A qualitative study on a perceived skills gap in Amsterdam:
Exploring university and vocational students’ perceived competencies
in relation to the perceptions and demands of social sector employers
Master Thesis
Spring - Summer 2016
Leoni Fohr - 10177515
leoni.fohr@student.uva.nl
MSc Sociology: Social Problems and Social Policy
Thesis supervisor – Dr. Agnieszka Kanas
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Table of contents
1. Introduction………..
5 – 7
2. Theoretical framework………..
8 – 18
2.1 Functions of education……… 8 – 10
2.2 Function assessment through students’ eyes…….……… 10 – 11 2.3 Employers’ perceptions on education……….. 12 – 13 2.4 Required skills: Is there a gap?... 13 – 14 2.5 Perceived necessary skills: The social sector………. 14 – 15 2.6 Dutch higher education policy measures………. 15 – 16 2.7 Employability, soft & hard skills………. 16 – 18
3. Research questions……… 18 – 20
3.1 General student/graduate perceptions……… 18 – 18 3.2 Differences between UvA and HvA………. 19 – 19 3.3 General perceptions employers & social entrepreneurs………. 19 – 19 3.4 Differences between employers & social entrepreneurs……… 19 – 20 3.5 Differences between all stakeholders……….. 20 – 20
4. Research methodology………..……….….. 21 – 26
4.1 The social domain….…..….………..……….…. 21 – 21
4.2 Subthemes & documents……….…………. 21 – 22 4.3 Selection criteria and research design……….. 22 – 23 4.4 Data collection process……… 23 – 26
5. Findings……….………….……… 27 – 36
5.1 The experience gap ……… 27 – 28 5.2 University’s perceived gap.………….………..……… 28 – 29 5.3 Employers and entrepreneurs’ perceptions …….……… 29 – 31 5.4 Differences between employers and entrepreneurs..………..…. 31 – 32 5.5 Overall mechanisms……… 33 – 35 5.5 Additional findings ………. 35 – 36
6. Conclusion……… 37 – 38
7. Discussion………. 38 – 39
8. References……… 40 – 42
8.1 Internet resources………...
43 – 45
9. Appendix……… 46 – 51
9.1 Interview questions……….. 46 – 47 9.2 Interview transcription……… 47 – 50 9.3 Male/female ratio at the UvA …………..……… 50 - 50 9.4 Respondent groups details……….. 51 - 514
Foreword
Long before I started writing the proposal for this thesis, I had a very clear idea in mind what I wanted to write about. I learned a lot studying a BA in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and thereafter a MA in Sociology at the UvA. However, I still have a hard time putting in words what marketable skills and competencies I actually acquired during all these years. What capabilities have I learned? I spent most of my time practicing academic writing, critical thinking, researching. But what about more practical skills I might need later on? For me ‘later on’ is getting closer and closer: soon I’ll be out of the academic bubble, in the real world and hopefully working an actual job. Am I ready for that? Was I unprepared before? What does it mean to be ready? And can I compete with other higher educated graduates? I have found that I wasn’t the only one concerned with these questions. I often had conversations with peers, and ended up jokingly calling our generation stuck in the ‘twenties crisis’. So many fellow students, especially those currently studying at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the UvA, felt like they weren’t equipped to get a job in a highly competitive job market and meet expectations employers would have. With the purpose of preventing a possible lack in certain abilities, I began to acquire more practical, vocational skills by joining various committees and student association boards, taking on internships and attending a labour market preparation program. In addition, I quit the hospitality sector and joined a more formal Dutch company to gain experience in a professional business setting.
Following these experiences, I gained insight in the Dutch labour market, learned more about my own strengths and weaknesses, and how to function within a bigger organization. All of this, however, had to take place alongside my studies, which was challenging at times. However, I was among the students lucky enough to receive a basic student grant. Since September 2015, Dutch students don’t have that luxury anymore, which most likely will make part-time work, extracurricular activities and internships more challenging (Van Elk et al., 2011: 10). This could have adverse consequences on students’ perceived skills and competencies, and the demands of employers: involvement in such activities enable higher education students to gain vocational skills and competencies and therefore likely increase their job skills in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive labour market.
This study researches to what degree a perceived skills gap is currently present in Amsterdam, and subsequently goes into reasons behind a potential gap. Students and graduates from the UvA and HvA are interviewed, with the purpose of pinpointing differences between these institutes, within disciplines and social tracks regarding labour market preparation and allocation. Furthermore, the experiences of HR-employers and social entrepreneurs in the Amsterdam social sector are taken into account, in order to generate a more overall picture. Together, these different perspectives form the foundation for new and profound practical insights regarding a possible skills gap on a local scale. The general aim is to firstly provide clarity about the perspectives of various stakeholders, and subsequently contribute by presenting practical policy recommendations for higher education establishments and employers in Amsterdam and beyond. Finally, I would like to thank all the participants for their time, effort and insights. Furthermore, I would like to give a word of appreciation to my supervisors, Agnieszka and Barbara, for their feedback and advice, which greatly helped develop and improve my research.
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1. Introduction
According to the director of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), today's students generally lack the personal skills, awareness and basic self-discipline that is essential in the workplace. From turning up to the office in flip-flops to struggling to make eye contact with co-workers, Mr. Longworth calls many new employees “ill-prepared for work” and often lacking resilience, communication skills and motivation. In an interview with The Independent (2015) he puts emphasis on the role of schools in developing coaching skills, and working with employers “so people can experience and understand what the world of work requires of them from a very early age”. With his statement, Mr. Longworth takes a clear stance in the highly debated topic surrounding a skills gap. EMSI, an international company focused on the student-to-employment journey, defined the skills gap as ‘the perceived mismatch between the needs of employers for skilled talent and the skills possessed by the available workforce’ (EMSI, 2015: 1). Generally, the concept of a skills gap evokes controversy. For one, opinions are divided whether or not one should even speak of a skills gap: some believe it’s only natural for new employees to lack certain skills, and always take this into consideration. Secondly, assuming a skills gap is evident, there is disagreement on who should take responsibility in bridging this gap; education institutes, students themselves, the labour market or other stakeholders? Finally, consensus hasn’t been reached on what actual measures could be taken to bridge the gap.
