SOCIAL MEDIA INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY: A QUALITATIVE REGIONAL RESEARCH

摘要

A strengthened communication between companies and other social partners is a condition for enhancing graduate employability. Social media technologies could facilitate this communication and add new dimensions of teaching and learning. We present the results of a qualitative study conducted in order to identify the opinions of relevant stakeholders in relation to the initiative of developing a social media information system in a European region, for enhancing graduate employability in that region. Similar to other European regions, in the Danube region there are various difficulties related to the employment of graduates, such as: decrease of job security over the career, high probability of having obsolete professional competences in a short period of time after graduation, and difficulties in choosing a suitable working place according to one’s education.The main study conclusions were that our initiative’s relevant stakeholders have slightly different opinions in this regard, mainly due to different levels of experience in using social media in communication processes. Also, companies expressed their intention not to interfere with universities’ e-learning environment, not even for recruitment purposes. At the same time, universities showed interest in any type of continuous involvement in the professional development of their graduates, including the initiative of extending their traditional learning space towards social networks.