The Demand for Skills in Vacancies: Who Is the University Preparing?

Abstract

An important challenge for modern higher education systems is to ensure that the skills of graduates meet the labor market needs. This paper provides a comparative analysis of educational programs in social, mathematical, and computer sciences, on one hand, and vacancies, on the other, to reveal how the learning outcomes declared in educational programs match the real demands of employers. Using natural language processing methods, we compare the unified semantic core of official documents describing higher educational programs to the descriptions of Internet-advertised vacancies. We classify skills into those actually demanded and those declared and identify the most fitting job titles for the graduates of specific educational programs. The study has an important applied value and can prove useful in the more effective monitoring of the skills traded in the labor market. We also deliberate on the implications for the higher education system.