Employability in higher education: what it is, what it is not

This publication is intended to serve two purposes. First, it makes a case for employability as a set of achievements which constitute a necessary but not sufficient condition for the gaining of employment. Employability is, on the analysis presented here, considerably more complex than some proponents of ‘core’, ‘key’ and ‘transferable’ skills have suggested, and is strongly aligned with the academic valuing of good learning. The second purpose is consequential, in that this publication has considerable implications for curricular activities in higher education. The relationship between higher education and the economy has, for a long time, been a topic of debate, and the historical perspective is outlined in…