Employability has counter impact on high education
Abstract
This study investigates the counter impact of employability on higher education, focusing on graduate employment challenges amid China’s rapid expansion of higher education. While enrollment scales continue to grow, graduates confront persistent “unemployment upon graduation,” driven by labor market supply-demand imbalances, theory-practice disconnects, and curricular stagnation. The Fourth Industrial Revolution exacerbates these issues, with talent shortages in fields like artificial intelligence underscoring the misalignment between higher education and market demands. Through literature analysis and empirical evidence, this research demonstrates that China’s higher education must align with labor market needs by restructuring academic programs (e.g., introducing AI-related disciplines), prioritizing vocational training, and enhancing practical skill development. The study further emphasizes the urgency for institutions to increase responsiveness to labor market dynamics, reform pedagogical models, and strike a balance between theoretical and applied learning. Ultimately, employability emerges not only as a critical metric for evaluating educational efficacy but also as a central catalyst for systemic adaptation to societal transformations.
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