Over-education in the graduate labour market Literature review

Over-education in the graduate labour market - Literature review Example The UK economy has increased the number of graduates in the labour force in the past two decades. In the UK, six in every ten individuals is a graduate. More people have refused to settle for the school exams such as GCSEs or A-levels by going a step further to get graduate level education. Among the European Union countries, the UK has the highest number of adults who have graduate-level qualifications (Zhang, 2007). Despite the financial crisis, investment in higher education in the UK is still high. The share of graduates has grown by 10 per cent, but the prevalence of overeducated graduates has remained stable at 30 percent (McGuiness, 2006). More women and the youth from minority groups have pursued higher education in recent years. These two groups have seen a better presentation in the graduate group than the workforce. Studies also show that graduates expect to get graduate level jobs three years or later after graduation and has settled for the idea to build a foundation for their careers (Zhang, 2007, p.46). In other studies, it is right to say that higher education may not be recognising the potential of non-traditional students. Only traditional students have higher degree classifications, higher satisfaction ratings in terms of experience and better outcome in the workforce. Graduates stand greater chances of attaining employment than non-graduates. They also stand a better position to hold management level jobs than the latter. Research also shows non-graduates between the ages of 21 and 30 have the highest rate of unemployment (Walter & Zhu, 2007). With time, graduate’s wages increase annually unlike that of non-graduates. Nonetheless, there are some jobs that are non-graduate, which require graduate skills from a degree. Most employers are focusing on skills and quality than knowledge. It is common practice, therefore, for graduates to take up a non-graduate job or voluntary work to add to their CV. According to research, approximately