Shaping our Own Future in the European Higher Education Area
Convention of European Higher Education Institutions
Salamanca, 29 - 30 March 2001

Presentation:

A. Scope, Interdependence, Purpose of Topic and Method of Approach

B. The Human Being vis-à-vis the Labour Market (incl Self-employment):
Relevant Features and Changes

C. The Labour Market and Higher Education: Elements and Correlations

D. The Labour Market and Higher Education: Practical Trends, Consequent Structural Requirements and Programmatic Action

E. Employability on the European Labour Market: Programmatic Theses and Consequences

A. Scope, Interdependence, Purpose of Topic and Method of Approach

Employability on the European labour market with a view to future layout of academic study programmes must

describe the elements which are characteristic for the modern labour market, including self-employment (see B below);
consider these elements in two contexts, namely (vertically) as constituents of a comprehensive reality of the labour market, and (horizontally) in correlation to academic targets, skills, programmatic and didactic features (see C below);
name the consequences to be derived from these elements in their (vertical and horizontal) entirety for course structure and subsequent programmatic action (see D below);
condense the analysis thus gained into an agenda addressed to institutions of higher education, to politics, and to the general public alike (see E below).

B. The Human Being vis-a-vis the Labour Market (incl Self-employment) and Society: Relevant Features and Changes

1. Differentiation and Acceleration of Activities; in various fields:

) technological progress ("revolution") and high-standard, knowledge/research based economies: communication and information technology, biotechnology, medicine, energy, nano-technology, also law and economics, et al
b) expectations of society/demand on social standards and ethics: democracy, peace, justice and welfare; multi-culturalism; environment; standards and good practice in medicine; "good management" and "good government"
c) essential: safeguarding "technical" expertise and social coherence simultaneously

2. Internationalisation/ Globalisation/Mobility

) world-wide markets: e-commerce, logistics, transport and communication
b) competition: people and products
c) mobility/internationality: of people, and/or of minds (at least)

3. New Social Patterns

) more women in employment
b) more students in higher education: complementing needs of society and labour markets ?
c) ageing societies: extending life-time in employment and ensuring qualification
d) part-time, part-of-life-time: maintaining qualification and social integration
e) short term ("project") employment: openmindedness, flexibility, and mobility

4. More Individuality - less Typification

) " pursuit of happiness" versus "stereotyped patterns": individualism, emphasis on self- motivation, "feel-good" approach
b) labour market demands for differentiation: see B. 1 and 2 (above)

5. Increasing Need for Cooperation in Society and in Teams

) Sharing and linking capabilities and talents: motivating and organizing
b) Society, democracy and politics: building conviction and rallying support

6. Deregulation and Retreat of State Administration

) Consequence of B. 1, 2, and 4 (above)
b) Regulation by competitiveness ("market standards") instead of regulation by standards defined by law

C. The Labour Market and Higher Education: Elements and Correlations

to be read horizontally and vertically

D. The Labour Market and Higher Education: Practical Trends, Consequent Structural Requirements

E. Employability on the Labour Market: Programmatic Theses and Consequences

1. Matching employability and academic studies:

a) Universities recognize and acknowledge that there is a fair expectation of students and
society alike for study programmes to be both valid academically and relevant to the labour market, including self-employment.

b) Universities are convinced that this expectation can, as a rule, be met not only without sacrificing core virtues of academia but by emphasizing them: for key characteristics of academic studies strongly coincide with features of the modern labour market.

c) These features and virtues are: encouraging and developing imagination and circumspect approach; working by means of hypothesis and verification; employing method and system; acquiring and applying substantial knowledge; integrating traditional experience and novelty; developing a sense of social skills as to cooperation, organisation and motivation in project teams of diverse talents and expertise and in an open, democratic society.

d) The diversity of professional demands and job requirements, the rapidity of change, the variety of international standards, new patterns in employment and self-employment, in social strata and personal designs of life make it imperative to offer flexibility in study courses in order to meet the multitude of individual aspirations and of labour market expectations.

e) Diversity and change cannot be met by first-degree study programmes which are intended to produce "ready-mades"; training on the job and in specialist programmes are inevitable. Primarily, diversity and change call for openness with regard to intellect and mentality, developed by targeted flexibility of programmes which feature the key elements of academic studies (as pointed out under E. 1 c) above).

f) Flexibility of academic study programmes means, and extends to: providing a multi-tier structure of courses, including elements of lifelong learning and distant, also media-based, learning; a multiplicity of "entrances" and "exits", building "bridges" between qualifications and practical experience alike; linking core academic abilities with social skills in a democratic, open society based on cooperation.

g) While university study programmes are to be structured in a multi-tier system, each of them should not be steered by indifference and incoherence but must meet well-defined targets. In general, the purpose of university study programmes can be described as follows: while fostering academic expertise and developing character to the personal benefit of the individual are indispensible aims, study programmes should, as a rule, also consider transferability of academic approach and experience into the sphere of public engagement in self-employment, jobs, and in a society based on cooperation of equals.

h) This guideline of targeting also applies to the internal structure of study programmes. Each of them must, while matching academic standards, be composed of elements which are responsive to the features outlined under E. 1 c) above. They must indicate to what extent its elements contribute to realizing these features. This expectation applies both to the design of the structural elements of the course and to their didactic principles.

2. Making the aim of employability on the European labour market achievable in the world of academia:

a) Accreditation and evaluation are means of safeguarding quality and diversity in lieu of state regulation, making quality transparent. The accrediting authorities must make the response of university programmes to the expectations of an international labour market in all its aspects - multi-tier, flexible yet transparent and coherent system of courses, targeting courses to qualities relevant to self-employment and the labour market; target orientation of the entire programme structure and of its elements and didactics - a decisive factor for accreditation, along with considering the academic and personal values of a study programme in the traditional sense.

b) In redesigning study programmes accordingly, universities are aware of the fact that client-orientation (i.e., bearing students' and society's expectations as described under E. 1. a) in mind) without sacrificing academic standards and virtues is a key factor for steering university programmes. This induces competition among universities.

c) Client-orientation and competition require, as well as promote, mobility. Safeguarding employability on a European, even global, labour market as an aim calls for transnationality in all aspects and by all means.

d) Competition is only workable when universities are permitted to be, and become, truly autonomous, responsive and flexible institutions. State regulation on admittance, on course and examination structures, financial constraints as well as a state monopoly on university financing are incompatible. Universities accept the entrepreneurial aspect of their operations and realize that this requires them to decide and act accordingly; they must revise their internal structures and decision-making process in order to be able to do so.