Higher education and employment

The flow of Japanese students from the educational system into theemployment system is discussed with particular reference to highereducation. The author shows that in the Japanese case cultural processeshave to be considered as well as those deriving from purely economic models.Life-time (or at any rate long term) employment and the prevalence of asingle annual recruitment are examples of how the employment systeminfluences educational choices. The relationships between economic trendsand graduate employment opportunities are discussed, highlighting the impactof university expansion, the trend towards equalization of earnings, themarked increase in female participation, changing patterns of movementtowards and away from city locations and the diversification of industryinto new fields such as information science. Detailed examination of thetransition from the educational to the employment system confirms theimportance of cultural factors. Since major corporations tend to recruitfrom the more prestigious universities and since starting salaries do notvary greatly, employment competition is focussed more upon the company thanthe actual job undertaken. Pay differentials between individuals do notemerge till employees are into their 30's. This approach implies acompany-oriented theory of human capital which is in contrast with the moreindividualistic theories typical of Western countries. However, changes inJapanese cultural attitudes, developments in the way in which modernindustry is structured and the drive towards internationalization, all pointtowards the adoption of a more individualistic theory of human capital.