Since the great scale expansion in 1999,higher education has gotten unprecedented development in China。At the same time the graduatesdifficulties in employment have appeared increasingly,which received the extensive concerns by the various circles of society。
These theories such as Human Capital Theory established particularly by Schultz,Screening Theory,Labor Market Segmentation Theory,and the four patterns describing the graduates‘entry into the labor market,couldn’t give a satisfying answer for the question,because obtaining employment is considered as the presupposition。In fact,edcation services are not homogeneous,so higher education as one form of human capital investments has a thesis about efficiency。The author abnegates the presupposition,and puts forward Employability Hypothesis。Employability is general abilities of college students which transforms higher education into human capital accumulation and realizes it。From the point of view of human capital investment,employability based on higher education is the decisive factor of employment。The magnitude of employability is correlative with the quantity and quality of higher education,graduates‘general makings,expectations and behaviors of employment,and governments’policies about higher education。The insufficiency of employability is the essential cause of the severe situation of graduate employment。Employability Hypothesis isnt a denial to Human Capital Theory,but a kind of modification and development。
The typical survey to one university in Beijing is a test of Employability Hypothesis。The employment rate of graduate students has been in a state of equilibrium,while undergraduate students in a hard state,and academy students in a state of conjuncture。And the employment quality which is reflected by location distribution,industry and firm‘s type of employment has descended by various degrees。The conclusions of the positive analysis of employability and employment are as follows:Employability which is reflected by the work of enrollment,the personnel training mode and the occupational guidance has a crucial effect on employment。Employability which is reflected by undergraduates’general makings,expectations and actions of employment have a final influence on employment。Employability relatively dropping which is brought by policies of higher education expansion is corresponding with the change of employment。The degrees of employability influencing employment vary with subject and educational level。In sum,it proves Employability Hypothesis。From the point of view of a college student,employment lies on his employability;As for college students,employment lies on their relative employability,and this effect varies with subject and educational level。
So employability must be enhanced for improving the situations of graduate employment。Universities and colleges should refer to the labor market to establish higher education system steered by employment from three aspects which are the work of enrollment,the training mode and the vocational guidance。College students should improve their general makings and adjust their notions and expectations of employment flexibly to take active actions in job-search。Government should enhance macro-control and enrollment scale,educational finance system and evaluation。