This article discusses the importance of graduates’ language skills and their European Regional Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) experiences. The purpose of the research is to establish whether the potential benefits of ERASMUS participation for employability, particularly with regard to language skills, mean that organizations have a propensity to employ ex-ERASMUS students. The academic literature does not provide a conclusive answer regarding the specific benefits of student mobility participation. To test the claims that mobile students are statistically more employable on graduation, primary research was conducted on the perspectives of higher education institutions, businesses and students. The findings suggest that businesses do value language skills especially but put little emphasis on their origin.
AhmedAF (2009) The employability of graduates in competitive organisations. Business Intelligence Journal2(2): 288–318.
2.
AhnS (2014) A good learning opportunity, but is it for me? A study of Swedish students’ attitudes towards exchange studies in higher education. Journal of Research in International Education13(2): 106–118.
BehrD (2015) Translating answers to open-ended survey questions in cross-cultural research: a case study on the interplay between translation, coding and analysis. Field Methods27(3): 284–299.
5.
BezzinaFSaundersM (2014) The pervasiveness and implications of statistical misconceptions among academics with a special interest in business research methods. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods12(2): 29–40.
6.
BotasPHuismanJ (2013) A Bourdieusian analysis of the participation of Polish students in the ERASMUS programme: cultural and social capital perspectives. Higher Education66(6): 741–754.
7.
BrandenburgUBerghoffSTaboadelaO (2014) The Erasmus Impact Study: Effects of Mobility on the Skills and Employability of Students and the Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions. Brussels: European Commission. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/study/2014/erasmus-impact_en.pdf (accessed 21 September 2015).
8.
BrooksRWatersJPimlott-WilsonH (2012) International education and the employability of UK students. British Educational Research Journal38(2): 281–298.
9.
CavanaghJBurstonMSouthcombeA. (2015) Contributing to a graduate-centred understanding of work readiness: an exploratory study of Australian undergraduate students’ perceptions of their employability. International Journal of Management Education13: 278–288.
10.
CuterelaS (2012) Globalization: definition, processes and concepts. Romanian Statistical Review 60(4): 137–146.
11.
DeakinH (2013) How and why we should encourage undergraduate geography students to participate in the Erasmus programme. Journal of Geography in Higher Education37(3): 466–475.
12.
Di PietroG (2013) Do study abroad programs enhance the employability of graduates?Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit – Institute for the Study of Labor. Available at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp7675.pdf(accessed 26 September 2015).
13.
European Commission (2014) Erasmus+: What’s in It for Higher Education? An Introduction for Students, Teachers and Staff in Higher Education: Changing Lives, Opening Minds. Brussels: European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture. Available at: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/erasmus--pbNC0213736/ (accessed 22 October 2015).
14.
European Commission (2015) Erasmus Impact Study confirms EU student exchange scheme boosts employability and job mobility. Press Release, European Commission. Available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1025_en.htm (accessed 22 October 2015).
KalauzMHudecGKirinicV (2015) Soft skills perception among students: importance and performance. Paper presented at 26th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems, 23–25 September 2015, Varazdin, Croatia.
23.
KuhnT (2012) Why educational exchange programmes miss their mark: cross-border mobility, education and European identity. Journal of Common Market Studies50(6): 994–1010.
MitchellK (2012) Student mobility and European identity: ERASMUS study as a civic experience?Journal of Contemporary European Research8(4): 490–518.
27.
MitchellK (2015) Rethinking the ‘ERASMUS effect’ on European identity. Journal of Common Market Studies53(2): 330–348.
28.
ModellS (2009) In defence of triangulation: a critical realist approach to mixed methods research in management accounting. Management Accounting Research20(3): 208–221.
29.
PareyMWaldingerF (2011) Studying abroad and the effect on international labour market mobility: evidence from the introduction of ERASMUS. Economic Journal121(551): 194–222.
30.
ProdingerBShawLvan BruggenH. (2012a) Student perspectives on the development and evaluation of a joint international education to promote employability in Europe. Work41(4): 439–446.
31.
ProdingerBShawLvan BruggenH. (2012b) Euro-Education: employability for all (EEE4all). Work41(4): 433–438.
32.
Rodriguez GonzalezCBustillo MesanzaRMarielP (2011) The determinants of international student mobility flows: an empirical study on the Erasmus programme. Higher Education62(4): 413–430.
33.
SaundersMLewisPThornhillA (2012) Research Methods for Business Students. Harlow: Pearson.
34.
SigalasE (2008) People mobility and European union legitimacy: the effect of the ‘Erasmus’ student exchange programme on European identity and EU support. PhD thesis, University of Reading, UK.
35.
SmythJDillmanDChristianL. (2009) Open-ended questions in web surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly73(2): 325–337.
36.
TeichlerU (2004) Temporary study abroad: the life of ERASMUS students. European Journal of Education39(4): 395–408.
37.
TholenG (2014) Graduate employability and educational context: a comparison between Great Britain and the Netherlands. British Educational Research Journal40(1): 1–17.
TumaMDeckerRScholzS (2011) A survey of the challenges and pitfalls of cluster analysis application in market segmentation. International Journal of Market Research53(3): 391–414.
40.
TymonA (2013) The student perspective on employability. Studies in Higher Education38(6): 841–856.
41.
UnluI (2015) Teacher candidates’ opinions on Erasmus student exchange program. Kuram Ve Uygulamada Egitim Bilimleri15(1): 223–237.
42.
VaicekauskasTDuobaKKumpikaite-ValiunieneV (2013) The role of international mobility in students’ core competences development. Economics & Management18(4): 847–856.
43.
VenkateshVBrownSBalaH (2013) Bridging the qualitative–quantitative divide: guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems’. MIS Quarterly37(1): 21–54.
WilsonI (2011) What should we expect of ‘Erasmus generations’?Journal of Common Market Studies49(5): 1113–1140.
46.
WochowskaM (2015) Non-formal learning and the acquisition of skills: how does the EU support youth employment?Comparative Economic Research18(2): 161–179.
47.
YangMWebsterBProsserM (2011) Travelling a thousand miles: Hong Kong Chinese students’ study abroad experience. International Journal of Intercultural Relations35: 69–78.
48.
Yücelsin-TasYT (2013) Problems encountered by students who went abroad as part of the Erasmus programme and suggestions for solutions. Journal of Instructional Psychology40(1–4): 81–87.
49.
ZwickHAliS (2015) Student disinterest for mobility: microeconomic determinants. Current Politics and Economics of Europe26(1): 93–108.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
