Abstract:

The integration of higher education graduates into the labour market is an essential issue that should be taken into account in the process of assessing the performance of higher education systems and also in identifying the competencies required by the labour market. The research undertaken in this paper develops a cross country comparison from the point of view of skills and labour market outcomes of the higher education graduates. The analysis focuses on adults reporting as area of study for their highest level of education, Social Sciences, business and law. First, the investigation aims to identify educational mismatch among employed respondents using the following information: perception regarding the level of education that someone would need in order to get their current job or to do it satisfactorily, their satisfaction with current job, and skills heterogeneity. After estimating the size of over education in each country, the analysis investigates the correlation between this phenomenon and gross wages. The research uses micro data available in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) database. This is household study collecting information about educational background, work experience and skills of adults around the world and represents one of the most useful initiatives for understanding the integration of higher education graduates into the labour market.

Keywords:

Skills, labour market, education.