The dilemma of (un)employment of higher education graduates in Brazil

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between education and work, focusing on the employment conditions of graduates in higher education in Brazil. To this end, we revisit an article titled "The Fallacy of Qualification: Dilemmas of (Un)employment of Higher Education Professionals," published twenty years ago. Thus, we rely on quantitative data about the labor market for higher education graduates in contemporary Brazil. In the article, we demonstrate that, despite the relatively low number of graduates in the country, we are already experiencing a form of overqualification in the workforce, resulting in atypical jobs for those with this level of education, although a higher education diploma still represents a relative advantage in the job market. We observe a trend of devaluation of the higher education diploma in Brazil, leading to a new dissolution of the integrative promise of education. However, we note that, considering this trend of devaluation, a shift in the mode of education pursued in this field is occurring, with a predominance of distance learning to align the investments of time and money in this education with the job prospects of graduates. Finally, we relate these trends to the early deindustrialization process in the country, which remains unable to produce qualified and well-paid job positions.