Central in the debate, is the issue of the primary functions of education. In contrast to Mr. Longworth’s viewpoint, a Dutch university teacher expects students to “save themselves” after graduation: “the university’s duty is to train academics. Gaining work experience or vocational skills is not necessary” (van Kamp, 2015). With the aim of providing an informed contribution to this debate, Di Stasio conducted a vignette study in Italy, England and the Netherlands (2014). According to her research, four main functions of education for all levels should be distinguished: improve equality of opportunity; enhance efficient sorting and learning; socialize into active participation in and prepare for labour market allocation. Remarkably however, the four functions Di Stasio (2014) defined don’t seem to align with the three core tasks of higher education as declared by the Dutch Education Council, an independent governmental advisory body that advises the Minister,
Parliament and local authorities. Following its policy documents, these three functions consist of educating students; doing research; and effectuating the innovation of the professional field
(Onderwijsraad, 2016). In contrast to Di Stasio’s findings, the Dutch Education Council among others doesn’t regard preparation for labour market allocation as one of the core tasks of higher education. This appears to indicate a lack of alignment regarding the mission statements between education in general and higher education in particular.
Back in 2007, Tomlinson conducted a qualitative research by examining how 53
undergraduates in the UK constructed, understood and began to manage their ‘employability’1. He
found that many graduates were marginalized from high-paid, fast track employment, due to the ‘large bulk of talent entering the labour market’ creating tough-entry job sectors. According to
1 Employability is a highly discussed and criticized concept. Within this thesis, it is defined as the likeliness to
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Tomlinson, new graduates often resorted to low-paid jobs or internships, usually below their level. Subsequently, he warned that ‘the way students, graduates and employers make sense of and attempt to manage the problem of graduate employability, as well as their aspirations and
expectations, presents some serious challenges for higher education in the new economy’ (2007: 23). Since then, largely due to the global financial crisis, the labour market in most Western countries has changed significantly. In line with Tomlinson’s prognosis, the overall number of higher educated people has increased greatly, with many high-skilled jobs available. Yet mismatches seem persistent between higher education and the labour market, contributing to higher educated youth
unemployment. Although higher educated graduates usually have the benefit over non-highly educated when it comes to being widely deployable, new graduates of all levels seem to be affected by the crisis. In the Netherlands, unemployment among all graduates nearly doubled since 2008, from 4% to 7.9% (RAO, 2012); among University and Higher Vocational graduates this number indicated a significant 14% (Wilthagen et al., 2014).
Of course, fluctuations in the labour market are common. However, it cannot be denied that a relatively large portion of higher educated graduates can’t seem to find a job that matches their skills and competencies; vice versa applies to employers in various sectors (Wilthagen et al, 2014; Neth-er, 2016; WISE Education Survey, 2015). According to Marianne Thijssen, European
Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, the labour market in Europe is increasingly demanding high-level skills, partly due to “ever-accelerating technological
developments” and changing labour markets (Neth-er, 2016). This development seems to be the perfect solution for the saturation of overqualified workers, but unfortunately the reality is more complicated. Thijssen stated: “Although people in Europe are more educated than ever before, 40% of employers cannot find people with the right skills to grow and innovate, and only a third of graduates and employers believe that tertiary education prepares its students well for work. These gaps and mismatches are hampering employability and competitiveness in Europe” (Neth-er, 2016). Moreover, The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an international, multi-sector platform focused on new approaches to education, recently published the results from a survey. Based on responses from 149 countries, across 1,550 teachers; students; new graduates; education policymakers; and members of the private sector concerned with education reform issues, the study concluded that 96% of the university boards worldwide believe that their students are well prepared to enter the labour market. However, only 39% of the experts believe universities in their country are adequately preparing students for the workplace, and only 11% of the employers believe that
students are in fact prepared for the job. Furthermore, seven in ten say it is a university’s role, not that of employers, to ensure students are successful in their first job (WISE Education Survey, 2015).
A considerable amount of research has been conducted concerning graduates’ transition to the labour market, especially after the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008 and subsequent rise of youth unemployment (Wilthagen et al., 2014). Most of these studies have been primarily
concerned with the extent to which students and graduates possess skills like critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, according to employers (Brown & Hesketh, 2004; De Ferranti et al, 2003). Moreover, predominantly quantitative research has been conducted, focused on the influx of new graduates at the labour market. Researchers also looked at the degree to which
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employers considered students and newly graduates employment-ready (Andrews and Higson, 2008). Many studies were of a unilateral economic nature, for instance examining ways to reduce youth unemployment. Relatively little research, however, has been concerned with the perspective of highly educated students and how they perceive their skills in today’s competitive labour market. Moreover, up until now no research has been aimed at qualitatively comparing and possibly
integrating perspectives of students, graduates, employers and involved social entrepreneurs
regarding a perceived skills gap. It is important to examine potentially contrasting perspectives, since solely focusing on one group’s perceptions might lead to biased and interest-driven responses. Employers, for instance, would likely benefit from underlining a skill gap, since such a gap would justify low salaries for newly graduated employees. Therefore this study doesn’t just address a perceived skills gap, it also aims at bridging a literature gap by taking into account different angles and attitudes of the stakeholders.
Due to the binary nature of its higher education system, the Netherlands provides an ideal context for equating two types of students and graduates; research-oriented (Universities) and higher vocational (Universities of Applied Sciences). These types of students and graduates are likely to be affected differently by a possible perceived skills gap, for instance because curricula provided by Universities of Applied Science are generally more concerned with acquiring vocationally oriented skills like leadership and organizing abilities through regular internships, in contrast to Universities (Van de Werfhorst (2014: 125). Moreover, Universities tend to rate significantly regarding preparing for professional careers, according to an evaluation by Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) of the Dutch National Student Survey 2015. Findings indicated that university students are especially looking to develop experience and skills that are important ‘when starting out in the labour market’. Many of them feel the urge to develop more ‘proactive (…) labour market strategies’, which according to Tomlinson (2007) goes far beyond what they achieve in the formal education setting.
With this in mind, it is highly important to investigate the different views of all relevant actors in the field regarding a possible perceived skills gap. The subsequent main research question is: How do vocational and university students and graduates in various ‘social’ studies, social sector HR-employers and relevant social entrepreneurs perceive a presumed skills gap in Amsterdam? In seeking to answer this question, the research uses a qualitative approach for exploring the perceptions regarding a possible skills gap. A University is equated to a University of Applied Science to examine possible differences; eleven students and ten graduates from the same field of study within both institutes are examined regarding their perceived skills and competencies. On the other hand, views of seven employers and four social entrepreneurs2 in Amsterdam are taken into account,
in order to generate an overarching, hopefully nuanced picture of the perceptions of all stakeholders. Finally, if perceived necessary, the perceptions of all participants constitute the basis for policy recommendations aimed at bridging a perceived skills gap in Amsterdam.
