Underemployment of Graduates from Romanian Higher Education Institutions: A Conceptual Understanding

When the subject of the knowledge-based economy comes into play, the overall economic performance of developed or developing countries depends on their stock of knowledge and learning capabilities. Within this situation, there is a growing significance of education and training. Then questions arise on whether the HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) in Europe, especially in Romania, are accurately providing workforce-ready graduates. Despite being the most educated generation in Romanian history, numerous young Romanian graduates are carrying out jobs that previously required lower skills and their personal and professional development are uncertain. Therefore, the Romanian labour market is full of underemployed graduates considering the positions they fill, and for some, the European Union (E.U.) migration is an option they embrace. In this article, a conceptual understanding of the inadequate graduate employment phenomenon is analysed. The author uses mainly different literature reviews on the subject under study based on his ongoing doctorate research. The paper aimed to explore how the aspect of job-education mismatch can be considered and understood with the primary aim to shed light on the little examined phenomenon concerning underemployment of young Romanians graduates.