The Transition of Young People from Study to Employment in the Light of Student Work

Abstract

Background and Purpose: We are living in a time of accelerated globalization, which has a far-reaching impact for youth employment. Therefore, the paper presents the problem of the transition of tertiary educated young people into the working environment in terms of the importance of education and gaining work experience during their studies. The main purpose of the study was to analyze the attitudes and thinking of students regarding the selection of studies and work experience that young people are gaining during their studies with student work in connection with their job prospects. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data used in our research come from a broader research on Slovenian Youths (SY) dating back to 2013. Among all the respondents of SY we selected those who classified themselves as students aged between 19 and 24, who filled out the part of the questionnaire pertaining to employment. The research hypoth­eses were tested with the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent samples t-test. Results: We found that among students who chose to study for different reasons there were differences in the belief that they will immediately find employment after graduating. We also found that between those students who sup­ported themselves during their studies and those who only studied there were differences in individual statements regarding their transition from education to employment. We concluded that work during their studies, especially in the field of the profession they were studying for, had a positive impact on the thinking of students pertaining to the transition toward employment. Conclusion: The analysis of employment issues faced by young people with tertiary education was supported by empirical data, while in conclusion suggestions for improvement were presented. The article also deepens the un­derstanding of the problems of youth employment in a broader perspective and the understanding of the observed developments in society. Keywords: youth employment; tertiary education; work experience; job search