- Formal education used to be a guarantee for a job. Today, this is no longer the case.
- Europe has the most educated workforce in its history. Almost 40% of Europeans aged 25–39 hold a tertiary degree; just over a decade ago it was around 25%. And yet, Europe struggles with persistently high levels of youth unemployment. Even though it has started falling, it is still more than double the overall unemployment rate, and far higher than in other developed economies.
- The transition from school to work is being jilted as young graduates have a harder time than ever to find employment and the vast majority of those who get a job do so in very different fields from what they have studied.
- Lack of skills is a common reason for entry-level vacancies. 40% of European employers report having difficulty finding people with the skills they need to grow and innovate. There is a twin crisis of high youth unemployment and shortage of skills.
Education providers are not engaging sufficiently with employers, which often makes them oblivious to the realities of the labour market: 72% of them consider the graduates adequately prepared for the job market, whereas this view is held only by around 40% of employers and youth. At the same time, employers rarely interact with universities and schools, so their skill demands have a low chance of being translated into curricula. In effect, a quarter of youth do not make a smooth transition to work.
The future is already here
It’s a match!
Technology-enabled tools with real-time information are already assisting schools and universities in offering career advice to their students. Personality tests can match students with potential university degrees and jobs based on their interests and personality type. From there, students are able to digitally map out different career paths and view information relating to the degrees and education levels of real people in these fields, average salaries, fluctuation of demand in the labour market. This enables them to make more informed decisions about their future studies and professional development, thus also contributing to addressing skills shortages and mismatches.
