How do people start working as professionals in the field of Adult Education? There aren’t hardly any studies dealing with this topic available in Europe. Examples are one from Germany (WSF 2005) and a European one (Research voor Beleid 2008). In these studies it was shown clear that most of the employees follow an alternative path to access the professional field of Adult Education. But how do graduates of educational sciences, sociology and psychology find qualified jobs in their fields? What expectations do employers have towards just recently graduated people from these study courses?

In the context of the EU-educational project L@jost (to learn about finding jobs from digital storytelling) a transnational analysis has been carried out with seven partners from six European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Romania and Spain). Young professionals and employers in the fields of adult education have been interviewed to find out which aspects are particularly relevant to access this field. Taking into consideration the perspective of employed graduates we have formulated several questions: which competencies, skills and abilities are important to find a job? Which role do work experiences play and how do graduates start their careers? Which differences and similarities can be recognised between the researched countries? From the employers’ perspectives, which needs, expectations and requirements do employers involved in adult education have when looking for new staff? How do they assess work experience? Are there any differences between European countries? (Transnational Analysis 2009)

The paper deals with all these questions in a comparative way. The main research question is: “What are the students’ needs and strategies for job finding and what are the employers’ expectations? And how do they relate to each other?

The presentation is going to be structured as follows: firstly, the current situation of the career entry of young professionals in the field of adult education in the countries is displayed. Secondly, the methodology framework is explained and thirdly, as a conclusion, the main differences and similarities of the students’ needs and strategies on the one hand and employers’ expectations on the other are emphasized.

Bundesminesterium für Sozialforschung WSF – Wirtschafts und Sozialforschung (2005): Erhebung zur beruflichen und sozialen Lage von Lehrenden in Weiterbildungseinrichtungen Schlussbericht. Kerpen. Egetenmeyer, Regina; Iorio, Valentina; Rüffin, Sandra (2009): Identification of students’ needs for job finding and employers’ expectations. A Transnational Analysis with a focus of graduates in psychology, sociology and educational sciences. Unpublished Report. Essen. Research voor Beleid (2008): ALPINE: Adult Learning Professions in Europe. A study of the current situation, trends and issues. Final Report. Zoetemeter.