The mismatch between higher education and the labor market needs and some of the imbalances in the supply and demand of human resources in the IRAN over the past years has been raised a major challenge for the economic system of the country. The labor market data especially human capital distribution in economic and social system is the prerequisite for any decision making and any kind of planning for investment in human capital. National statistics for graduate’s employment consists of temporary cross-sectional survey and the 5-year census data does not specify the status of graduates' activities in all dimensions. Most importantly, these data do not provide access to the status of skills and the match or mismatch of the field study with the job skills and other specifications needed to measure the external performance of the higher education system and human resource management in the country.
In accordance with paragraph 78 of the General Policy Statement of the Sixth Development Plan, the regulation of the relationship between education and employment and the alignment of levels and disciplines is one of the essential requirements for the development of science and technology. In addition, a continuous system of evaluation and human resource development is one of the major pillars of sustainable development and knowledge-based development, and the most important part or sub-set of this evaluation system is the collection and production of continuous statistical data on labor market specification. In order to monitor the status of human capital, trace studies and the establishment of statistical databases on employment opportunities for higher education graduates sat on the agenda of the Institute for Research and Planning in higher Education.
With regard to the main objective of the project that is to develop road map for graduates trace studies, and that, based on the results of the theoretical and experimental part of the plan, long-term surveys should be conducted by universities and higher education institutions, so, the Institute for Research and Planning for Higher Education, in pursuing its mission of operationalizing the outcomes of the plan, has set up an University Graduate Student Network (IRANTRACE). This network initially shares the documents, academic knowledge and international links required for the universities, proceeding by designing the graduates' online survey system, trough calling graduates of each university for complete online questionnaire (with the maintenance of rights for each university and secret access to the results of each university).