Time: May, 21 at 11.00 – 12.00 (Helsinki, EEST time)
Venue: Tampere University, central campus, PinniA 4014 and in Zoom
Registration for both online and onsite participation
Abstract:
The aim of this talk is to provide a more developmental and relational analysis of the graduate employment readiness/employability issue, which has come to dominate much higher education policy in recent times. The overarching policy narrative has been heavily framed by conventional approaches to human capital and skills which provide a hollowed-out conception of human agency and the role of higher education in its development. This talk presents an alternative relational approach which considers the role of higher education in developing graduates’ career resources, agency and future work identities. Underpinning this is a theme running across much of my research on student and graduate employment, which is the quest for meaning in and through future employment. The talk discusses the wider implications this re-formulation of human capital and capability has for graduates, institutions, employers and policy.
Speaker bio:
Michael Tomlinson is Professor in the Southampton Education School, University of Southampton, focusing on education, employment and employability. His research focusses largely on tertiary and higher education, and he’s interested in the nexus between higher education and labour markets, adopting a more critical lens on the issue of ‘graduate employability’. A theme in his work is how individuals approach their current and future employment, build career resources and future identities. He has also researched employers and academics in HE and written about wider debates about the public value of higher education. He has published widely in these areas.
Cover photo by Abderrahmane Meftah on Unsplash