2 Social entrepreneurs here refers to founders of companies that are concerned with preparation for labour
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2. Theoretical framework
The theoretical framework starts with an overview of functions of education in general, and how different actors perceive and experience these. Subsequently, the meaning for these different
perceptions regarding education’s functions is put into relation with the perceived skills gap between education and the labour market. Additionally, possible effects of the socio-economic background of students and graduates on their attitude and experiences of the presumed skills gap are discussed. Thereafter, the focus is increasingly on research regarding preparation for labour market allocation; here, a more explicit connection between skills and the labour market is established, mainly using research on employers’ experiences. This is where the perceived skills gap is explained and illustrated in more detail, in connection to concepts like employability, hard- en soft skills. Last but not least, academic work on differences between fields of study and labour market allocation is examined.
2.1 Functions of education
Van de Werfhorst (2014) investigated the effectiveness of current European education systems in preparing citizens for a functioning modern society. In Di Stasio’s research (2014) he defined four main functions of general education as follows: To improve equality of opportunity, enhance efficient sorting and learning, prepare for labour market allocation and socialize into active participation in society (civic engagement). Van de Werfhorst argued that some main tasks of overall education have been ‘the central goal’ of all educational institutions for over a century (2014: 124). According to his research, the perceived tasks of education are to a large extent independent of the context in which people are educated, and ‘relatively stable across time’. Importantly, the researcher referred to education’s tasks as functions, because this enables evaluation on ‘whether an educational system functions well by assessing the quality of its outcomes’. Additionally, addressing these functions can contribute to help ‘determine the curriculum’ (2014: 125).
As a first task, Van de Werfhorst mentioned the labour market function, which implies that all education needs to ‘prepare youth for the labour market’ (2014: 125). According to the author, all education institutes need to teach skills ‘that are productive for work, and thereby help school leavers in optimising their labour market opportunities, and employers in optimising their production’. This way, win-win situations are created for both students and employers. Van de Werfhorst continued by stating that many education policies related to the labour market are targeted at Universities and Universities of Applied Science. The author clarified this focus by stating that in general, higher education isn’t particularly concerned with teaching skills that are productive for work, and could therefore benefit from such policies. This implies that a distinction can be made between types of education and their orientation on labour market allocation (Van de Werfhorst, 2014). To explore this further, this thesis compares perceptions from stakeholders within the higher educational sector, with the aim of providing targeted policy recommendation for both Universities and Universities of Applied Science.
The second task of education Van de Werfhorst (2014) defined, is optimisation, meaning that education in general should ‘efficiently sort students into tracks according to their talents and
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interests in order to optimise the production of knowledge and skills’. It can be argued that this process of efficiently sorting partly depends on students experiencing in an education setting the potential paths students may take after their studies. For students to make informed decisions and live up to their potential, it is arguably necessary for them to build on and evaluate competencies in different settings, both in and outside academia. Following this, in order for education to truly efficiently sort students, the possibility to gain diverse experiences to discover and develop talents is necessary. This way, the process of efficient sorting doesn’t have to be restricted to fields of study or tracks, but can also be expanded to labour market allocation. Furthermore Van de Werfhorst referred to ensuring equal opportunities as the third function of education. Here, he stated that education in general should give students from all ethnic and socioeconomic background identical opportunities. This can be interpreted as education functioning as an equalizer, enabling students from all backgrounds to have the same job opportunities. Last but not least, socialisation was brought forward as the fourth function of all educational institutions. Hereby, Van de Werfhorst claimed that ‘education should contribute to preparing youth for active citizenship’. This final task partly overlaps the labour market preparation function of education (2014: 126), since active
citizenship generally includes contributing to society through work. The author stated that ‘civic skills partially overlap with the skills required for the labour market’, which means that the fourth function not only refers to forming ‘good citizens’, but to a large extent also to the formation of ‘good
workers’ through education.
Van de Werfhorst’s study highlighted the importance of ‘a strong vocational educational sector’ in order to help graduates in the ‘transition process from the educational system to the workplace’. Furthermore, Van de Werfhorst argued that education ‘should aim at both increasing the visibility of the skills obtained, which is promoted by diversification, tracking and vocational
orientation, and at equalising the kinds of knowledge and skills which promote democratic equality’ (2014: 127). Moreover, the author recommended a strong vocational component in schools at upper secondary and tertiary levels, since his research showed that unemployment rates among youth ‘are lower in countries with a more strongly developed vocational sector’3.
An important related aspect yet unexpressed explicitly has to do with the third function of education: creating equal opportunities for students from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds (Van de Werfhorst, 2014). Among many others, Heckman (2006) researched the implications for students from various socio-economic backgrounds in relation to their opportunities on the labour market. According to him, societies often ‘look to the schools to reduce skills gaps across
socioeconomic groups’ (2006: 1901). Following previous research, Heckman argued that families, not schools are the ‘major sources of inequality in student performance’. A similar argument is made by a research of Machin and Vignoles (2004), which concluded that ‘the expansion of higher education in the UK (…) appears to have disproportionately benefited children from richer
families rather than the most able’. Following Breen et al. (1995), this disadvantage isn’t restricted to educational achievements, but can also trickle down to labour market opportunities. Their study
3 This claim is especially true for countries like the Netherlands, with a dual education system, because
vocational experience and skills enables students to acquire important generic competences (Van de Werfhorst, 2014).
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showed how employers’ assessment of the educational background of ‘prospective hires’
significantly shapes the opportunities of youth to enter the labour market. Moreover, Machin and Vignoles (2004) found that the ‘labour market success or failure’ of individuals was increasingly connected to parents’ income. This is important to keep in mind because it indicates that students and graduates of lower socio-economic status could perceive and experience a wider perceived skills gap.
2.2 Function assessment through students’ eyes
The question ‘what should education do’ has a quite normative character. Despite being fairly stable over time, Van de Werfhorst (2014) stressed that the central goals of all types of education are ‘potentially subject to change’, in relation to change of norms and context. For this reason it is essential to take into account perceptions of different stakeholders regarding education’s functions. It is important to shed some light on this particular discussion, since this research is concerned with the ways various actors perceive a presumed skills gap. How stakeholders of different backgrounds with potentially diverging interests view the main functions of education, is likely to influence the overall perceptions of a presumed skills gap. Importantly, as mentioned in the introduction, there seems to be disagreement on the very conception of tasks between education in general, and higher education in particular. The above-mentioned four functions of education (Di Stasio, 2014; Van de Werfhorst, 2014) don’t seem to align with the three core tasks of higher education as defined by the Dutch Education Council; educating students; doing research; and effectuate the innovation of the professional field (Onderwijsraad, 2016). Interestingly, it can be argued that these three tasks are aimed at developing higher educated students’ skills and academia in general as an end in itself, without referencing to the world outside of academia. Of course this is just one way of interpreting the policy documents, however it would be in line with the expectation that especially Dutch higher educated students underline a perceived skills gap.
