This indicator measures the overqualification rate by comparing the gaps between the level of education of employees with tertiary education and the level of qualification required for the position they hold.
From an integration perspective, a decrease in the overqualification rate of employees with tertiary-level education or training indicates an improved situation.
The employees with tertiary education with a migration background are more likely to do a job for which they are overqualified than those without such a background.
Between 2012 and 2020, the share of employed persons doing a job for which they are overqualified has increased in the population without a migration background.
The share of employed persons doing a job for which they are overqualified has not significantly changed between 2021 and 2022, regardless of migration status.
In the Lemanic Region, Espace Mittelland as well as in Eastern and Central Switzerland, the population with a migration background has significantly higher overqualification rates than those of the population without a migration background.
Tertiary level: To calculate the overqualification rate, only trainings in higher education institutions are considered (in Switzerland or abroad). They comprise universities (i.e. cantonal universities and federal institutes of technology), universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education, as well as other higher education institutions that are partially or entirely publicly funded. These courses lead to a diploma, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or a PhD (at universities only).
Overqualification is estimated based on occupational position, number of direct reports, education, and socio-professional category. This results in two groups of overqualified persons that are defined as follows:
1. Employees without a managerial role who have completed tertiary education at a higher education institution and who do a job that does not require tertiary education;
2. Employees with a managerial role and at least one direct report a) who have completed tertiary education at a higher educational institution and who do a job that does not require that level of education.
a) Employees performing a management role with more than one direct report cannot be deemed overqualified.
