Employability of recent graduates. Opinions of Catalonian companies and institutions.

Abstract

Labor insertion for young people is probably more difficult nowadays than it was a few decades ago in all productive sectors and in academic education. A few decades ago, having a university degree was a guarantee of quick labor insertion, but nowadays, although having a university degree may somewhat alleviate the unemployment rate, it is still high among recent university graduates. In this paper, we show the differential profile of the companies who do hire recent graduates as compared to those who do not. Methodology: We worked with a sample of 1,325 employers from the business world of Catalonia, who were administered the questionnaire prepared ad- hoc during 2014. Results: The main results show that the more workers a company has, the higher the probability that they will hire recent graduates. Companies with a high percentage of graduated workers are more likely to hire recent graduates. Companies who are willing to work with Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia hire more than those who are not. And finally, the service sector hires more than construction or industry. Conclusions: in the present study we have shown a differential pattern between the companies that hire recent graduates or not, a very important aspect because this could help define university policies to facilitate the transition to the labor market.