Educational systems matter: differences across European countries in how young people with secondary education experience job insecurity

This article examines the importance of education in creating differences
across European countries with regard to how young people experience job
insecurity during their transition from school to work. On a theoretical level,
two sets of educational system features which influence job insecurity are
identified: institutional (stratification, vocational orientation, standardisation)
and structural (expansion of education, development of lifelong learning,
education spending). On an empirical basis, data fromthe Labour Force
Survey (2009), the European Social Survey Round 5 (2010/2011), the official
statistics, and previous research are analysed. The results show that higher
vocational prevalence in secondary education is associated with lower
levels of early job insecurity. Our findings contrast previous studies which
have not yet revealed any effects of standardising input and output on
experiencing qualification mismatches. We found that in countries where
the standardisation of the output of educational systems is higher, individuals
are less likely to be unemployed. However, the standardisation of
input is associated with increased job insecurity. Our analysis also revealed
that educational expansion has a negative effect on the likelihood of young
people to work part-time jobs and that government expenditure on education
is negatively associated with early job insecurity.