1/3 of Young Men Enter Labor Market Underqualified
Nearly one-third of 18- to 30-year-old men enter the labor market having minimum education, a recently published study by the Open Estonia Foundation reveals.
According to the study, conducted last fall, 34 percent of men in that age bracket had either dropped out or only obtained lower secondary education and were not planning to continue their studies in any form, Postimees reported.
The study also established a direct link between scanty education and ending up in poorly paid, low-qualified jobs.
Out of the rest, 26 percent had continued to high school, 21 percent had moved on to adult education system and 19 percent had obtained vocational skills at a job-training school. The study only focused on the secondary education path of the respondents.
Among women in the same age bracket, 11 percent abandoned studies after completing or dropping out of the lower secondary level. The majority of those that did continue their studies had entered high school right after receiving their basic education certificate.
In total, 1,501 people aged 18 to 30 were polled for the nationwide study.
Ingrid Teesalu