Correspondence between educational level and current occupation

Relevance/Result

Recommended by the EU, this indicator shows the disparities between the level of education and the level of qualifications required for employees’ jobs. This indicator shows how education and training obtained in the country of origin or in the host country are converted and recognised on the Swiss labour market.

Note: On the German and French version of this page, the tables have been updated with the latest data. Graphs and texts will be updated shortly.

In Switzerland in 2020, 15% of employees with tertiary-level education and training were over-qualified for their job. In the population without a migration background, this was the case for 12%, whereas it was 19% in the population with a migration background from the first generation and 12% in that from the second or subsequent generations. The difference between the population with no migration background and the second or subsequent generations is not significant. This reveals that within the population with a migration background, the first generation was affected to a statistically significant greater extent with regards to job over-qualification.

Trends over time

In 2020, the rate of employees with tertiary-level education and training who are over-qualified for their job did not rise to a statistically significant extent from 2012, regardless of the migration status.

Major region

In Espace Mittelland, in Northwestern Switzerland and in Ticino, the population with a migration background shows significantly higher rates of job over-qualification than does the population without a migration background. The gap between populations with different migration statuses is largest in Espace Mittelland and in Ticino (difference of 12.6 percentage points).

Definitions

Over-qualification is determined by assessing the status in employment, the number of subordinates, education and training, and the socio-economic classification. This gives rise to two groups of overqualified persons, defined as follows:

1. Employees with no managerial function who completed tertiary education at a higher education institution and whose job does not require such education and training;

2. Employees with a managerial function and one subordinate ^a), who completed tertiary education at a higher education institution and whose job does not require such education and training.

^a) We consider that employees with a managerial function and more than one subordinate cannot be over-qualified.

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All indicators

Some 68 indicators describe the current situation and changes in the integration of the population with a migration background and/or of foreign nationals in Switzerland in eleven areas of life in our society.

Key indicators

34 key indicators provide an overview of the progress made on the journey towards integration and the state of integration of the population with a migration background. If this information is lacking, the population is shown by nationality, and where this variable is available, the country of birth.