Employment and Labor Market Outcomes of College and Vocational School Graduates

Abstract

Data obtained in a 2016 survey of college and vocational school graduates produced in 2010–2015 is used to analyze the characteristics of entry-level jobs and labor market outcomes separately for graduates in higher education and vocational training (the latter featuring mid-level specialist programs and skilled-worker programs). Graduates who combined work and study tend to enjoy a competitive advantage in the labor market, the effect being the strongest for college graduates and the weakest for skilled workers. Most graduates found their first jobs rather quickly, mainly with the help of their immediate community, whereas institutions were found to play a very insignificant role in graduate employment. Supply and demand imbalance in the labor market results in about two thirds of college graduates and two fifths of vocational school graduates being mismatched to their jobs. Over one third of college graduates and over two fifths of mid-level specialists found themselves overeducated in their first jobs. Among the employed graduates of skilled-worker programs, 63% were employed as skilled workers, clerks, service and retail sale workers, i. e. their entry-level jobs were well-matched to their level of qualifications.
Employment is higher among vocational graduates of both types and significantly higher among college graduates than the national average. Graduates in higher education also demonstrate the lowest unemployment rate.