Employability - Thematically related activities

The REFLEX project is a large-scale European survey among higher education graduates with partners from fifteen countries. It focuses on the demands that the modern knowledge society places on higher education graduates, and the degree to which higher education equips graduates with the competencies to meet these demands.

In a German Tracer Studies Co-Operation Project (KOAB) higher education institutions work together on building a system of graduate surveys close to decision-making that are supposed to contribute to the quality development of higher education (course development, quality management, re-accreditation).

The OECD Skills Outlook 2015 shows that improving the employability of youth requires a comprehensive approach. While education, social, and labour market policies have key roles to play, co-ordination between public policies and the private sector is also crucial. The publication, which builds on the results of the 2012 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) presented in the first edition of the Skills Outlook, also presents examples of successful policies in selected countries.

The European Commission is organising a University Business Forum, held almost every year since 2008, which brings together higher education institutions, companies, business associations, intermediaries, and public authorities. The Forum looks at the current situation in university-business co-operation and at what policy initiatives and programmes are needed to support this. The last Forum took place in Brussels in 2015 and the next is being organised for spring 2017. A thematic forum with special emphasis on employability has been held in Berlin in 2014.

The European University Association has initiated projects dealing with employability in the context of doctoral education: DOC-CAREERS I (2006-2008) and DOC-CAREERS II (2009-2012).

The projects achieved greater awareness of skill developments and mobility strategies in doctoral training in Europe with a view of career development and employability; promoted the benefits of tracking doctorate holders' careers; gained empirical insights for reforming doctoral programmes; improved regional cooperation and networking in a dialogue with different potential employers; widened the dialogue with potential employers; assisted the building of lasting partnerships, networks and joint initiatives aimed at improving collaboration between private and public sectors.

A Eurydice report entitled Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Access, Retention and Employability was published on 22 May 2014.  This is the second report in a series following the evolution of the modernization agenda for higher education in Europe, following a 2011 report on funding and the social dimension.

In May 2016, the German Academic Exchange Service together with the Cologne Institute for Economic Research published the most recent research on Graduates with international experience in the German labor market.The study focuses on the importance of international mobility experiences of graduates for their transition into the labour market and includes a broad literature review.