Documents Quintini, Glenda 12 results

"The combination of work and study has been hailed as crucial to ensure that youth develop the skills required on the labour market so that transitions from school to work are shorter and smoother. This paper fills an important gap in availability of internationally-comparable data. Using the 2012 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), it draws a comprehensive picture of work and study in 23 countries/regions. Crucially, it decomposes the total share of working students by the context in which they work (VET, apprenticeships or private arrangements) and assesses the link between field of study and students' work. The paper also assesses how the skills of students are used in the workplace compared to other workers and identifies the socio-demographic factors and the labour market institutions that increase the likelihood of work and study. Finally, while it is not possible to examine the relationship between work and study and future labour market outcomes at the individual level, some aggregate correlations are unveiled."

"Human capital is key for economic growth. Not only is it linked to aggregate economic performance but also to each individual's labour market outcomes. However, a skilled population is not enough to achieve high and inclusive growth, as skills need to be put into productive use at work. Thanks to the availability of measures of both the proficiency and the use of numerous types of skills, the Survey of Adult Skills offers a unique opportunity to advance knowledge in this area and this paper presents and discusses evidence on both these dimensions with a particular focus on their implications for labour market policy. This paper explores the role played in the labour market by skill proficiency in the areas of literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. It also shows how skills use, not only proficiency, affects a number of key labour market phenomena, such as the gender wage gap. Finally, the paper combines information on skill proficiency, educational attainment, skill use and qualification requirements to construct indicators of qualification and skills mismatch and to explore their causes and consequences."

"Improving school-to-work transitions and ensuring better career opportunities for youth after labour market entrance are common goals in emerging and advanced economies as they can contribute to raising the productive potential of the economy and to increasing social cohesion. However, the challenges faced in achieving these objectives and the policies required vary between emerging and advanced economies. This paper analyses youth labour market outcomes in 16 countries: eight emerging countries and eight advanced economies. In light of this analysis, it also discusses differences and similarities in the policy measures countries have at their disposal to tackle the key emerging challenges."

"Improving school-to-work transitions and ensuring better career opportunities for youth after labour market entrance are common goals in emerging and advanced economies as they can contribute to raising the productive potential of the economy and to increasing social cohesion. However, the challenges faced in achieving these objectives and the policies required vary between emerging and advanced economies. This paper analyses youth labour market outcomes in 16 countries: eight emerging countries and eight advanced economies. In light of this analysis, it also discusses differences and similarities in the policy measures countries have at their disposal to tackle the key emerging challenges."

"Despite the fact that today's young cohorts are smaller in number and better educated than their older counterparts, high youth unemployment remains a serious problem in many OECD countries. This reflects a variety of factors, including the relatively high proportion of young people leaving school without a basic education qualification, the fact that skills acquired in initial education are not always well adapted to labour market requirements, as well as general labour market conditions and problems in the functioning of labour markets. The paper highlights the contrasting trends in youth labour market performance over the past decade using a wide range of indicators. It also presents new evidence on i) the length of transitions from school to work; and ii) the degree to which temporary jobs serve as either traps for young people or stepping-stones to good careers. In addition, the paper reviews some recent policy innovations to improve youth employment prospects."

"Mismatches between workers' competences and what is required by their job are widespread in OECD countries. Studies that use qualifications as proxies for competences suggest that as many as one in four workers could be over-qualified and as many as one in three could be under-qualified for their job. However, there is significant variation across countries and socio-demographic groups. Our meta-analysis of country studies suggests that over 35% of workers are over-qualified in Sweden compared with just 10% in Finland, with most other OECD countries located between these two extremes. There is also extensive evidence that youth are more likely to be over-qualified than their older counterparts and the same is found to be true for immigrant workers compared with a country's nationals. On the other hand, no definitive evidence has been found of the persistence of qualification mismatch, with some papers showing that over-qualification is just a temporary phenomenon that most workers overcome through career mobility and others finding infrequent transitions between over-qualification and good job matches. Across the board, over-qualified workers are found to earn less than their equally-qualified and well-matched counterparts but more than appropriately-qualified workers doing the same job. Under-qualified workers are found to earn more than their equally-qualified and well-matched counterparts but less than appropriately-qualified workers doing the same job. Over-qualified workers are also found to be less satisfied about their job and more likely to leave their work than well-matched workers with the same qualifications."