A substantial amount of research has been done on students’ evaluation of teaching
effectiveness, mainly using student review surveys (Wachtel, 1998; Sahney et al., 2004). However, as far as known, not much research has been done to examine students’ overall perceptions of education through assessing its functions. Fortunately, some studies provide a few indications regarding students’ perspectives. In their research, Akareem and Hossain (2016) looked at a sample of 432 students from five top private universities of Bangladesh to evaluate their perception toward dimensions of higher education. They found that students appreciated the learning of ‘career skills that are needed either in or outside the college’, which made the authors state that ‘authorities should design the course curriculum so that students can find synergy between institutional learning and application of that learning in a career’ (2016:63). This suggests that students might especially perceive the function of preparation for labour market allocation (Di Stasio, 2014; Van de Werfhorst, 2014) as important. Additionally, Akareem and Hossain (2016) concluded that following increased maturity, ‘students start to understand that they need to add value in addition to an acceptable result’, meaning that especially more students underlined their own accountability regarding vocational preparation for labour market allocation. Nevertheless, the authors urged ‘the authority’
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to take responsibility in taking ‘special care for students to bring a wider overview about the success factors during and after the university period’.
Moreover, in an attempt to determine the factors affecting individual education demands at the entrance to Turkish universities, Sarpkaya (2010) showed that students put special emphasis on aspects like ‘employment potential and individual satisfaction’ (2010: 483). This indicates that students perceive their university degree as a means to ‘head towards a suitable profession according to their liking’. Additionally, Sarpkaya stressed that 50.2% of the students answered the question ‘why would you like to study in a university?’ with the response ‘to have a job’. This again suggests the special importance students attach to higher education adequately equipping them for future jobs. With regards to the Netherlands, some similar patrons seem to be present, following a research by Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016). Each year, all Dutch higher education students are asked to rate their course programme and University or University of Applied Science. This means that annually, approximately 700,000 students are invited to participate, and last year over 40% did so. Van Teeffelen and Smit examined the results of the National Student Survey 2015 regarding the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Their study provided insights in why students reviewed their university fairly negative regarding its preparation for the labour market.
First of all, in accordance with Sarpkaya (2010) and Akareem and Hossain (2016), the work of Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) appears to indicate that today’s higher education students prioritize preparation for labour market allocation over any other function of education. Furthermore, like Akareem and Hossain (2016), the authors concluded that the importance that students attach to career orientation increases as they get further in their study programs. The reason for this is likely to be found in the fact that for students in their final year(s) of education, the labour market and its related demands is fast approaching. These soon-to-be-graduates possibly increasingly feel the pressure of needing to be able to compete with others over tough-entry jobs, and to hopefully meet employers’ expectations. Importantly, according to the authors, a major impact on the results was overall students’ uncertainty of their ability to obtain a job at their level. Overall, Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) argued that this resulted in the students’ rather negative perception of the UvA’s labour market preparation, their own job opportunities and the labour market in general.
The study of Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) provided some targeted insights regarding improving university’s preparation for the labour market. For one, 74% of the UvA students reported wanting to further develop soft skills. Additionally, Finally, Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) stated that the UvA should obtain a closer relation to both employers in the ‘business community’, and alumni; a conclusion Akareem and Hossain (2016: 63) also reached. Akareem and Hossain also plead for ‘practitioners from professional fields from different industries and different parts of the world’ to teach students. Furthermore, students could be offered more opportunity to undertake internships; higher education institutes might possibly even require students to do internships within the
curriculum. Furthermore, following the findings of Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016), universities would do well to increase its information distribution regarding labour market events they facilitate. Also, closer collaboration with student associations was presented as a possible strategy to help students orientate regarding labour market preparation.
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2.3 Employers’ perceptions on educationEven though not much research has been primarily concerned with employers’ perceptions and evaluations of functions of education, some relevant indications can be gathered from previous studies. Canny (2004) argued that the way employers assess graduates’ skills; their willingness to recruit newly graduates and the extent to which they are willing to provide training opportunities to enhance job opportunities ‘can have significant implications for young people’s labour market prospects’. According to her, this also has an impact on ‘young people’s own educational and occupational aspirations and expectations’ (2014: 510). The findings stated that employers oftentimes contribute to the skills of graduates by providing on the job training to ‘to address skill gaps and/or enhance career opportunities’. This conclusion suggests that without this training, graduates don’t meet entry requirements, which indicates that employers perceive educations’ labour market function to be inadequate. For this reason, it seems plausible that employers, like students especially value the function of preparation for labour market allocation (Di Stasio, 2014), and would like to see some improvements being implemented to further facilitate this function. In an attempt to assess how labour market preparation in higher education could be improved, The University of Luton in the UK embedded a program for students to gain skills like communication and presentation; planning and problem solving; and social development and interaction. Follows and Steven (2000) examined the Luton initiative and underlined the need for education to ‘provide solutions through a mix of formal qualifications and personal skills’ (2000: 76). Moreover, the authors stressed the importance of graduates flexibility and preparedness ‘for a lifetime of change and development’; willingness to engage in retraining and personal development throughout (working) life was considered essential. Here, a clear connection can be made to a Dutch report focused on how education will align with the future labour market (PwC, 2015). The report stressed that self-reliance and flexibility will become increasingly important, since many employees will likely engage in projects and short-term jobs. Additionally, research of Andrews and Higson (2008), emphasized how the dynamic labour market demands employees with a ‘comprehensive and flexible set of employability skills and competencies’. These findings are related to both the labour market and socialisation function of education (Van de Werfhorst, 2014), since they show the importance employers attach to employees with skillsets that go beyond solely job-related competencies. Personal and communication skills, flexibility and eagerness to learn are skills that aren’t just required for the labour market; they are civil skills as well.
