The rise in tuition fees and the resultant financial burden on university students within England has seen a growing emphasis placed on the importance of securing paid employment on graduation in the context of an increasingly globalised and multi-culture economy. Globalisation has contributed to fiercer competition: employment opportunities that enable UK students to achieve the minimum threshold to start repaying their tuition loan and meeting financial exigencies are challenging, and this competition is likely to increase with the UK aiming to recruit the best talents from the rest of the world to fuel its economy.
The world’s globalised and multi-cultured economy no longer confines to specific geographical locations. This presents consequences for how university graduates are to be positioned for jobs within an economy that has taken a much more global dimension. For instance, most higher education institutions in the past were funded by states to serve the purpose of the nation in providing a work force that will serve local economies or advance the cause of regional and national development. Today, the dynamic is different and the world is sometimes referred to as a global village or, as Friedman said, a flat world with many people being able to access jobs in different regions and from different geographical locations. Consequently, it is imperative for different nations, universities and their graduates to be able to engage in this evolving economic context in an attempt to boost both graduate employability and national economies. The idea of graduate engagement is not limited to graduates finding jobs but also includes their ability to retain them in a rapidly evolving economy. The rest of the blog can be accessed here!
Dr Marcellus Mbah 