Die Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft ist seit geraumer Zeit einem dynamischen Wandel unterworfen, der einhergeht mit neuen und veränderten Anforderungen an kaufmännische Fach- und Führungskräfte in den Unternehmen. Im September 2010 haben das Institut für Wirtschaftspädagogik, der Wissenschaftliche Beirat für Energiewirtschaftliche Bildung an der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig und der Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft (BDEW) begonnen, eine Analyse der Qualifikationsanforderungen an kaufmännische Fach- und Führungskräfte durchzuführen. Im Mittelpunkt der vorliegenden Broschüre stehen die Auswertung der schriftlichen Befragung der Absolventen.

While there is abundant literature about Australian rural women including references to those who have had or wish to have some form of tertiary education, little attention is given to those who are the subject of the present study, graduate rural women, in this case of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The significance of the research emerged from its focus on the experiences of such women, with the purpose of the study being to present an exploration of their previously unrecorded perceptions of themselves as graduates occupying a place in their rural communities - to articulate the impact and import of graduate status for rural women. As understanding the articulations rather than explaining the data was deemed to be more appropriate to the exploration, a qualitative-interpretivist approach was adopted, recognising that a grounded constructivist epistemology would assist in viewing the experiences through the eyes of the participants. Data were collected in the form of written narrative - correspondence via e-mail - which allowed both the participants and myself to revisit and reflect upon each other's comments. The graduate women's comments were wide-ranging, from matters of concern to all country people, to those which were particularly relevant to graduate rural women, such as the perceived value of their own expertise and their experiences in taking up either professional or other roles in the rural context. The depth of thought, the powers of perception, the identification of lines of reasoning, the development of interwoven themes in rural life, and the manner of expression through the articulation of common occurrences, revealed far more than was originally envisaged. From the resultant collation of data it was possible to identify, examine and associate important perceptions which permeated the lives of graduate rural women. An exploration of the term rural and being a rural person in that environment was an important pre-cursor to interpreting subsequent articulations as the meaning of rurality extended the accepted geographical definitions and comparative urban-rural economic and social relationships. With this understanding, remembered experiences embraced the stages of becoming and being graduate rural women in professional practice and in everyday life, evidencing the participants' introspective, positive appreciation of the impact and import of their university education in the fulfilling and rewarding application of their professional skills. The concluding stage involved the graduates' relationship with the members of their rural communities as they attempted to pursue their lives at the level of their confidence and belief in themselves and in the value of their education. Challenging situations were recounted, indicating a schism to be overcome in that association, with male culture and traditional attitudes, the feminist movement and the rural crisis being included in the considerations. The core concepts, upon which the findings of the research were structured, emerged from the participants' articulations to illustrate the stages of becoming and being graduate rural women, both from the introspective and contextual viewpoints. The written narrative articulations of graduate rural women defined their reflective views of self-empowerment through education, countered by the challenges and constraints of social reality in the application of that ability in the rural context of their professional and everyday lives. The previously unrecorded perceptions of this significant section of society have added to the store of knowledge by giving graduate women a voice, a basis for further expression and a collective presence and identity in the rural situation. The future value of this research lies in its dissemination to raise awareness of identified issues and in its invitation to explore a wider sphere of knowledge enrichment beyond its central focus.

The diploma thesis is focused on the situation of university graduates in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The main objective of the thesis is to analyse opinions, attitudes and expectations of today's university graduates in the CEE region, with focus on the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, and then, based on this analysis, to define recommendations for companies. This analytical part is preceded by a general definition of relationship between university graduates and companies, concentrating particularly on their recruitment, as well as description of labour market and system of tertiary education in CEE countries. Furthermore, education policy of European Union and its influence on development of tertiary education systems in the region is also mentioned.

This thesis deals with the application of university graduates in the labor market. The main aim of this thesis is to find out how graduates apply for the job market, and propose any recommendations to enhance their employability. The thesis is divided into two main parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical part is based on the knowledge from literature and defines the basic concepts and theoretical basis related to the labor market and graduates of university. The practical part contains an analysis of a questionnaire survey conducted among university graduates. The final part summarizes the results of the survey and includes recommendations, which should help to improve their employability in the labor market.

