Pathways for Graduates into the not-for-profit sector

This thesis expands the boundaries of existing research on rising precarity in graduate labour markets. Sociological research disproportionally focuses on the experiences and employability of graduates, the supply-side of the graduate labour market. In this thesis I argue for the importance of a demand-side analysis focused on the decisions of hiring organisations. Looking at the largely unstudied graduate labour market of Australia's not-for-profit sector, I investigate how not-for-profit organisations structure entry-level work hence shaping graduate pathways into employment. I ask: How do organisations shape graduate pathways into the not-for-profit sector? To answer this question, I gathered organisational data for use within a mixed methods research design. I monitored a website that posts job advertisements for not-for-profit organisations, EthicalJobs.com.au, and conducted semi-structured interviews with managers of recruitment at not-for-profit organisations. In contrast to much of the existing research, I also include both paid and unpaid forms of entry-level work in my analysis. Such an approach, which explores the relationship between entry-level work and organisational practice, deepens our understanding of contemporary labour markets and the difficulties encountered by young job seekers.