Re: More important than universities are the so-called grandes écoles, such as the ENA, the École nationale d’administration. The ruling élite (to which Prime Minister Villepin and President Chirac belong but not, significantly, their rival, the “pro-Anglo-Saxon” Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy) consists of so-called énarques or ENA alumni. The state run grandes écoles can only be entered after taking two years of “classes préparatoires” (or prépas). It is very difficult, and costs a fortune, to get admitted to the prépas, with the result that university is only a second choice for many students.
Americans shouldn't make such a fuss over France's ENA, Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole des Mines, etc. They are but the French equivalent of the US Ivy League(*). For US graduates, there's also a big difference between a Harvard MBA and, say, a Montana University degree....
(*) en.wikipedia.org
Re: ...strong job growth and falling unemployment makes this spring the hottest job market for America's 1.4 million college graduates since the dot-com collapse in 2001. The firm pointed to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers which showed employers plan to hire 14.5 percent more new college graduates than a year ago.
I believe a crucial difference between the US and EU labor market is labor mobility. It's much easier for a Hawaai graduate to relocate in NYC and vice versa than it is for a Portuguese engineer to relocate and work in, say, Estonia... which leads us to another important, if unnoticed, difference, namely, multilingualism, a skill almost alien to US graduates. For instance, unlike in the US, it's mandatory for a would-be French mid-level secretary to speak at least two languages --either her native French + English or French + Spanish. In countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Nordic countries, TRI-lingualism is considered a minimum requisite for such menial/low-level jobs as taxi drivers, tellers, retail vendors, police officers, and nurses, to name but a few. I guess many Americans would find it difficult to strive and succeed in a job market where almost every jobseeker is expected to speak fluently several languages.... Just compare employment offered by the US Federal gov. to that offered by the EU administration(s). Except for jobs dealing with immigration or close to the Mexican border, the only language requisite for US gov jobs is English proficiency --period. Contrariwise, all white-collar jobs offered by EU departments require fluency in at least two official EU languages.
Gus |