Die Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft ist seit geraumer Zeit einem dynamischen Wandel unterworfen, der einhergeht mit neuen und veränderten Anforderungen an kaufmännische Fach- und Führungskräfte in den Unternehmen. Im September 2010 haben das Institut für Wirtschaftspädagogik, der Wissenschaftliche Beirat für Energiewirtschaftliche Bildung an der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig und der Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft (BDEW) begonnen, eine Analyse der Qualifikationsanforderungen an kaufmännische Fach- und Führungskräfte durchzuführen. Im Mittelpunkt der vorliegenden Broschüre stehen die Auswertung der schriftlichen Befragung der Absolventen.

My diploma thesis deals with key competences, on whose further development should focus not only managers, but primarily universities offering managerial education. The aim was to find out what competences might be required in practice from the graduates of managerial fields of studies on chosen middle management positions, then to compare the established requirements with the content of the curriculum stipulated for Bachelor's Study Programme at the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics, and finally to elaborate a summary of recommendations suitable for the optimal harmonization of this programme with the requirements of established practice.

This thesis consists of an introductory part and four papers. Paper [I] estimates jointly the choice of whether to enroll in education and the choice of location among young people. Being a particularly mobile group, the location choices of young individuals shape much of the regional distribution of human capital, growth, and local public sector budgets. Applying Swedish register data on nest leavers, we seek to determine factors deciding the education and location choice of young people. The results indicate a systematic selection higher education based on school grades and preferences for locations with higher per capita tax bases and with lower shares of elderly people. The importance of family networks for the choice of location is confirmed.              Paper [II] examines how individual ability, reflected by the grade point average (GPA) from comprehensive school affects the probability of migration among university graduates. The econometric analysis applies detailed micro-data of two entire cohorts of young individuals retrieved from the Swedish population registers. The results indicate that individual abilities are strongly influential both concerning completion of a university degree and for the migration decision. In addition, we find a positive relationship between the GPA and migrating from regions with lower per capita tax bases and/or a relatively small share of highly educated individuals. Analogously, individuals with a high GPA tend to stay in more densely populated regions, suggesting a clustering of human capital vis-à-vis school grades.  Paper [III] estimates the relationship between migration across labour market regions and the subsequent changes in earnings by using the GPA from the final year of comprehensive school as a proxy for ability. This measure aims to capture heterogeneity in the returns to migration for individuals conditional on education attainment. Using Swedish register data on young adults, a difference-in-difference propensity score matching estimator is applied to estimate income differences measured up to seven years after migration. The results show variation between different ability groups regarding the returns to regional migration. There are indications of larger gains for individuals holding top grades, while the bottom half seems to benefit less, or face slightly negative effects. Paper [IV] examines whether power couple formation and the location choice of such couples are driven by factors already inherent in young people during their formative school years. The paper also extends the analysis by modeling location choice among different sizes of labor market areas, given different power statuses of the couples. Based on analysis of Swedish register data, we produce evidence that power spouses evolve from the population of high achieving school age individuals; the latter is identified by high academic performance during their years of compulsory school. Regarding location choice, the results indicate that power couples display a relatively high tendency to migrate from their regions of origin to large cities.

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of employability of university graduates in the Czech Republic and the possibilities they have to improve their prospects on the labour market. The text analyses specific factors affecting the employability of graduates and it also provides an outlook on the situation from the employer's point of view. Research method used is the questionnaire survey that analyses the most important requirements of the companies. Second part of the research focuses on the university graduates, analyses their work experience and extracurricular activities and how beneficial that can be in finding a new job position. The aim of the thesis is to asses current situation of the university graduates in connection with the requirements of the employers. The diploma thesis confirmed that having a work experience during university significantly helps to find an employment in the future. The last part of the thesis also provides suggestions to improve the current situation of university graduates.

