Exploring the processual nature of Human Resources Graduate Employability (HRGE): a line manager perspective

In the UK, the skills agenda continues to dominate Higher Education (HE) policy (Leitch, 2006, Holmes, 2015, Jackson, 2016) with universities facing criticism from a range of stakeholders (particularly employers) regarding the work-readiness of graduates. Yet, Holmes (2001, 2013, 2015) asserts that expanding our understandings of graduate employability (GE) cannot be achieved by the skills agenda alone. Instead, Holmes advises that empirical studies should seek to understand the processes by which graduates engage with post-graduation trajectories, including interactions between graduates and employers and the social and contextual influences relevant to these processes. This paper outlines findings from twenty-two semi-structured interviews with line managers of graduates working in HR graduate level jobs in the UK. Findings draw attention to the influence of workplace relationships on HR graduates’ university-workplace transitions, and shed light on the processual nature of employers’ perceptions of HR graduate employability (HRGE). Such findings challenge our assumptions regarding conventional HE provision. Whereas HE policy focuses on skill-development and boosting the human capital potential of graduates, the findings of this paper pose the question: are we teaching what the workplace actually requires?