Synopses & Reviews
Two professors look at the mystique around universities and the consequences of "credentialism."
For decades, we have promoted the idea that a university degree is a passport to future career success. Ken Coates and Bill Morrison argue that the over-promotion of higher education and university degrees is actually undermining the lives of young people, saddling them with enormous debts, and costing governments huge amounts of money.
As the young flock to universities in ever-increasing numbers, fewer of them than ever find the elusive "good jobs" that they are pursuing. In fact, many of those jobs no longer exist. We are in the midst of a youth employment crisis that is global in proportion, and we are facing serious misunderstandings about the unfolding career prospects for young adults entering a world of rapid technological change. Ken Coates and Bill Morrison explore the impacts of universities turning out graduates with the wrong skills, and the consequences of vanishing job opportunities.
Synopsis
The "good jobs" of the past are almost gone. Today, many university graduates face unemployment while others face underemployment. Ken Coates and Bill Morrison explore the death of the "good job," and the role that universities have played in the disconnect between career fantasies and realities.
Synopsis
- Authors' previous books together sold well. Campus Confidential (2011) has sold over 6,000 copies, and What to Consider If You're Considering University (2014) has sold more than 2,200 copies to date.
- Co-author Ken Coates is an active guest on many radio and television programs and a regular contributor to the print media. For more information, go to http://kencoates.com/in-the-press/
- Coates is also regular speaker through the National Speakers Bureau. For more information, go to http://www.nsb.com/speakers/ken-coates/
- Education and over-education are hot topics right now. See the title article of The Economist, April 2015: "The Whole World Is Going to University: Is It Worth It?"
- Youth unemployment is also a hot topic. Youth unemployment stands at 13.6 percent nationally and 17.1 percent in Ontario.
About the Author
Ken S. Coates is a prolific author whose works include
Canada's Colonies,
The Modern North,
North to Alaska, many academic books, and documentaries. He has served as a consultant to northern governments and organizations and is Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon.
Bill Morrison was a professor and administrator at universities in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia and a visiting professor in the United States before he retired in 2010. Morrison has published fourteen books, twelve of them in collaboration with Kenneth Coates. He lives in Ladysmith, B.C.
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