An Analysis of Employment Status of Higher Education Graduates’ Initial Entry into Labor Market

1990년대 이후 고등학교 졸업자들의 고등교육기관 진학 비율이 대폭 증가하여, 2008년 현재 일반계 고등학교와 전문계 고등학교를 졸업한 학생 중 고등교육기관에 진학한 비율이 각각 87.9%, 72.9%에 달하고 있다. 그러나, 급속도로 진행된 대학 진학자 증가는 대졸 미취업자의 양산과 하향취업 현상이라는 부작용을 초래하고 있다. 이러한 문제점을 극복하기 위해 고등교육기관의 교육 내용과 청년층에 대한 고용 정책이 변화해야 한다는 목소리가 높아지고 있다. 하지만 대학 및 전문대학 교육의 문제점을 기초로 어떻게 변화해야 하는지에 대한 대안을 제시하는 연구는 많지 않았다. 특히 졸업 직후 노동시장에 진입하는 초기 단계에서 발생하는 문제에 초점을 맞추어 분석이 진행된 경우는 매우 드물다. ？이 연구는 대학 진학자의 팽창이 대학 졸업자의 초기 노동시장 정착에 어떠한 영향을 미치고 있는지를 실증 데이터 분석을 통해 분석하고 있다. 또, 이와 관련된 선진국의 정책에 대한 검토를 수행함으로써 대학 교육의 변화 방향을 제시하고 다른 한편으로는 이들에 대한 국가의 노동시장 정책 방향을 모색하고자 하였다. ○ 주요내용 - 고등교육기관 졸업자의 노동시장 성과에 대한 시계열 분석 - 대학 재학 중 활동이 노동시장 성과에 미치는 효과 분석 - 대학졸업 이후의 경험이 미치는 효과 - 선진국 고등교육 졸업자의 노동시장 이행실태 및 정책사례 - 고등교육기관 졸업자의 노동시장 성과 향상 방안This paper examines the performance of graduates of higher education in the labor market from various angles, with an aim of finding out potential problems they face while seeking to gain a foothold in the market and analyzing how universities and governments abroad are striving to address these problems. This paper consists of six chapters, whose outlines can be summarized as follows: Analyzed in Chapter 2 is the time-series trend in the performance of college graduates (i.e. those graduating from four-year universities or two-year colleges) in the labor market. Using the raw data from the Survey on Economically-Active Population, the labor-market performance of those graduating from four-year universities and two-year colleges in the same year is tracked by year and month. In the case of graduates from four-year universities, even when the personal properties of individuals (e.g. sex, age and marital status) are kept under control, the employment rate is lower for more recent graduates while the unemployment rate remains constant. This implies that the economically-inactive population among such graduates is growing in size. When it comes to graduates from two-year colleges, in contrast, the aforementioned trend of falling employment rate is not found. As for the ratio of professionals against full-time workers in those having landed a job, this ratio tends to increase clearly for more recent graduates from two-year colleges, while the tendency is relatively weaker for four-year university gradates. In Chapter 3, the GOMS data from the Korea Employment Information Service (KEIS) is utilized to find out how the graduates’ activities back at college affect their performance in the labor market. The analysis indicates that for all graduates surveyed, their graduation GPAs were significantly related to their performance in the labor market and that the overseas study experience of four-year university graduates have significantly positive impacts on their labor-market performance. Other factors significantly influencing the hourly wages of four-year university graduates include: changing of one’s majorcompletion of double (or second/interdisciplinary) majorand annual costs of private education (i.e. taking courses in private institutes). It remains to be seen, however, if such variables do improve their human capital and productivity and thereby their performance in the labor market. The level of wage premium regarding overseas study experience is the highest in workplaces where foreign languages are not utilizedgraduation GPA brings about the highest wage premium in workplaces that are totally irrelevant to their majors at college. This demonstrates that variables related to graduates’ activities back at college, such as graduation GPA and overseas study experience, are more likely to serve as a signal of their excellence to their employers than to enhance their human capital for themselves. Chapter 4 identifies the impacts of post-graduation experiences on the graduates’ employment as well as quality of employmentthe data used here is KEIS Youth Panel for Years 1-6. Graduates’ chance to be employed is not significantly affected by the extended period of unemploymentthe period of unemployment does not particularly influence the probability of their being employed as irregular workers or by small businesses employing less than 30. As for the impacts of job-seeking endeavors (e.g. vocational training experience and license acquisition) on the probability and quality of employment, acquisition of licenses enhances the probability of employment but vocational training experience does not. Also, vocational training experience and license acquisition do not have any significant impacts on the probability of being employed as irregular workers or by small businesses employing less than 30. For those landing their very first jobs as irregular workers, this