ZAGREB, June 28, 2020 - Whether university graduates will find a job that matches their education level and field mostly depends on their country's labour market, whether they studied STEM-related fields and whether they have study-related work experience, a European survey of the employability of university graduates shows.

The results of the Eurograduate project were released by the European Commission early this month, and the Croatian Agency for Science and Higher Education communicated them this past week.

The survey was conducted in eight countries: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, and Norway. It covered 21,000 higher education graduates from the academic years of 2012/2013 and 2016/2017, which is one year and five years after graduation. In Croatia, the survey was carried out by the Agency for Science and Higher Education and the Zagreb School of Law between October and December 2018.

The survey found that the youth unemployment rate was highest in Greece (40%) and Croatia (23.8%) and lowest in Germany (6.2%).

Some of the findings indicate that the experience gained abroad during the study period increases problem-solving skills and that an activating learning environment ensures a better preparation for the labour market.

Four in five graduates in each country have a permanent contract five years after graduation, with male graduates being more likely to have permanent contracts than female graduates.

Earnings differ significantly by country, with graduates working in Germany and Norway registering double the gross earnings than those in Croatia. The highest earnings are paid to technology and engineering graduates and the lowest to education, arts and humanities graduates, the survey found.

The highest job satisfaction was observed in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Some 13% of the respondents had a study abroad experience, mostly through participation in an EU mobility program. The lowest participation in any mobility program was in Greece and Croatia. However, moving to study abroad for another degree, after acquiring a Bachelor's degree, was highest for Croatian and Greek graduates. 

The survey also found that activating learning environments and international mobility is associated with more political participation and higher levels of trust in democratic values.