Higher Education Employability Programmes and Experiences

A Comparative Analysis of Italy, Nigeria and Palestine

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25749/sis.25656

Keywords:

employability programmes, higher education, labour market, skills, comparative analysis

Abstract

The employability of young graduates has gained increasing importance in the world of work of the 21st century. Higher education (HE) institutions churn out millions of graduates annually to the labour market, but at the same time, employers highlight their lack of requisite skills to sustain employment opportunities. The literature extensively illustrates the relevance of employability programmes in supporting the connection between these two parties throughout the educational process. This paper presents the findings of a comparative analysis on the extent to which HE institutions' employability programmes in Italy, Nigeria, and Palestine promote career development skills in young adults.  The analysis highlights different backgrounds and levels of structuring of the programmes for reducing youth unemployment. Nonetheless, a common trend is observable in the strong synergy with stakeholders in the development and organisation of programmes in order to respond to labour market requirements and students’ aspirations.

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Author Biographies

Glenda Galeotti, Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology, University of Florence, Italy

Researcher in Adult and Continuing Education at the Department of Education, Languages, Interculture, Literatures and Psychology of University of Florence, Italy. Her main research interests focus on education for social innovation and local development, heritage education, career education and guidance.

Debora Daddi, Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology, University of Florence, Italy

PhD student in Education and Psychology at the Department of Education, Languages, Interculture, Literatures and Psychology of University of Florence, Italy. Her research interests concern Adult Education and the transitions from higher education to the world of work, with a particular focus on the professionalisation processes of education professionals.

Oyekunle Yinusa, Department of Adult Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria

Lecturer in the Department of Adult Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria with a specialisation in Entrepreneurship in Adult Education. His research interests include Entrepreneurship Education Delivery, Young Adults' Employability, and Manpower Training and Development Education. He has seven years of professional work experience at the University of Lagos and has conducted several research projects which have yielded fifteen (15) publications in both national and international journals of high repute. He belongs to six (6) memberships of professional and academic groups and has received seven (7) scholarships, awards, and grants.

Abdallah Al-haddad, E-learning Unit, University College of Applied Sciences, Palestine

Lecturer in the Deanship of Information Technology and head of e-learning unit at the University College of Applied Sciences (UCAS), Gaza, Palestine, specialized in e-learning.  His research interests include using e-learning technologies in adult education, Youth Employability, freelancing and entrepreneurship. He has 13 years of experience in assisting graduates to find their job opportunities through working at UCAS as a head of Alumni Unit and working as a consultant in employability field with many local NGOs.

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Published

2022-06-30