No easy transition from education into employment
Published: 16 July 2008
A group of researchers from the Faculty of Social Sciences (Fakulteta za družbene vede, FDV [1]) at the University of Ljubljana (Univerza v Ljubljani [2]) worked on a project exploring different issues regarding the transition of young people from school to work; they published a report on the main project findings in 2007.[1] http://www.fdv.uni-lj.si/[2] http://www.uni-lj.si/
A year after completing education, about 80% of young Slovenians are in employment. However, this proportion was just 70% for those who had only a secondary school level of education. The main reasons for difficulties in the transition from school to work relate to insufficient job vacancies and a mismatch between labour supply and demand. Almost half of employed persons aged 15–24 years are on fixed-term contracts, a much higher proportion than for the total employed population.
About the research
A group of researchers from the Faculty of Social Sciences (Fakulteta za družbene vede, FDV) at the University of Ljubljana (Univerza v Ljubljani) worked on a project exploring different issues regarding the transition of young people from school to work; they published a report on the main project findings in 2007.
The main issues covered in the study relate to the employability of young people in Slovenia, structural reasons for youth unemployment, the mismatch between labour supply and demand, and the question of competencies needed in certain occupations. Most of the project findings are based on in-depth analyses of secondary data, such as the labour force survey (LFS), as well as various other administrative and statistical sources.
Transition from school to work
In total, 78.6% of young people who completed their education in 2004 at any educational level were in employment or working a year later, while 11.3% of them were unemployed and 10.1% were economically inactive (see table). A comparable but less detailed analysis of LFS data from 2001 showed that 87% of young persons who left education at any educational level in 2000 were in employment 10 to 15 months later. This indicates that the situation for making the transition from school to work deteriorated somewhat between 2000 and 2005. Graduates of secondary school education are in the worst situation in this regard as, a year after leaving school with a completed secondary qualification, only 69.2% of those who graduated in 2004 were in any form of employment, while 20.2% were unemployed and 11.6% were economically inactive (Kramberger and Pavlin, 2007, pp. 145–146).
| Primary level education | Secondary level education | Higher and non-university higher level education | Graduate and post-graduate university level education | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed in organisation | - | 49.9 | 89.3 | 76.2 | 67.2 |
| Self-employed | - | 5.6 | - | 1.9 | 3.1 |
| Employed by self-employed person | 82.5 | 9.5 | - | 1.3 | 5.1 |
| Family worker | - | 1.9 | - | 4.8 | 0.8 |
| Other type of work | - | 1.3 | - | 4.8 | 2.4 |
| Unemployed | 17.5 | 20.2 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 11.3 |
| Economically inactive | - | 11.6 | 8.1 | 9.5 | 10.1 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Respondent sample (No. of persons) | 228 | 11,415 | 5,149 | 11,004 | 27,796 |
Notes: LFS data for the second quarter of 2005. Some of the data may add up to more or less than 100%, due to rounding of figures.
Source: Kramberger and Pavlin (eds), 2007, p. 145
Mismatch between labour supply and demand
The main reasons for increasing difficulties in the transition from school to work are structural: not enough vacancies are available for young people, and a mismatch exists between labour supply and demand. The annual outflow of secondary education graduates, which amounts to about 18,000 to 20,000 persons a year, surpasses the demand for secondary-level qualifications by 50%. Moreover, the annual outflow of third-level graduates, which amounts to about 8,000 to 9,000 new graduates a year, represents twice the number of job vacancies for persons with third-level education (ibid, pp. 98–99).
The mismatch between labour supply and demand is particularly evident in professions requiring third-level education. While young people most often opt for business and administrative studies – in 2004, 35.4% of graduates came from such courses – demand is higher for technical professions such as manufacturing technologies, metal engineering and construction engineering, as well as science, mathematics and computer technologies.
Job search behaviour
According to LFS data for the second quarter of 2006, practically all unemployed persons aged 15–29 years are looking for full-time employment and do not consider self-employment or part-time jobs.
Young unemployed people are in general very active in their job search, using several methods. The most common job search method of unemployed persons aged 15–29 years in 2006 was to ask relatives, friends and acquaintances; this method was particularly used by the youngest unemployed persons (15–19 years) and by those with completed vocational and professional education. Other prevalent job search methods were directly asking potential employers and intensively searching job ads. Only about half of the young unemployed people relied on help from public employment offices, while private employment agencies were used by fewer than a quarter of them (ibid, pp. 47–50).
Fixed-term employment contracts
Since the job security of persons working on open-ended employment contracts is still very high, employers offer new jobs mostly on the basis of a fixed-term employment contract. In recent years, more than three quarters of new jobs have been temporary or fixed-term in nature. Fixed-term employment in Slovenia is not related to education, but to age and years of experience in the labour market.
This insecurity largely affects young people, particularly those looking for their first job. In 2001, 42.9% of employed persons aged 15–24 years were hired on a fixed-term employment contract, while the corresponding proportion in the 15–29 year population was 28% and only 4.9% in the population aged 30 years or more. In 2007, 47.3% of employed persons aged 15–24 years were hired on fixed-term employment contracts, while the corresponding figure in the 25–49 age group was 12.9% and only 4.7% among 50–64 year olds (ibid, p. 54). Fixed-term employment of young people is often perceived as a probation or testing period for their potential entry to more stable employment. Such fixed-term contracts may be renewed or extended several times before the person receives a more stable open-ended employment contract – if they ever do.
Reference
Kramberger, A. and Pavlin, S. (eds), Zaposljivost v Sloveniji – Analiza prehoda iz šol v zaposlitve: stanje, napovedi, primerjave [Employability in Slovenia – Analysis of transition from school to work: situation, forecast, comparisons], Ljubljana, FDV, 2007.
The report and a [summary (in Slovenian, 360Kb PDF)](http://ceps.pef.uni-lj.si/CEPS predstavitev knjige 11 12 2007 (AK).pdf) are available in Slovenian.
Martina Trbanc, Organisational and Human Resources Research Centre (OHRRC), University of Ljubljana
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2008), No easy transition from education into employment, article.
