Article

 

UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN THE LABOUR MARKET: FROM THE EMPLOYERS’ SIDE 
 
by
 
Dimitrios A. Giannias, University of Crete
Georgios A. Giannias, European Center for Economic and Technical Studies (EKOM)
 
JEL classification : I210, I280, I290
 
Abstract
This article presents the results of an analysis which is based on informaion that is collected through a questionnaire that was answered by firms in 1994. This provided information on the characteristics and qualities that are important for a successful career, the prospects of obtaining a job based on the subject of specialisation of the graduate, the effect of the type of the university of the graduate, the methods followed by organisations to attract, select, and eventually promote university graduates. The market researc performed in Greece in 1994 with the participation of a random sample of 113 enterprises (102 of which were located in Athens and 11 in Crete; the 75% of the enterprises of the sample employed over 25 people). 90% of the enterprises answered that they could employe university graduates majored in economics, 70% in computer science, and 40% in chemistry. The following factors were identified by at least 70% of the enterprises of the sample to be very important for an enterprise to offer a job to a graduate: the specialisation of the graduate (82%), previous working experience (77%), knowledge of a foreign language (72%), performance in interviews (88%). 90% of the enterprises answered that they identify their employees through people they know, the National Employment Agency (OAED), and CVs they keep in file. 45% of the decision to offer a job is based on the applicants CV and interview, while 80% of the enterprises declared that their decision depends on other factors. For a successful career, the most important factor were identified to be the communication skills, the performance, and the judgement of the employee. 75% of the enterprises offer some opportunities for further training to their employees (in house or not). Over 80% of the enterprises replied that their decision for the offer of a job does not depend on where the university degree is obtained. 65% declared that they hired at least one university graduate in the last year. Over 50% declared that they were not planning to hire new graduates in the next year. 45% of the enterprises were very satisfied from the graduates of the University of Crete. 90% of the enterprises believed that there are differences among university graduates and people who obtain their degrees from private educational organisations. Finally, factor analysis identifies 6 different groups of enterprises which are presented in the article.