Like the students, employers expressed a number of ideas on how education could be accommodate more to their interests, especially with regard to its function of labour market
preparation. Andrews and Higson (2008) mentioned a discrepancy between graduates’ skills and the skills employers demand of them, and importantly, insights to overcome this through education. Even though the research was targeted at business schools, its policy recommendations following employers’ views could most likely be used on a wider scale. Andrews and Higson advised schools to develop programmes ‘in which undergraduates are actively encouraged to acquire and hone ‘softer’ communication skills’. In addition, the researchers stated that their study suggests that ‘work experience [in any setting] constituted an important consideration for employers in when recruiting graduates’. Furthermore, Andrews and Higsons’ study showed the importance of part-time
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employment, since ‘it provided evidence that graduates were willing to work hard to achieve their goals and were able to balance employment and study’ (2008: 420). According to the research, employers found that education should first and foremost provide opportunity for students to engage in the above-mentioned activities. To sum up, it can be stated that the perspectives of students and employers are generally speaking rather similar regarding their perceptions on the functions of education. This might not be surprising; when education institutes function in a way that students are taught skills ‘that are productive for work’, graduates labour market opportunities are optimized and subsequently, employers can optimise their production (Van de Werfhorst, 2014: 125). Importantly, research showed that this optimization can be achieved through gaining practical work experience which helps students to develop relevant generic skills and competencies.
2.4 Required skills: Is there a gap?
Having illustrated and assessed various functions of education, it is now essential to examine whether education has been successful at its drafted tasks, more specifically its previously defined first task: preparation for labour market allocation. In her work, McNamara (2009) emphasised on the ‘interwoven relationship between workforce readiness, business and industrial development, and schools’ in the United States. The author stated that the on various levels ‘future employees’ weren’t prepared to ‘enter workplaces of the future’. In practice this meant that Millennial workers4
were not considered to be ready to meet employers’ standards, and therefore require additional on-the-job-training and supervision. It turned out that this lack of ‘workforce readiness’ above all applied to higher educated students and graduates, and would at least on the short term lead to diminished productivity and decreased product quality. Researchers have been pointing out that existing education models, training and experience have proven to be insufficient preparation for delivering information to the new generation of highly educated workers. However, according to McNamara, up till today the higher educated workforce in the United States ‘remains in a crisis state’. As a root cause for this, McNamara claimed that employers are increasingly looking for different skills. They aren’t primarily recruiting employees with ‘reading literacy and computational aptitude’ anymore; they seek people with basic soft skills like interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge, ethics, reasoning and problem solving competencies.
A similar argument was made in the article of De Ferranti et al. (2003), here regarding Latin America. Like McNamara, De Ferranti et al. mentioned the ever-changing labour market and
therefore changing selection criteria of employers as a root cause for the skills gap. In an attempt to provide explanations, Andrews and Higson (2008) explored perspectives of business graduates and employers concerning graduates’ employability. They stated that in all of the four European countries they investigated, ‘the growing graduate market shaped the employers’ perspectives and expectations’. By this they meant that the increasing graduate mobility across Europe ensures employers with ‘an ever-growing pool of highly qualified candidates from which to choose’, resulting in unprecedented competitiveness within the contemporary graduate recruitment market in the EU. Furthermore, their research showed that regardless the high qualifications of the business graduates,
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still a void between the skills and capabilities of graduates, and the demands of the work environment existed (Andrews and Higson, 2008). This void was especially present regarding interpersonal competencies (soft business-related skills), work experience and work-based learning. The authors finally underlined that schools everywhere ‘have a responsibility to promote the employability, work readiness and mobility of their graduates’. Their goal should be to produce ‘highly qualified, flexible and employable individuals, able to meet the ever-changing demands of modern-day European business’ (Andrews and Higson, 2008).
It can be stated that the above-mentioned researchers more or less addressed the same issue of a skills gap, in different parts of the world. The authors were agreement on a number of things, including developments of a growing amount of highly educated graduates, and employers’ increasing demand for employees with communication and soft skills. The general impression is that the highly dynamic and competitive labour market demands employees with a comprehensive set of skills and competencies. Unfortunately however, studies demonstrated that especially higher educated graduates lack an important part of the required work skills. Following these findings, this thesis is first and foremost aimed at examining whether a perceived skills gap is present in the Netherlands, more precisely regarding higher education institutes in Amsterdam. Through exploring the multiple perspectives and perceptions of students and graduates, employers and social
entrepreneurs, this research aims at providing new, overarching insights on the matter.
2.5 Perceived necessary skills: The social sector
In order to address a perceived skills gap in Amsterdam, relevant skills need to be defined. As indicated, employers are now seeking different qualities from recruits; qualities that include
personal, communications and problem-solving skills and commitment to the values of the company. Following Gault et al., 2010, employers determined that the most important skills required from their young workers were adaptability to the demands of the job, customer service skills, technical/craft skills and communication skills; other important skills mentioned were enthusiasm, interpersonal skills, basic work disciplines and a positive attitude. Moreover, Andrews and Higson (2008) developed a list of graduates’ skills that are likely to be relevant for the labour market irrespectively of type of higher education, discipline and study track. First of all, the authors (2008) mentioned discipline focused knowledge and know-how; the ability to apply theoretical and conceptual knowledge to real life situations, like for instance marketing modules and accounting programs. Respondents stated that this type knowledge they acquired through education, proved highly valuable and useful in their employment. Secondly, Andrews and Higson defined problem-solving ability as a key skill for
graduates, meaning ‘an ability to think in a critical and analytical manner’ in order to effectively deal with issues at hand. Furthermore, their research indicated that employers require their employers to possess ‘more generic interpersonal and communication competencies’. Moreover, Andrews and Higson stated that employers expected graduates to be employment-ready; ‘equipped with the necessary skills and competencies, and able to work with the minimum of supervision’ (2008: 419). Looking back at McNamara’s (2009) conclusion that higher educated graduates aren’t ready to meet employers standards and therefore require additional on-the-job-training and supervision, the likeliness for students to be employment-ready doesn’t seem within close reach.
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In their research Andrews and Higson (2008) distinguished between ‘hard skills’ and ‘soft skills’. Using their definitions, soft skills are described as social- and interpersonal competencies, like for instance reliability, strategic thinking and communication skills. Hard skills, on the other hand, refer to more tangible job related knowledge and skills. Researchers Bailly and Léné (2013) argued that soft skills are especially important in the social sector, partly because in this field, tangible, technological and/or hard business skills are in general less commonly required. Moreover, a recent report by the Amani Institute (Paul & Tesliuc, 2013) stated that ‘the attributes employers [in the social sector] most value in prospective employees are largely things not received from a typical university degree’. Like Andrews and Higson, this report emphasised on the importance of personality-based traits. Importantly, following a research of Wilthagen et al. (2014), the labour market situation in the Netherlands will be especially unfavourable for people graduated from a socio-cultural education. Moreover, Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) stated that, following a national-scale survey, students’ rather negative perception of their own job opportunities was
disproportionately high for students engaged in the social domain [Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences] at the University of Amsterdam (2016: 15). The studies furthermore indicated that students anticipated on employers requiring their (future) employees to possess both hard and soft skills, relevant work experience and verbal communication skills. All of these findings point to the importance of not just examining a perceived skills gap, but particularly a perceived skills gap between in the social domain in Amsterdam.
