Graduate underemployment in Malta : a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the extent of over qualification1 (having a qualification which is above that is required to gain entry to the job being done) or underemployment of graduates2 working in an Educational Institution (Heckman, 2012). There are two main perspectives on underemployment - objective and subjective’ (Khan and Morrow, 1991). An objective perspective of underemployment refers to ‘the accepted standards and level of utilisation of individuals’ human capital in comparison to other graduates’ (Feldman, 1996; Scurry and Blenkinsopp, 2011). This can be measured in terms of educational requirements. A subjective perspective of underemployment focuses on the individual’s interpretation of their employment situation and their perception on the use of their skills and abilities (Khan and Morrow, 1991; Jones, Johnson and Johnson, 1995, Scurry and Blenkinsopp, 2011). This paper examines the relationship between the employment of graduates working in an Educational Institution in Malta and their respective qualifications. It is estimated from this pilot study that 45.5% of graduates with a bachelor degree and 42.5% with a master degree working in non-academic jobs are over-qualified; 33.3% of graduates perceive that they are not fully utilising their knowledge and skills (see Table 5). It is the author’s view that the results are indicative of over qualification or underemployment of graduates demonstrated in this paper and that policy makers should make more effort to implement policies which increase the demand for highly skilled individuals and not focus exclusively upon increasing the supply of graduates. Although the random sample was derived from one institution in Malta, the results are indicative and the conclusions derived from this data is that underemployment of graduates working in an Educational Institution in Malta exists.