This indicator shows the share of young (aged 25-34), tertiary education (ISCED 5 or 6) graduates employed in posts not included in categories of managers (ISCO 1), professionals (ISCO 2), or technicians and associate professionals (ISCO 3). When individuals with tertiary education attainment occupy jobs demanding lower skills (e.g. sales, crafts, agriculture, elementary occupations), there is concern that there is a waste of public resources in higher education. An overqualified tertiary graduate receives lower wages on average and has lower job satisfaction than a tertiary graduate employed in a matched graduate job. This indicator is one of several measures of education-occupation mismatch.

Caution in interpretation is required as the indicator assumes outright that all occupations in ISCO 4-9 categories do not require a higher education degree. Many young higher education graduates may also be overqualified for a temporary duration or choose their jobs for personal or other reasons (e.g. proximity to home). Moreover, even if overqualified, individual’s skills may be matched to the skill requirements of their job. Note: All estimations are Skills intelligence Team own calculations based on Eurostat data.