A Capability Perspective on Employability of Higher Education Graduates in Bulgaria

Abstract

The paper examines the employability of higher education graduates in Bulgaria in the context of higher education expansion and economic crisis. It adopts a comparative perspective by placing Bulgaria among other post-communist countries – Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The paper contributes to previous research on graduate employability by applying the theoretical framework of the capability approach to the extent that it takes into account the qualitative side of employability and is sensitive to diverse contexts. It is argued that the high employment rates among graduates mask the problems that they are currently experiencing in the labour market. The paper draws on data from the European Social Survey (2006-2010) and uses descriptive statistics, logistic and linear regressions for the analysis. Results demonstrate the usefulness of giving a capability perspective towards graduates employability and reveal huge disparities in graduate employability among the most qualified in these six countries.