Education for hiring

The indicator shows what are employers' requirements for qualification during recruitment process. Based on results of Cedefop's European skills and jobs survey. Respondents were asked what was the education level required at hiring, and their responses (subjective perception of an employee) were mapped on the basis of ISCED codes to categories of "High", "Medium" and "Low". Most employers require high education levels for professionals, managers and technicians and associate professionals. On the contrary, low or none education level requirements prevail for elementary occupations, but also for skilled agricultural workers (Graph 1). This indicator can also measure the qualification mismatch - between education level possessed and required at hiring. The survey shows that 75 % of people with high education level were required to possess it by employers (the rest being overeducated for their jobs). However, this "education level match" was only 61 % for medium qualified workers (the rest being either over- or undereducated) and less than 50 % for low qualified workers (the rest being undereducated). See Graph 2 for details.