"Ensuring a good match between skills acquired in education and on the job and those required in the labour market is essential to make the most of investments in human capital and promote strong and inclusive growth. Unfortunately, in the OECD on average, about one in four workers are over-qualified – i.e. they possess higher qualifications than those required by their job – and just over one in five are under-qualified – i.e. they possess lower qualifications than those required by their job. In addition, some socio-demographic groups are more likely than others to be over-qualified – notably, immigrants and new labour market entrants who take some time to sort themselves into appropriate jobs – or under-qualified – notably, experienced workers lacking a formal qualification for the skills acquired on the labour market."

"This paper derives school-to-work transition pathways in the United States and Europe between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. To do so, it uses Optimal Matching, a technique developed to sequence DNA. The key advantage of using this technique is that, rather than focusing on a specific point in time or a single destination, such as employment, inactivity or unemployment, they convey information on all activities undertaken by youth over the transition period, their sequence and their persistence. Strong similarities are found between the United States and Europe. However, pathways in the United States are characterised by significantly more dynamism than in Europe: youth in employment tend to change jobs more frequently while inactive or unemployed youth are more likely to experience several short spells rather than a single long one. School-to-work transition pathways in the United States also involve less time spent in unemployment than in Europe. The share of school-leavers involved in pathways dominated by employment is larger in the United States than in Europe and non-employment traps are less frequent in the United States. The most successful European countries in terms of school-to-work transitions are those where apprenticeships are widespread. On the other hand, European countries with a high incidence of temporary work among youth have a significantly smaller share of youth belonging to pathways dominated by employment and a larger share of youth in pathways characterised by frequent job changes separated by long unemployment spells. At the individual level, qualifications, gender, ethnicity and motherhood are found to influence the probability of disconnecting from the labour market and education for a prolonged period of time. Overall, the analysis shows the potential of Optimal Matching as a descriptive tool for the study of school-to-work transitions. It also tentatively explores how pathways obtained through Optimal Matching could be used for further analysis to draw policy-relevant conclusions. At present, data availability appears to be the main barrier to fully exploiting this novel technique.



Cet article analyse les trajectoires de transition de l'école à l'emploi aux États-Unis et en Europe entre la fin des années 90 et le début des années 2000. Pour ce faire, il utilise l'Optimal Matching, une technique développée pour l'analyse des séquences d'ADN. Le principal atout de cette technique est qu'au lieu de se concentrer sur un moment spécifique ou sur une seule activité, telle que l'emploi, l'inactivité ou le chômage, elles véhiculent de l'information sur toute les activités entreprises par les jeunes pendant la période de transition, leur chronologie et leur persévérance. On constate de nombreuses similarités entre les États-Unis et l'Europe. Toutefois, les trajectoires aux États-Unis sont caractérisées par beaucoup plus de dynamisme qu'en Europe : les jeunes occupés ont tendance à changer d'emploi plus fréquemment et les épisodes de chômage sont plus souvent cours et répétés que de longue durée. Les trajectoires de transition de l'école à l'emploi aux États-Unis sont aussi caractérisées par moins de temps passé au chômage qu'en Europe. La proportion de jeunes quittant l'école qui entame des trajectoires dominées par l'emploi est plus importante aux États-Unis qu'en Europe et les pièges du non-emploi sont moins fréquents aux États-Unis. Les pays Européens les plus performants en termes de transitions de l'école à l'emploi, sont ceux où l'apprentissage est le plus répandu. D'autre part, les pays Européens à forte incidence de l'emploi temporaire parmi les jeunes, présentent une part plus faible de jeunes dans les trajectoires dominées par l'emploi et une part plus importante de jeunes dans les trajectoires marquées par plusieurs changements d'emploi séparés par de longs épisodes de chômage. Au niveau individuel, le niveau de qualification, le sexe, l'origine ethnique et la maternité influencent la probabilité de se déconnecter du marché du travail et du système éducatif pour une période prolongée. Globalement, l'analyse montre le potentiel de l'Optimal Matching comme outil descriptif dans l'étude des transitions de l'école à l'emploi. Cet article tente également d?utiliser les trajectoires obtenues avec l?application de l'Optimal Matching pour en tirer des conclusions politiques. La disponibilité de données est actuellement la principale barrière à l'exploitation à part entière de cette nouvelle technique."