Title: Nearly Half of Cyprus Graduates Feel Overqualified for Their Jobs, Study Reveals
In a recent study conducted by the department of higher education of the education ministry, it has been revealed that approximately 46 percent of Cypriot graduates consider themselves overeducated for their current positions. This sentiment underscores a broader issue of skills mismatch that has become a major cause of concern within Cyprus and across Europe.
The study, which is part of the ‘Addressing skills mismatch between education and the labour market’ initiative funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Plan, highlights that the main challenge is not merely improving skill levels but ensuring that individuals with the right skills are matched with suitable jobs.
The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) has echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the need for alignment between skills and job requirements. The study points out various types of skills mismatches, such as overeducation, undereducation, horizontal mismatch, over-skilling, and skills obsolescence, all contributing to rising unemployment and difficulties for individuals in transitioning from education to the labor market.
Despite the recognition of skills mismatches as a significant national challenge, data on the type and extent of these mismatches in Cyprus remain limited. The study aims to fill this gap by collecting data on graduates’ career paths post-higher education and the labor market’s current and future skill needs.
Interestingly, undereducation seems to be less of an issue, with a small percentage of graduates reporting lower education levels than required by their jobs. However, in fields like natural sciences, there is a notable percentage of graduates who feel undereducated.
The study also measured over-skilling and under-skilling by asking graduates to rate their proficiency in various skills against the levels required by their jobs. Results indicated that for almost all assessed skills, graduates rated their own level as significantly higher than necessary for their current roles, suggesting a prevalence of over-skilling.
This comprehensive study sheds light on the critical issue of skills mismatch in Cyprus and serves as a call to action for policymakers to address these challenges proactively. As Europe continues to navigate its labor market dynamics, aligning education with job market needs remains a priority for fostering economic growth and reducing unemployment.
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