does not significantly affect their chance of future employment, but their future jobs are more likely to be irregular ones. College graduates landing their first jobs in small businesses employing 30 or less have a lower chance of future employment as well as the probability of their being employed by other small businesses employing less than 30 in the future. This empirical analysis shows that, when young, educated men and women make their way into the labor market, their period of unemployment does not directly influence their chance to be employed but their choice of the very first jobs does have significant impacts on their future career. In Chapter 5, the examples of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan are examined to find out how advanced countries have dealt with the entry of graduates from higher education into the labor market and formulated relevant policies. Since the 1990s, most advanced countries have experienced a sluggish growth in market demand for graduates of higher education as well as a dramatic increase in their number, though this tendency has varied slightly by country. As a result, it has not been easy for these graduates of higher education to make foray into the labor market. To address issues related to the graduates’ entry into the labor market, these advanced countries have introduced a wide variety of policies that can be broadly divided into the following three: First, higher education providers in advanced countries have generally reinforced career education for their students (e.g. opening courses on business and professional lifeand Job Caf？ of Japan), and customized to the individual needs of job seekers. Lastly, Chapter 6 suggests policy alternatives from the above empirical research and case studies on advanced countries, which can be summarized as below: First, more systematic and comprehensive measures need to be devised to respond effectively to the growingly universal coverage of higher education and changes in market demand for graduates of higher education. Second, the overall curricula for higher education should be overhauled to help the graduates enter the labor market more easily and pursue better career options. (In other words, a new, Korean-style dualized education system needs to be adopted.) Third, colleges and universities need to greatly enhance their career-supporting functions. Fourth, wide-ranging youth employment promotion policies should be incorporated into a more systematic, comprehensive and customized policy scheme. The focus of youth employment promotion plans should be shifted from merely creating more jobs on a short-term basis to facilitating the entry of college graduates into the labor market.providing various training sessions for enhancing students’ employabilityand spreading the so-called “dualized” education combining learning and on-the-job experience). Second, they have strengthened their career guidance services for students and graduates (e.g. offering career guidance/counselingproviding job informationholding a variety of aptitude testsoffering internships and other related opportunities for studentsand helping students get a job). Third, with the issue of youth unemployment emerging as a serious social issue in advanced countries, a wide array of youth employment promotion policies has been put in place. These policies have become increasingly systematic (e.g. New Deal Program and Connection Service of the United Kingdomand “Youth Self-Reliance and Challenge Plan” of Japan), comprehensive(e.g. One-Stop Career Center of the United States목 차 요 약 제1장 서론 제1절 연구 필요성 및 목적1 제2절 주요 연구 내용 3 제2장 고등교육기관 졸업자의 노동시장 성과에 대한 시계열 분석 제1절 문제제기: 1990년대 이후 청년층 노동시장의 변화 양상 5 제2절 분석방식 및 자료 12 제3절 연도별 평균치에 대한 분석 14 제4절 월별 추세에 대한 분석 20 제5절 회귀 분석 25 제6절 소결 32 제3장 대학 재학 중 활동이 노동시장 성과에 미치는 효과 분석 제1절 문제제기 35 제2절 기존 연구 결과 검토 38 제3절 분석 모델 42 제4절 분석 결과 45 1. 평균치에 대한 분석 45 2. 회귀분석 결과 50 3. 일자리 특성별 회귀분석 결과 59 제5절 소결 62 제4장 대학졸업 이후의 경험이 미치는 효과 제1절 문제제기 65 제2절 대학 졸업 이후 미취업 경험이 미치는 효과 69 제3절 대학 졸업 이후 첫 일자리 경험이 미치는 효과 82 제4절 소결 95 제5장 선진국의 고등교육 졸업자 노동시장 이행실태 및 정책사례 제1절 문제제기 및 분석의 틀 97 제2절 미국 98 1. 고등교육 졸업자의 노동시장 진입 현황 98 2. 고등교육기관의 커리어 교육 및 커리어 서비스 104 3. 정부의 청소년 이행지원 및 고용정책 113 제3절 영국 118 1. 고등교육 졸업자의 노동시장 진입 현황 118 2. 고등교육기관의 커리어 교육 및 커리어 서비스 126 3. 정부의 청소년 이행지원 및 고용정책 131 제4절 독일 137 1. 고등교육 졸업자의 노동시장 진입 현황 137 2. 고등교육기관의 커리어 교육 및 커리어 서비스 145 3. 정부의 청소년 노동시장 이행지원 및 고용정책 150 제5절 프랑스 153 1. 고등교육 졸업자의 노동시장 진입 현황 153 2. 고등교육기관의 커리어 교육 및 커리어 서비스 161 3. 정부의 청소년 노동시장 이행지원 및 고용정책 166 제6절 일본 173 1. 고등교육 졸업자의 노동시장 진입 현황 173 2. 고등교육기관의 커리어 교육 및 커리어 서비스 183 3. 정부의 청년 노동시장 이행지원 및 고용정책 189 제6장 고등교육기관 졸업자의 노동시장 성과 향상 방안 제1절 한국 고등교육기관 졸업자의 노동시장 이행과정의 특징 195 제2절 정책적 시사점 199 SUMMARY 209 <부록> 215 참고문헌 22