2.6 Dutch higher education policy measures
In order to assess the perceived skills gap between the social domain higher education in Amsterdam and the perceptions and experiences of employers, it is important to briefly examine the current higher educational situation in the Netherlands with regard to allocation documents. On the website of the Rijksoverheid (the Dutch government), it’s mentioned that the quality of Dutch higher
education needs to be further improved. One of the subsequent aims of the Dutch government is to provide adequate information for students concerning the overall labour market perspective. In addition, the government wants an active alumni policy and more internships and traineeships in the policy of Dutch universities (Rijksoverheid: Investeringen, 2016). Bearing in mind the literature encouraging the learning of more practical and interpersonal soft skills, it can be argued that these governmental aims are likely to help bride the perceived skills gap. In addition, according to a report by PwC (2015), students often discover that they lack required skills for the Dutch labour market when it’s ‘too late’. The report stated that the assessment of employment certainty should be done long before students (attempt to) enter the labour market. Here, labour market coaching and feedback sessions were mentioned as measures that should be integrated in Dutch higher education institutes’ curricula (PwC, 2015: 4).
So far, different possible education policy measures have been mentioned to overcome a perceived skills gap, like education and training to foster both formal qualifications and personal skills; projects and part-time jobs to gain work experience; and initiatives built in the curriculum of higher education, especially universities, for students to gain job-related skills. However, another essential manner to acquire necessary skills hasn’t been explicitly addressed yet. With regard to the
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presumed differences between Universities and Universities of Applied Science, studies show the importance of internships in order to acquire necessary (soft) skills. As previously stated, Universities of Applied Science are generally more concerned with these kinds of activities (Andrew & Higson, 2008; Follows & Steven, 2000; Gault et al., 2010; Van de Werfhorst, 2014). Therefore, it seems plausible that graduates from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science (HvA) face a smaller perceived skills gap in relation to graduates of the University of Amsterdam (UvA), since
HvA-students are likely to have more experience with operating in the Dutch labour market. Additionally, research suggests that students who graduated from studies that foster necessary skills, are less inclined to experience a skill gap (Andrew & Higson, 2008; Follows & Steven, 2000). Therefore, this thesis is directed to equate various social studies within both the UvA and HvA. The expectation is that students from social tracks that stimulate and enable students to gain relevant work-experience; engage in labour market orientation events and projects; and encourage students to take on
internships, are less likely to regard a (large) gap between their perceived skills and the perceived requirements of employers in the Amsterdam social sector.
2.7 Employability, soft & hard skills
So far, the term ‘employability’ has been briefly and indirectly touched upon, yet not adequately described. Andrews and Higson (2008) referred to employability as a disputed, extremely complex concept. According to them, definitions vary greatly; from a focus on graduates’ abilities to adapt and use their personal and academic skills, to more tangible educational outcome measures that associate graduate employability with employment. Through synthesising available literature, they identified key ‘transferable’ soft skills and competencies integral to graduate employability (see Table 4.1 below).
Table 4.15
This thesis uses the following description of employability; the likeliness to not only gain a job, but also perform well in it (Brown & Hesketh, 2004; De Ferranti et al., 2003). This definition is used, since it enables examination of the overall allocation process, but also takes into account the way
graduates execute their jobs. Furthermore, this definition of employability is rather broad and doesn’t specify towards soft or hard skills. As shown in the table above, Andrews and Higson (2008) referred to transferable soft skills when they speak of employability. Within this thesis, however,
5 Examples of employability skills, determined by Andrews and Higson (2008)
Employability skills
Professionalism Good written and verbal communication skills Reliability Information and Communication Technology skills The ability to cope with uncertainty Creativity and self-confidence
The ability to work under pressure Good self-management and time-management skills The ability to plan and think strategically A willingness to learn and accept responsibility The capability to communicate and interact with
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employability is described as a more overarching concept, including both soft and hard skills. Simply put, hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that can be defined and measured, like numeracy, reading and typing. Contrary to this, soft skills are less tangible and harder to quantify; they’re more generic, personality-driven skills like for instance flexibility, getting along with others and
communication6; similar to the skills mentioned in Table 4.1.
Despite using a slightly different definition of employability, other parts or Andrews and Higson’s research are highly useful for this thesis. The researchers defined five types of necessary employability skills, namely: 1. Discipline focused knowledge and know-how; 2. Problem-solving ability (thinking critically and analytically); 3. Interpersonal- and communication competencies; 4. Employment-readiness; and 5. Self-reliance and flexibility. As made explicitly visible in Table 4.2 below, the concept of employability within this thesis is constructed out of both soft and hard skills. Even though employability is a rather complex term, an attempt is made to position the necessary skills Andrews and Higson (2008) constructed, on a scale from soft to hard skills. Naturally,
interpersonal- and communication skills are more soft competencies; whereas discipline focused skills are more of a hard and measurable nature. Problem-solving abilities and employment-readiness on the other hand, are less easily subdivided since these type of skills are rather context dependent; they can be on either side of the spectrum depending on the job.
Employability skills
Table 4.2
In order to examine students and graduates’ perceived skills and competencies and subsequently employers’ perceptions and experiences, these five main skill-concepts are used. The
conceptualization above forms the base for five related subthemes, on which all respondents will be questioned. Firstly, their knowledge of and thoughts on the current labour market situation in the Netherlands, more specific regarding the social sector in Amsterdam will be explored. Secondly, the respondents will be asked to reflect on higher education, and what skills and competencies they
6 http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hard-skills.asp
Soft skills Hard skills
Interpersonal and communication competencies Self-reliance and flexibility Problem-solving ability (thinking critically and analytically) Employment-readiness Discipline focused knowledge and know-how
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perceive students need to acquire through it. Thirdly, all respondents will be questioned about their perceptions and experiences regarding work-based learning and other work experiences, in order to examine possible differences between the respondent groups. Furthermore, respondents’
perceptions regarding hard skills and competencies will be assessed, and the extent to which they believe themselves/students and graduates to be in possession of these skills. Finally, participants will be asked about their perception of soft skills and competencies, and again in how far they regard themselves/students and graduates to possess this type of skills. Taken all together, these
subthemes will enable the researcher to answer the research questions and hopefully provide targeted policy recommendations aimed at resolving a possible perceived skills gap in Amsterdam and beyond.
