1.1 Human Capital Theory and Vocational Drift in Higher Education
The structural divergence between vocational tertiary education and university pathways reflects distinct institutional interpretations of graduate employability within human capital theory. As tertiary systems increasingly emphasize direct occupational relevance, vocational drift across higher education curricula attempts to equip students with specific applied competencies designed to facilitate seamless labour market entry ("The Vocational Drift of French Higher Education and the Employability of Graduates", 2023). This targeted human capital formation aligns closely with the institutional logic of vocational tertiary tracks, where direct alignment with employment requirements reduces initial frictional unemployment and secures occupational matching. Conversely, generalist academic degrees prepare graduates for occupational uncertainty by fostering open-ended cognitive capacities rather than discrete job-specific techniques ("Jobs for the generalist: non-vocational degrees and employability", 2023). Under this generalist paradigm, higher education institutions promote an adaptable capacity to learn in general, framing adaptability as a mechanism to navigate an unpredictable future labour market ("Jobs for the generalist: non-vocational degrees and employability", 2023). However, the realization of employability across these paradigms is not uniform among student cohorts; while privileged students in generalist tracks can approach labour market ambiguity with confidence, those with fewer socioeconomic safety nets often require directional, immediate pathways into employment ("Jobs for the generalist: non-vocational degrees and employability", 2023). Consequently, evaluating the efficacy of vocational tertiary pathways versus university degrees requires analyzing both immediate skill utilization and the structural capacity of graduates to sustain long-term career resilience across evolving economic contexts ("The Vocational Drift of French Higher Education and the Employability of Graduates", 2023).