Worldwide, employee turnover has been and remains a concern for organizations. Previous research has shown that the loss of a valuable employee creates both tangible and intangible costs for companies, and organizations are therefore forced to focus their efforts on employee retention. Previous research has also shown that university graduates have capabilities that are of value in industries going through transformation, and that supervisors, i.e., employees with personnel responsibility, play an important role in the retention of this type of employee.  The purpose of this qualitative single case study is to investigate how a supervisor can contribute to the retention of their young university graduate employees, particularly in the context of a largescale enterprise in the Swedish automotive industry. This is done partly through a literature review concluded with a theoretical framework that summarizes the existing literature's suggestions about factors that contribute to employee retention. In this framework, suggestions from existing literature are separated into themes depending on what aspect of employee retention they deal with. These five themes, including job design, communication, leadership, organizational support as well as atmosphere and work environment, recur throughout this study to structure the findings. The investigation is also done through primary data collection in the form of interviews with young university graduate employees at the case company, as well as a focus group with supervisors from the case company. This is complemented by the collection of archival data. The interview data are then analyzed to find themes and patterns using the Gioia-method.  The study finds several factors and activities that young academic employees value at their workplace. Some of these findings include freedom under responsibility, helpful and supportive supervisors, personal development, cooperation between departments and an open workplace climate. The findings are discussed in relation to the study’s purpose as well as in relation to the theoretical framework. The study concludes by summarizing the extent to which the findings of this study confirm the suggestions from previous literature under each of the five themes, as well as by presenting the findings that extend the theoretical framework. The findings that extend the framework include networking, benefits, an open climate, varying work tasks, a well-structured introduction process, as well as a beneficial geographic location of the office. For each of the five themes, practical suggestions are also given concerning how a supervisor can contribute to the retention of their young university graduate employees. / Runtom i världen har medarbetaromsättning varit och är fortfarande ett bekymmer för organisationer. Tidigare forskning har visat att bortfallet av en värdefull medarbetare skapar både materiella och immateriella kostnader för bolag, därför måste organisationer anstränga sig för att behålla sina medarbetare. Tidigare forskning har också visat att akademiker besitter förmågor som är av värde i industrier som genomgår transformation, samt att chefer spelar en viktig roll i att behålla denna typ av medarbetare.  Syftet med denna kvalitativa fallstudie är att undersöka hur en chef kan bidra till bibehållandet av sina unga högskoleutbildade medarbetare, specifikt i kontexten av ett storskaligt bolag inom den svenska fordonsindustrin. Detta görs delvis genom en litteraturstudie som avslutas med ett teoretiskt ramverk, där den existerande litteraturens förslag kring faktorer som bidrar till bibehållandet av medarbetare summeras. I detta ramverk delas litteraturens förslag in i teman beroende på vilken aspekt av bibehållandet av medarbetare som de behandlar. Dessa teman; arbetsdesign, kommunikation, ledarskap, stöd från organisationen samt atmosfär och arbetsmiljö, återkommer genom studien för att strukturera upp resultaten. Undersökningen görs också genom primär datainsamling i form av intervjuer med unga högskoleutbildade medarbetare på fallstudiebolaget, samt en fokusgrupp med chefer från fallstudiebolaget. Detta kompletteras med insamling av arkivdata. De data som samlats in från intervjuerna analyseras sedan för att identifiera teman och mönster enligt Gioia-metoden.  Studien finner flertalet faktorer och aktiviteter som unga högskoleutbildade medarbetare värderar på sin arbetsplats. Några av dessa inkluderar frihet under ansvar, hjälpsamma och stöttande chefer, personlig utveckling, samarbete mellan avdelningar och ett öppet arbetsklimat. Dessa resultat diskuteras i relation till studiens syfte samt i relation till det teoretiska ramverket. Studien avslutar genom att summera till vilken grad studiens resultat bekräftar förslagen från tidigare litteratur under de fem olika temana, samt genom att presentera de resultat som utökar det teoretiska ramverket. De resultat som utökar ramverket inkluderar nätverkande, förmåner, ett öppet arbetsklimat, varierande arbetsuppgifter, en välstrukturerad introduktionsprocess samt en fördelaktig geografisk placering av kontoret. För var och en av de fem temana presenteras också praktiska förslag för hur en chef kan bidra till bibehållandet av sina unga högskoleutbildade medarbetare.