3. Research questions
The main research question of this study is: How do vocational and university students and graduates in various social studies, social sector HR-employers and involved social entrepreneurs perceive a presumed skills gap in Amsterdam?
3.1 General student/graduate perceptions
Since this study is concerned with a perceived skills gap, it is necessary to analyse the perceptions of different groups of stakeholders. Firstly, it is essential to explore and analyse the perceptions of social domain students and graduates from both the University of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University of Applied Science. According to research, the largest skills shortage that employers see in their workforce doesn’t concern ‘occupationally relevant/technical skills, but rather general and social skills, and personality’ (Van de Werfhorst, 2014: 130; Grugulis and Vincent, 2009). Hence, it is expected that students and graduates from both higher education institutes perceive a skills gap to be present, especially concerning relevant work experience and generic soft skills. Furthermore, various studies (Andrew & Higson, 2008; Follows & Steven, 2000; Gault et al., 2010) underline the importance of internships and other practical activities for students in order to acquire the above-mentioned necessary soft skills to improve personal employability. Following this, it is assumed that an existing perceived lack of employability and soft skills exists, as a consequence of insufficient engagement in vocational activities such as internships, traineeships, part-time jobs and volunteer work. The subsequent first research question is: What are the general perceptions of vocational and university students and graduates from the social domain regarding a presumed skills gap?
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3.2 Differences between UvA and HvAAs announced, this research thereafter equates students and graduates from the social domain of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in relation to students and graduates of the Amsterdam
University of Applied Science (HvA). As previously mentioned, both higher education institutes have a quite distinctive curriculum construction. Universities of Applied Science in general and the HvA more specific, are to a greater extent targeted on fostering skills and competencies deriving from a practical learning pedagogy focusing especially on vocational training and labour market experience. For this reason, it is assumed that in general, HvA-students to a higher extent learn by doing,
meaning that these students are more likely to acquire employability skills necessary for the labour market, through internships and other labour market oriented activities. Besides the actual work experience and practise on specific tasks, among others internships offer these students the opportunity to discover what it is like to work within a (social) company. Furthermore, they learn how to communicate with colleagues, and the way of interacting with different parties within a larger context. These expected mechanisms lead to the assumption that social domain students and graduates from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science are less likely to perceive a skills gap to be currently in place. With the purpose of exploring implications of two types of higher education regarding perceptions on a presumed skills gap, the second research question is as follows: What are the mechanisms behind possible differences between the perceptions of vocational students and graduates in relation to university students and graduates regarding a presumed skills gap?
3.3 General perceptions employers & social entrepreneurs
After having focused on the student and graduate perspective, this thesis looks at perceptions of HR-employers and social entrepreneurs in Amsterdam regarding a presumed skills gap. Many
researchers pointed out how a growing amount of highly educated graduates aren’t able to meet demands of the work environment, regardless of their high qualifications (Andrews and Higson, 2008). As a reason for this, they claim that the highly dynamic and competitive labour market demands employees with a comprehensive set of skills and competencies, which especially higher educated graduates lack partly due to insufficient job-related experience. Following academic’s work and policy documents, it seems therefore likely that in accordance with students and graduates, also the HR-employers and social entrepreneurs perceive and experience a skills gap, especially
concerning students and graduates from the University of Amsterdam. The subsequent third research question is: What are the general perceptions of HR-employers and involved social entrepreneurs in Amsterdam regarding a presumed skills gap?
3.4 Differences between employers & social entrepreneurs
Moreover, it seems reasonable to assume that especially HR-employers could benefit from
underlining a perceived skills gap, since this would justify a low or absent salary for newly graduated employees. Hence, it would be in the interest of HR-employers to emphasize on perceived lack of certain skills in students and graduates. To some extent the same could be argued for social entrepreneurs. Because they are concerned with the development of programs to train both students and graduates to gain additional employability skills, the absence of a perceived skills gap
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would put them ‘out of business’. However, generally the involved social entrepreneurs founded their enterprise on personally experiencing a perceived skills gap. Hence, their aim is to bridge and solve the presumed gap, not solely highlighting it. These assumed contrasts in perspective and interest indicate differences in perceptions concerning a presumed skills gap. In order to differentiate between the employers and social entrepreneurs’ perspective, the following fourth research
question indicates: What are the mechanisms behind possible differences between the perceptions of HR-employers and involved social entrepreneurs in Amsterdam regarding a presumed skills gap?
3.5 Differences between all stakeholders
Last but not least, this study is aimed at providing overarching insights on perceptions concerning a presumed skills gap. In order to generate a more or less overall picture, the perceptions of vocational and university students and graduates from the social domain are set in relation to those of social sector HR-employers and social entrepreneurs. Here, it is assumed that all stakeholders perceive a skills gap to be present, although to a different degree. Students and graduates are likely to address a perceived skills gap, because this could justify them advocating for measures to help overcome this perceived gap. On the other hand, it would be in the interest of students and graduates to
understate a perceived skills gap; this way they could deny or down play a possible lack of
employability skills and for instance demand more (financial) recognition by employers. In short, the possibly partly contrasting interests between students and graduates, HR-employers and social entrepreneurs are likely to influence the way all stakeholder groups assess a presumed skills gap. This leads to the fifth and final research question: What are the mechanisms behind possible differences between the perceptions of vocational and university students and graduates in relation to the perceptions of HR-employers and involved social entrepreneurs in Amsterdam regarding a presumed skills gap?
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4. Research methodology
4.1 The social domainWithin this thesis, students and graduates from the ‘social domain’ were interviewed regarding their perceptions on a possible skills gap. The reason for this target group had to do with among others research of Wilthagen et al. (2014), which indicated that the labour market situation in the
Netherlands will be relatively unfavourable for students who graduated from a higher socio-cultural education. For this reason, the stakes for these students and graduates seem to be higher.
Moreover, Van Teeffelen and Smit (2016) stated that, following a national students survey, students’ rather negative perception of their own job opportunities was disproportionately high for students engaged in the social domain [Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences] at the University of Amsterdam (2016: 15). So not only do social domain students seem to be at a disadvantage, they also have relatively high negative perceptions regarding their labour market prospects.
