This paper is designed to provoke university leaders to question conventional wisdom, accepted practice and politico/social direction. It starts rather factually, describingthe landscape of employability in higher education, and then introduces some political considerations. Conceptual points on graduate attributes follow, before I delve into matters more contested, such as the purpose of universities, with my thoughts presented in the context of the preceding points on employability. In short, I argue for institutional and sectoral autonomy, holding that slavishly following imposed agendas will ultimately reduce our institutions’ contribution to economic wellbeing
![The employability agenda and beyond: what are universities for?](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/thumbnails/documents/lfhe/asset_images_docs/research_resources/research/stimulus_papers/2014/olivier_employability_and_beyond.pdf_1572865901.pdf_1572865901.jpg)