ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the changing relationship between higher education, credential competition and the graduate labour market, along with the prospects for narrowing inequalities in life-chances. It begins with a brief account of positional consensus theories of the role of education and credentials in a knowledge-driven economy. The chapter outlines some of the key trends that are transforming the relationship between higher education, credentials and the labour market, including changes in employer recruitment strategies. It explains why widening access to HE will not improve working-class occupational mobility there is a significant mismatch that has resulted in high rates of graduate underemployment. When the supply of graduates outstrips labour market demand for professional, managerial and high level technical roles, working-class mobility depends on levelling the playing field as more room at the top can only be achieved by reshuffling the pack. This depends on increasing downward intergenerational social mobility within middle class-families.
