MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ãlikool
MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ãlikool
MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ãlikool
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HARIDUSE PEEGELDUS TÄISKASVANUEAS REFLECTI<strong>ON</strong> OF EDUCATI<strong>ON</strong> IN ADULTHOOD<br />
to work in even less remunerative and unstable positions and could be completely frozen out of<br />
the labour market in the end (Philips and Loova 2005). As a long-term situation of over- or<br />
undereducation causes economic and social losses, it is important to analyse the extent of jobeducation<br />
mismatch in Estonia. In the following, we will focus on gender-specific differences in<br />
the context of over- or undereducation.<br />
What exactly constitutes a mismatch between education and work and how can it be measured?<br />
Theorists differentiate between vertical and horizontal mismatches between education and work<br />
(Skill … 2010: 1). Vertical incoherence is a situation where the employee’s educational level does<br />
not meet the requirements of the job. Horizontal mismatch means that the person’s acquired field<br />
of education, rather than the level, does not fit the profession. Three methods are used to<br />
measure over- and undereducation, or the vertical mismatch (Ramos et al. 2008; Skill … 2009).<br />
Firstly, education requirements of a job are compared with the education of the employee (the<br />
so-called objective method). Secondly, employees’ own assessments of the match between their<br />
education and job are analysed (the so-called subjective method). The third method is based on<br />
determining the average level of education for a particular position and then looking at the<br />
difference between the actual education of an employee and the average level (the so-called<br />
statistical method). This article relies on the subjective method, i.e., it analyses data on the<br />
vertical mismatch between education and employment on the basis of employee assessments<br />
collected in the Labour Force Survey (LFS).<br />
Various studies have indicated that the mismatch between education and work affects, in<br />
particular, younger workers, ageing workers, and women (Skill … 2009). According to the career<br />
mobility theory, people entering the labour market often agree to work in positions requiring lower<br />
educational level in order to gain experience and facilitate subsequent movement to higher<br />
positions (Sicherman 1991, Marchante et al. 2007); as a result, overeducation is common among<br />
people who have recently graduated from a higher school. Finding their first job is especially<br />
difficult for young people during the contraction phase of the economic cycle, when employers<br />
reduce recruitment levels or prefer experienced older candidates. The severe global financial and<br />
economic crisis that started in 2008 clearly demonstrated that young people constitute a major<br />
disadvantaged group in the labour market. Between 2008 and 2010, the unemployment rate of<br />
young people (15–24 years of age) jumped from 12% to a record high of 32.9%. To avoid<br />
unemployment, young people are not basing their job search on their acquired level or type of<br />
education. In 2010, only 16% of young people were looking for a job corresponding to their<br />
educational level, while 84% were willing to accept a job requiring lower educational level<br />
according to the Estonian LFS.<br />
The likelihood of finding a job that matches a person’s level of education increases with age, but<br />
only to a certain limit. Studies have indicated (Brunello 2008, cit. via Skill … 2009: 12) that the<br />
mismatch between education and work is bigger again after the age of<br />
50. For instance, Wolbers (2003) and Witte and Kalleberg (1995) have observed that the share of<br />
overeducated persons among the employed increases with age; this could be explained by the<br />
theory of technological change. Older people, whose skills and knowledge are not necessarily<br />
keeping pace with technological developments in a fluid labour market, are prepared to accept<br />
jobs requiring education below their actual level of education (Paulus 2007). At the same time, an<br />
opposite trend has been noticed – the possibility of being undereducated for a position increases<br />
with age, as experiences are valued more than university diplomas (Sicherman 1991). According<br />
to the human capital theory, work experience and acquired level of education are mutually<br />
interchangeable (Marchante et al. 2007). It means that older people are able to compensate for<br />
their lower level of education with work experience, which enables them to work in positions<br />
requiring higher educational level, while being actually undereducated.<br />
According to the 2010 LFS, the shares of over- and undereducated people are relatively low in<br />
Estonia, with 3% of employees being undereducated and 12% being overeducated. Likewise,<br />
according to the surveys conducted in other countries, the risk of being overeducated is more<br />
prevalent among women (Paulus 2007). On average, every tenth man and every sixth woman is<br />
overeducated in Estonia. Considering the fact that women’s path of education lasts longer and<br />
<strong>MEHE</strong> <strong>KODU</strong> <strong>ON</strong> <strong>MAAILM</strong>, <strong>NAISE</strong> <strong>MAAILM</strong> <strong>ON</strong> <strong>KODU</strong>? MAN’S HOME IS THE WORLD, WOMAN’S WORLD IS HER HOME? 123