Der Übergang Europas in die Wissensgesellschaft ist durch die massive Ausbreitung wissenschaftlichen Wissens und dessen Eindringen in den ökonomischen Produktionsprozess gekennzeichnet. Für die Teilnahme von Regionen an der Wissensgesellschaft ist die Ausbildung junger Akademiker und deren Integration in den regionalen Arbeitsmarkt von entscheidender Bedeutung. In dieser Perspektive wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit die Erwerbssituation und die regionale Mobilität italienischer Hochschulabsolventen aus dem Mezzogiorno betrachtet. Die Untersuchung erfolgt anhand von zwei methodischen Ansätzen. Im ersten empirischen Teil wird umfangreiches Datenmaterial, u.a. die Hochschulabsolventenbefragung des italienischen Statistikamts, ausgewertet. Hierbei zeigt sich, dass der italienische Mezzogiorno trotz vergleichsweise niedriger Absolventenzahlen von einer extremen Jungakademikerarbeitslosigkeit gekennzeichnet ist: Zudem verlassen viele junge Süditaliener vor Studienbeginn oder nach Studienende ihre Heimat, um in Nord- oder Mittelitalien eine Arbeit zu finden, so dass von einem regelrechten Brain drain gesprochen werden kann. Im zweiten empirischen Teil der Arbeit werden in einer hermeneutischen Perspektive sowohl die Erwerbssituation als auch die Mobilitätsbereitschaft von Hochschulabsolventen in Sizilien untersucht. Mit Hilfe von biographisch orientierten, themenzentrierten qualitativen Interviews wird der Versuch unternommen, die Handlungsrationalitäten zu verstehen, die sich hinter den hohen Arbeitslosenzahlen verbergen. Es wird gezeigt, dass die sozialen, kulturellen und institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen die Entstehung komplexer Aktivitätsnetze begünstigen, die den Verbleib in Sizilien auch bei einer unbefriedigenden Erwerbssituation ermöglichen und zu einem permanenten Hinausschieben der Wanderungsentscheidung beitragen. Für die regionale Entwicklung Siziliens, wie auch der übrigen Regionen des Mezzogiorno, kann sich aber gerade der Verbleib junger Hochschulabsolventen in der Unterbeschäftigung als Standortvorteil für wissensorientierte Unternehmen und somit als Entwicklungspotential erweisen. / Europe''s transition towards the Knowledge Society is characterised by major advances in scientific knowledge and its infiltration of the economic production process. To fulfil their role in the Knowledge Society, regions must ensure that young academics can be educated and integrated into the regional labour market. In this perspective the book analyses the employment situation and the regional mobility of young academics in the Italian Mezzogiorno using two different empirical approaches. The first part of this paper investigates the employment situation and regional mobility of young Italian academics using data sources provided by the Italian statistical office, Istat. Despite its comparatively small academic population, the Italian Mezzogiorno is marked by extremely high unemployment levels among young academics. Furthermore, a large number of young Italians from the South leave their home region before starting university or after graduation in order to find jobs in Northern or Central Italy. The second section of this paper draws on empirical evidence to analyse the employment outlook and high level of emigration among young Sicilian graduates from a hermeneutic perspective. With the help of biographical, problem-oriented qualitative interviews, the author attempts to understand the culturally embedded rationalities that inform statistical evidence. Sicily''s social, cultural and institutional framework is shown to promote the growth of highly complex networks of activity that encourage young unemployed graduates to remain in unsatisfactory work environments and constantly postpone their decision to migrate. On a more positive note, the continued presence of young underemployed university graduates may be considered beneficial to the regional development of Sicily, as well as other parts of the Mezzogiorno, if interpreted as a regional advantage for knowledge-intensive industries in their search for new locations.