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Misalignment between post-secondary education demand and labour market supply: Preliminary insight from young adults on the evolving school to work transition

  • John R. Graham
  • Micheal L. Shier
  • Marilyn Eisenstat
Article
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Abstract

Most research on labour market outcomes and higher education finds a positive relationship. This qualitative research sought to better understand how higher educational attainment contributes to employment outcomes from a subsample (n = 15) of a larger study (N = 36) on youth labour market attachment among minority, low socioeconomic status young adults. Respondents described: (1) Employment opportunities not being aligned to the educational background of some young adults; and (2) there were no direct links between educational institutions and the labour market in supporting successful employment. These findings suggest a misalignment between educational demand and labour market supply.

Keywords

Young adults Employment Education 

Résumé

Manque de coordination entre les exigeances de l’éducation post secondaire et les demandes du marché du travail: Regard préliminaire de la part de jeunes adultes en transition entre l’école et le travail. La plupart des recherches montrent qu'il existe une relation positive entre l'intertion professionnelle et la performance à l'école supérieure. Cette recherche qualitative a pour but de mieux comprendre comment la réussite à l'éducation supérieure contribue l'intertion professionnelle, en se basant sur un sous-échantillon (n = 15) issu d’une étude plus grande (N = 36) portant sur l’attachement au marché de l’emploi chez les jeunes adultes ayant un statut socio-économique faible et étant issu de minorités. Les répondants ont décrit: 1) que les opportunités d’emploi ne sont pas ajustées au contexte de l’éducation supérieure pour certains jeunes adultes; et 2) qu’il n’existe pas de lien direct entre les institutions éducatives et le marché du travail en ce qui concerne le soutien dans la recherche d’emploi. Ces résultats suggèrent un manque de coordination entre la demande éducative et l’approvisionnement du marché du travail.

Zusammenfassung

Unstimmigkeit zwischen Nachfrage der post-sekundären Bildung -und Angebot auf dem Arbeitsmarkt: Vorläufige Erkenntnisse von jungen Erwachsenen in dem sich entwickelnden Übergang von Schule in Arbeit. Die meisten Untersuchungen betreffend Arbeitsmarkterfolg und Hochschulbildung findet eine positive Beziehung. Diese qualitative Forschung mit einer Teilstichprobe (n = 15) einer größeren Studie (N = 36) zur Bindung der Jugend an den Arbeitsmarkt unter jungen Erwachsenen einer Minderheit mit niedrigem sozioökonomischen Status versucht, besser zu verstehen, wie höhere Bildungsabschlüsse zu Arbeitsmarkterfolg beitragen Die Befragten beschrieben: 1) Dass Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten nicht an die Ausbildung von einigen jungen Erwachsenen ausgerichtet sind, und 2) es keine direkten Verbindungen gab zwischen Bildungseinrichtungen und dem Arbeitsmarkt zur Unterstützung von erfolgreicher Erwerbstätigkeit. Diese Ergebnisse deuten auf eine Fehlausrichtung zwischen Bildungsnachfrage und Arbeitsmarktversorgung hin.

Resumen

El desfase entre la demanda de formación universitaria y las necesidades del mercado laboral: percepción preliminar de jóvenes adultos en fase pre-laboral. La mayor parte de estudios sobre empleo y educación superior encuentran una correlación positiva entre ambos. El presente estudio cualitativo pretende ayudar a entender en qué medida la educación superior contribuye a la empleabilidad de los jóvenes. Se trabajó con una muestra (n = 15) procedente de otra mayor (N = 36), y perteneciente a un estudio sobre minorías y el acceso al mercado laboral de jóvenes de bajo nivel socioeconómico. Los encuestados pusieron de manifiesto que 1) a menudo, las ofertas de trabajo no estaban en sintonía con la formación recibida, y que 2) no existía una conexión eficaz entre las instituciones de educación superior y el mercado laboral más allá de ellas. Todo ello sugiere la existencia de un desfase entre la formación demandada por los jóvenes y el abastecimiento del mercado de trabajo.

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Notes

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). It was part of a Community and University Research Alliance grant that sought to better understand the experiences of young adults in lower income communities: The ACT(Assets Coming Together) for Youth Project (2009–2014). This research was also possible due to the generous support received from our community partners that aided in participant recruitment and provided feedback on our analysis and written work. In particular we would like to thank Leolyn Hendricks, Tka Pinnock, Uzo Anucha, and Stephanie Henry.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Murray Fraser Professor of Community Economic Development, Faculty of Social WorkUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryCanada
  2. 2.School of Social Policy and PracticeUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaUSA
  3. 3.Promoting Education and Community Health (PEACH)TorontoCanada

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