COVID-19 crisis and challenges for graduate employment in Taiwan, Mainland China and East Asia: a critical review of skills preparing students for uncertain futures

Graduate employment and unemployment or underemployment are becoming increasingly important issues confronting not only global higher education research but also social and political debates in contemporary societies. In addition to the rapid social and economic changes resulting from the exponential technologies, the outbreak of the COVID-19pandemic has further intensified unemployment resulted from the serious global economic downturn. As the leading article for the present Special Issue examining the complex issues of graduate employment before the COVID-19 crisis,this article reviews some key issues related to youth transition from education to work, specifically addressing graduate employment issues confronting the societies in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other East Asian societies. To prepare students to be adaptive to rapid social and economic changes generated from the unprecedented global COVID-19 crisis, higher education institutions must search for a more flexible approach to prepare them to manage uncertain futures. More research should be conducted to better understand not only graduate employment but also broader issues concerning university governance in the post-COVID-19 era.