Two-thirds of employed graduates experience skill mismatch, survey shows

Two-thirds of employed graduates experienced some form of mismatch with their skills, the Results Report of the second cycle of the National Graduate Tracking Survey of Cyprus has shown.

The survey was carried out by PwC Cyprus in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, and was recently published by the Ministry.

The Ministry says in a press release that the Report was prepared within the framework of the project of the Department of Higher Education “Development of a National Graduate Tracking Mechanism and Design and Implementation of a National Employer Survey” within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Cyprus (C5.1R1-Addressing Skills Mismatch between Education and the Labour Market).

Data was collected through an online questionnaire. The target groups for the second cycle of National Graduate Tracking Survey for 2023 were all graduates of the academic years 2017/18 and 2021/22 from all Higher Education Institutions in Cyprus, both private and public.

The survey shows that graduates from both cohorts reported a high overall satisfaction with their education. The highest satisfaction scores were reported by graduates in the fields of Education and Teacher Training (85%) and Business Administration (80%) for the 2017/18 cohort. In 2021/22 cohort, the fields with the highest graduate satisfaction rates were Law and Information and Communication Technologies (87%). 

Most graduates also indicated that their programme of study did not offer many opportunities for participation in internships or work placements, which establish a strong connection between learning and work. Moreover, the levels of satisfaction with the opportunities to gain work experience were lower compared to other aspects of studies such as content of programme and quality of teaching.

Transition to work 

Among the participants who responded positively in looking for a paid job most reported looking for a job within their field of study, particularly graduates from STEM and Health fields, the survey indicates. In the other fields the situation was more mixed as a notable group also looked for jobs outside their field. The primary reason for seeking employment outside their area of study was the lack of available work available (50% of the 2017/18 cohort and 37% of the 2021/22 cohort) and lack of necessary experience (17% and 22% respectively). 

The percentage of 2017/18 graduates who are part of the labour force (93%) is higher than the corresponding percentage of 2021/22 graduates (87%), as the former had more time to make the transition into employment. Consequently, the percentage of graduates who reported that they are unemployed or out of the labour force is higher in the 2021/22 cohort. In relation to sectors of employment, most participants reported working in the private sector in both cohorts. Regarding the place of employment (Cyprus or abroad), it is noted that a high percentage of graduates in both cohorts have found employment in Cyprus. This percentage is higher in the 2017/18 cohort when compared to the 2021/22 one (59% and 48% respectively).

The findings of the survey show that the percentage of mobile graduates in both cohorts is relatively modest, standing at 9% for 2017/18 cohort and slightly higher at 11% for the 2021/22 cohort. In both cohorts, males exhibit a higher propensity to migrate compared to their female counterparts, suggesting that male graduates are more inclined to seek opportunities outside the country. 

Skills mismatches

A substantial percentage of graduates, over 40% in both cohorts, reported that they are overqualified for their current positions (vertical mismatch). A significant proportion of graduates, 20% in the 2017/18 cohort and 16% in the 2021/22 cohort, reported misalignment between their education and job roles (horizontal mismatch). The findings indicated that only one third of graduates in both cohorts (33% for 2017/18 and 35% for 2021/22) had a job that aligned with their education indicating that two-thirds of employed graduates experienced some form of mismatch, the survey notes. 

A higher percentage of graduates from the 2017/2018 cohort (53%) reported their participation in these activities compared to the 2021/22 cohort (45%) indicating that earlier graduates were more likely to pursue additional training. Online training was the prevalent method employed for training.

Regarding the plans of graduates for Fall 2024, similar patterns have been observed across both cohorts. The most common response was “continue in my current position” (58% and 49% respectively). Full mismatched graduates appeared more likely to seek new jobs followed by field of study mismatched, suggesting that graduates that face a full mismatch between their qualifications and their job roles are more likely to seek new job opportunities compared to other categories of mismatch. 

Click here to view the results of the survey in full.

(Source: CNA)