Analysis of the factors determining educational mismatches: evidence from the Catalonian employment insertion surveys

Purpose The existence of mismatches between training and jobs is relatively common and is accentuated in times of crisis where unemployment is growing. The negative effects that this phenomenon can generate on both workers and the economy makes its study relevant. The objective of this research is t...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Cortadas Guasch, Pau
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repository:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/152963
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10609/152963
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:training
working life
human capital
educational level
job market
educational mismatch
vertical mismatch
horizontal mismatch
graduates
Description
Summary:Purpose The existence of mismatches between training and jobs is relatively common and is accentuated in times of crisis where unemployment is growing. The negative effects that this phenomenon can generate on both workers and the economy makes its study relevant. The objective of this research is to analyse whether graduates of the Catalan university system have jobs according to their educational level. Design/methodology/approach This paper sees how graduates’ own and acquired characteristics influence the probability of a mismatch from the analysis of the microdata of different waves of the employment insertion survey conducted by the Agència per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya (AQU). Findings The main conclusions focus on confirming that more humanities-oriented degrees tend to have a higher level of mismatch while technology or medicine approach a perfect fit. Therefore, bringing the education and business systems together is important to reduce this gap. Meanwhile, in terms of activities, services such as hospitality and retail have historically been sectors with a poor fit, and what has happened with Catalan graduates has not been an exception. Originality/value The main contribution of the research has been to highlight where there is a greater mismatch from the point of view of training, the type of work and its evolution over time, detecting the need to adjust labour supply and demand.