AlmaLaurea’s Role in Helping Graduates in the Italian Job Market

The chapter provides information concerning the context in which AlmaLaurea operates and the main foundations on which its activities are based: an annual “graduate profile” survey on the internal efficiency of the higher education system; an annual “graduates’ employment conditions” survey on the system’s external efficiency; an on-line databank of graduate résumés. Some examples of findings drawn from the two most recent annual surveys are provided. A more in-depth presentation is devoted to describing Italian graduates’ experience of traineeships during their studies. The final section of the chapter briefly discusses other AlmaLaurea activities that contribute to helping youths’ decision-making processes as regards higher education and the job market and its international initiatives. AlmaLaurea is a consortium among 65 Italian universities, accounting for 80% of the nation’s graduates. It pursues a variety of goals pertaining to the provision of information to member universities and the creation of networks linking the latter, graduates, and the business world.