More than a third (34%) of Scottish graduates are overqualified for their roles, with a rising proportion ending up stuck in low-skilled jobs, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Its new report looks at how graduate outcomes have changed over the past 30 years, and the job quality of overqualified graduates.
Based on the the ONS Labour Force Survey, comparing data from April to June 1992 to March to May 2022 - and the last three years' of the CIPD Working Lives Scotland survey - the research highlights that the proportion of graduates in low/medium-skilled jobs has more than doubled over the past three decades.
Overqualified graduates have lower levels of job and life satisfaction, are less enthusiastic about their work and are more likely to want to quit, compared to well-matched graduates.
In response, the report concludes there is an urgent need to improve the quality of careers advice and guidance in schools and a rebalancing of skills policy.
The CIPD also called for additional support for vocational pathways, in particular apprenticeships for young people, as well as further measures to improve the quality of people management to boost skills demand.
The report found a notable increase in the proportion of Scottish graduates working in administrative and secretarial occupations since 1992 (4% to 31%) as well as sales and customer service occupations (4% to 23%).
Across the UK, over the last 30 years, there has been a rise in graduates working as bank or post office clerks (3% to 30%) and as personal assistants and other secretaries (4% to 22%), as well as more graduates working as bar staff (3% to 19%) and security guards (2% to 24%).
Just over half (53%) of overqualified graduates report being either very satisfied or satisfied with their current jobs, compared with nearly three quarters (74%) of well-matched graduates.
Nearly a third (31%) of graduates who feel overqualified say that they are likely, or very likely, to quit their job voluntarily in the next 12 months; compared with just 9% of well-matched graduates.
More than half (56%) of overqualified graduates feel they don’t get paid appropriately, compared to 32% of well-matched graduates. Meanwhile, 39% of overqualified graduates earn less than £20,000 per annum, versus 10% of well-matched graduates.
Overqualification rates remain relatively stable across most age bands, suggesting that a poor initial match when entering the labour market can have long-term impacts on an individual’s career and income.
Marek Zemanik, senior public policy adviser for the CIPD in Scotland, said: “While graduate-level qualifications are undoubtedly essential in many roles and industries, the significant growth of graduates in non-graduate jobs is damaging for individuals, employers and the economy.
“Our findings underline the need to rebalance Scotland’s skills policy and reform careers advice and guidance - young people should be able to make informed choices about what to study, whether they should go to university or seek an apprenticeship or a vocational qualification.”
He argued that the recommendations of the recent careers review need to be urgently adopted, adding: “A continued focus on skills supply alone is unlikely to make a difference to Scotland’s productivity, so boosting the demand for skills by improving management quality across organisations and more employer investment needs to be a part of the solution.”
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