1. Competencies of higher education graduates in Russia (case of the Volgograd region) Bydanova L., Post-doctorate, IREDU

3. Survey among graduates: sampling design 2,000 graduates, level ISCED 5 (« Bac +5 »), 4 - 5 years after graduation; Volgograd State University (Human and Social sciences, Exact Sciences)

4. Key question: Competencies What competencies are required on the graduate labour market in Russia? How higher education contributes to developping of required competencies?

5. Russia: economy in transition 1990: Move from a planning economy to a free market one 1990 – 1998 : Economic crise PIB : - 38 %; Employment rate : - 12 % 1999 - 2005: Economic revival Average annual PIB increase: 6 % (1999 – 2004) Decrease in unemployment: from 7,059 thousands to 5,208 thousands (2000 – 2005)

6. Graduate Labour Market in Europe Demand for a Flexible Professional with 4 areas of competence : Professional expertise; Functional flexibility; Innovation and knowledge management; Mobilisation of human resources. European survey (« Careers of Higher Education Graduates (CHEERS) » project, 1998; 11 countries of EU and Japan, 35,000 graduates)

7. … and in Russia ? What competencies are required on the Russian labour market? Hypothesis: Like in the countires of the EU, the expert knowledge is not the only and the most demanded competence. There is a need for a larger set of competencies.

9. Competencies

10. Competencies required on the labour market Competencies required in current employment (graduates assessment) Scale: 1 (not important) - 7 (very important), N = 290

11. Role of non-cognitive competencies Evidence from international research: Non-cognitive competencies are of high importance for professional success (Bowles, Gintis et Osborne, 2001, Heckman, Stixrud & Urzua, 2006, Postleweite & Silverman, 2006, Suleman et Paul, 2006, Blanden, Gregg, Macmillan, 2006) Coefficients of importance of competencies in employment

12. Monetary returns to competencies, other than knowledge in field

13. Monetary returns to competencies: other than knowledge in field

14. Flexibility: impact on earnings

15. Conclusion 1 Knowledge in field is far from being the only and the most demanded competence on the labour market.

16. Role of higher education in developping the required competencies

17. Conclusions Knowledge in field is far from being the only and the most demanded competence on the labour market. Higher education institutions should pay more attention to developing a wide range of other competencies

19. Monetary returns to competencies International research: Workers using computers earn an average premium of 20 %, compared to those who do not use computers at all » (Green, 1998, Great Britain) Cognitive skills and strategic skills bring a 3 % increase in salary and a premium of 11-16 % in profit sharing in a banking sector in Portugal (Suleman & Paul, 2006) Research in Russia: No studies known on this topic

20. Monetary returns to competencies: difference across sectors