities undertaken during their studies, the type of studies and demographic features. Studies in natural sciences give chance for higher earnings, job matching and satisfaction. The humanities and social sciences increase only graduates’ group satisfaction. The impact of activities during studies is diversified – those matched to studies increase the job matching and those unmatched lower the earnings, job matching and satisfaction. Parents' level of education resulted in salary increase. The results also confirm the premises of behavioural theory.

Firstly, the main research limitation is that data of one particular university's graduates are used, so the results should be interpreted in the context of Poland only. Secondly, the authors propose a precise concept of success; however, it could be refined in any future study. This limitation could be mitigated by the flexibility of the model, which guarantees that other predictors of success could be involved. Furthermore, the article was based on data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the labour market was completely different, so it also could be revised now.

The results of the analysis can be used when preparing the University’s educational offer. Since various predictors are implemented in the model, the information could be useful not only for future students, but also for current students, so they can make a more data-driven decision about their future careers. Additionally, University careers’ advisors are provided with knowledge on the determinants of graduates' success. Taking a broader view, the research findings are also informative for labour market institutions.

The paper offers an advanced analysis in a field that is under-researched in many transition countries, including Poland, i.e. graduates' entry into the workplace. Although the study provides insight into the factors that determine the labour market success of one particular university's graduates, this modelling can be applied to the empirical data of another higher education institution’s (HEI's) graduates.

The purpose of this paper is to point to the inefficiency of the Italian educational system as a key factor of persistent differences between the distribution of incomes (skewed) and that of talents (normal), stated in the Pigou paradox. In fact, against the intention assigned to it by the Italian constitution, the educational system is designed in such a way to reinforce, rather than weaken, the current unequal distribution of incomes.

The authors study the socio‐educational background of AlmaLaurea graduates by way of correlation and regression analysis. The AlmaLaurea databank is the most important source of statistical information of its type in the country. The authors, consider several indicators of performance, such as the probability of getting a degree, the final grade achieved and the length of studies.

Parents’ educational level appears to be the main determinant of the grade achieved at secondary high school and at the university. The effect of family background on children's success at the university is not direct, but through the high school track. In fact, although any secondary high school gives access to the university, nonetheless lyceums provide students with far higher quality of education than technical and professional schools. Parental background affects also the length of studies, which suggests that the indirect cost of tertiary education is much higher for those with a poorer educational background and limited means.

Increasing the average educational level was one of the promises of the “3+2” university reform implemented in 2001. This objective has been achieved only in part, due to the continuing high indirect cost of tertiary education, which particularly affects individuals with limited means. More coordination in the interpretation and implementation of the aims of the reform would have prevented the main actors of the reform from failing it. School tracking should be reformed so as to allow more consideration for low school grades in the choice of parents and provide more on‐the‐job training to students in the professional/technical schools.

The paper proposes an interpretation of the Pigou paradox in Italy, based on the inefficiency of the university system, due to the peculiar school tracking and the ensuing high indirect cost of education. On this, the paper provides new circumstantial evidence based on the AlmaLaurea database almost ten years after the “3+2” reform.