University graduates in Slovakia face the lowest unemployment rate and enjoy competitive salaries, according to conclusions of a study completed by the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), a Bratislava based think tank.
“People with low education spend the longest time looking for a job among all categories and often drop out of the labour market altogether. They form the largest group of the long-term unemployed. If we add the increased risk of poverty to long-term unemployment among people with low education, there is only one thing we should tell children today and that is to study ,“ said Martin Kahanec, research director of CELSI and co-author of the study. Eurostat statistics, quoted in the study, point to the fact that up to 29 percent of people with a low level of education face the risk of poverty, while the rate for people with secondary-school education is 10.8 percent and that for university graduates only 4.3 percent.
The study concludes that the state should invest more in the education system. “Slovakia's public expenditures on education have been minimal over the long term, affecting all levels of the education system,” said Kahanec. He adds, however, that as the Slovak labour market becomes gradually saturated with university degree-holders, young people should plan more carefully their future careers including the quality of education they get at the university they plan to attend.