Subsequently, the social domain was defined as follows: for the University of Amsterdam the social domain referred to the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. For the Amsterdam University of Applied Science, this field of study meant the Faculty of Society and Law.
This research exclusively took place in Amsterdam and focused on the UvA and HvA for a number of reasons. First of all, Amsterdam offers a unique setting for comparative analysis, since both higher education institutions are located within a few hundred meters of one another. This most likely reduced possible geographic contextual differences and facilitated the equation. Furthermore, these establishments each accommodate more than 7.400 students within its social domain, which enables equations across different but similar social tracks. Lastly, the due to a personal background in Social Sciences, the researcher had relatively easy access to the field. The subsequent concern with employers in the Amsterdam social sector had to do with the assumption that an educational background in social studies at the UvA or HvA most likely prepares students for a subsequent career in the social sector. Following Salamon and Anheier (1997), the social sector is defined as non-profit distributed organizations with a formal; private; voluntary; and self-governing nature, done for the purpose of benefiting society. Hence, this study focused on HR-employers in Government and Multilateral Agencies and NGO’s in Amsterdam. Logically, the focus on
HR-employers has to do with the primary concern of such HR-employers with specific content of personnel policy: local HR-employers are the most likely to have relevant experiences with UvA and HvA- interns and graduated employees.
4.2 Subthemes & documents
Using Andrews and Higson (2008), the following subthemes for equation between UvA and HvA-documents were defined: 1. Concern with current employment situations; 2. Critical reflections on higher education; 3. Encouragement of experiences regarding work-based learning and other work; 4. Teaching of ‘hard skills’ and competencies; 5. Concern with ‘soft skills’, communication skills and competencies. Subsequently, carrying out equation between these types of documents enabled the researcher to examine the similarities and differences between the UvA and HvA. Furthermore, this
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type of analysis facilitated replicability regarding possible future research. With regard to the UvA, among others documents of the Executive Board of the UvA, the ‘Innovation Platform’ and
EDUWORKS were examined. For the HvA, the analysis was partially concerned with reports of the Executive Board of the HvA and ‘Onderzoek & Onderwijs’. Other, more overarching documents relevant for both the UvA and HvA included: reports of the (local) government, the Education Council, the Scientific Council for Governmental Policies (WRR), Amsterdam Economic Board, Amsterdam Academic Alliance and Institution Plans (Instellingsplannen) of both the UvA and HvA. These documents were used to examine possible differences between several social studies within the UvA and HvA social domain, with regard to their approach to preparation for labour market allocation. The information gathered from these documents, although rather general and
nonspecific, fostered relevant background knowledge, which helped sharpen the research questions and expected mechanisms.
4.3 Selection criteria and research design
The data for this research is collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews. The composition of respondents consisted of four distinct main groups, namely:
1. Five HvA and five UvA students, both male and female in the age of 18 to 21, currently engaged in different social studies within the social domain.
2. Five HvA and five UvA graduates7, both male and female in the age of 18 to 21, who completed
different ‘social’ studies within the social domain.
3. Ten Dutch HR-employers in the social sector in Amsterdam, more specifically employers within Government and Multilateral Agencies, International Organizations and NGO’s and Non-Profits in Amsterdam.
4. Two to five social entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, currently operating programs to foster young professional employability skills and competencies.
Through using qualitative semi-structured interviewing, the researcher explored the all perceptions and experiences at play. This structure facilitated in-depth investigation into a possible perceived skills gap, according to the four stakeholder groups as described above. Interviews exclusively took place in Amsterdam. The currently enrolled students were mainly interviewed at their educational institute, or nearby public spaced such as cafes. The interviews with graduates were located at several locations, usually at their workplace or home. The employers and social entrepreneurs were interviewed at the office or via Skype. The semi-structured interviews ranged from 15 to 45 minutes for each participant and were all recorded. Importantly, the interviews were mostly conducted in Dutch, and thereafter translated to and transcribed in English, herewith remaining as close as possible to the actual statements by the respondents. The recorded interviews were transcribed8
within 24 hours after they took place, which enabled the researcher to look for overarching
similarities and differences between respondents from an early stage in the fieldwork. The interviews were analysed without specific software. After transcription, the data was broken down into first
7 The interviewed graduates weren’t selected based on whether or not they were employed 8 Transcribing was done with Audacity, an open source audio editing program
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level concepts, second-level categories; and less relevant data was set apart. Since the interviews were largely structured in a similar way as the research questions, this categorization process was relatively straightforward. Despite a quite divers amount of in-depth data, following rather targeted (sub) questions, the data analysis was done in a relatively efficient manner.
Especially throughout and after the data collection, but in essence throughout the whole research, the researcher was aware of a number of ethical considerations. First and foremost, as the Foreword already indicated, the researcher chose this research topic because of personal
experiences with a perceived skills gap in Amsterdam. Even though the researcher attempted to actively keep her personal bias as small as possible, it shouldn’t be ruled out that the researchers’ position had implications on the research outcomes. The researcher tried to address this risk by carefully drafting the interview questions, keeping them as open and non-guiding as possible. Furthermore, the researcher deliberately avoided mentioning personal educational background and perspectives, since this might have influenced answers; interviewees could otherwise be more inclined to response in a socially desirable manner. Other considerations during the research were anonymity and confidentiality of interviewees, if regarded necessary.
4.4 Data collection process
Currently enrolled students
The respondent group of current students was composed through non-probability sampling, more specific purposive convenience- and snowball sampling. This meant visiting the concerning faculties and recruit students, and making use of all available networks like student associations and fellow students of respondents. The researcher looked for students that met the sample requirements, for example age and field of study, and were willing to participate. Moreover, in order to overcome possible gender differences and therefore foster generalisation, the researcher conducted interviews from both female and male students. However, since in both the social domain at the UvA and HvA male representation is significantly lower in most studies9, the researcher interviewed approximately
60% female students versus 40% male students at both institutes. Furthermore, the researcher interviewed students from different social disciplines, situated in different stages of their study in order to see possible differences between studies and year of their study. As specified, within this thesis the social domain of the UvA is defined as the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences; and for the HvA, this was the Faculty of Society and Law. Importantly however, in order to make equation possible, a few studies of these faculties were left out of the target sample group, since there
weren’t similar or comparable studies at both institutes. In the Appendix, Table 12.4.1 are the studies listed that were taken into account; in Table 4.1 on the next page, details of the interviewed UvA and HvA students are presented.
9 UvA: www.universitairebachelors.nl/aantal-studenten/gedrag-en-maatschappij and HvA:
