Europe Desk, Delhi Magazine: As final exams conclude, many young people on the brink of graduation are faced with the pivotal decision of whether to pursue higher education or enter the job market. The current job market presents both opportunities and challenges for new graduates.
In 2023, Italian industrial and service companies are projected to hire over 768,000 graduates, making up 13.9% of the total 5.5 million planned employment contracts, according to data from the Excelsior information system, created by Unioncamere in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies and analyzed with AlmaLaurea in the volume “Graduates and Work”.
However, companies are struggling to fill nearly half of these positions, with 376,000 graduate roles remaining unfilled. This highlights a significant supply gap in the labor market, where the demand for graduates in certain fields far exceeds the available candidates.
The most sought-after graduates are those with degrees in economics, with 223,000 contracts expected in 2023. Engineering majors follow closely, with a total demand of 162,000 graduates across various specializations, including industrial engineering (53,000), civil and architecture engineering (49,000), electronic and information engineering (45,000), and other engineering fields (15,000). Other high-demand fields include teaching and training (117,000), healthcare and paramedical (62,000), and scientific-mathematical-physical-computer science (56,000).
Despite this demand, companies report difficulties in finding suitable candidates. The “supply gap” is the primary reason for these hiring challenges, cited in 62.9% of cases, particularly in fields such as statistics, healthcare, medical, dental, and chemical-pharmaceutical. The “skills gap”—inadequate training for available candidates—accounts for 29.3% of the difficulties.
Specific professions facing the highest hiring challenges include electrical engineers (90.6% difficulty rate), information engineers (80.7%), nursing and midwifery professionals (80.3%), telematic network and systems technical managers (74.5%), pharmacists (73.1%), specialists in medical therapies (71.4%), general practitioners (70.9%), and system designers and administrators (69.8%).
Despite these challenges, the employment outlook for graduates remains positive. AlmaLaurea’s survey indicates that the employment rate one year after graduation stands at 75.4% for first-level graduates and 77.1% for second-level graduates, reflecting an upward trend compared to previous years. Five years post-graduation, the employment rate rises to 92.1% for first-level graduates and 88.7% for second-level graduates.
Notably, the highest employment rates five years after graduation are seen in electronic and information engineering (96.2%), statistics (95.8%), industrial engineering (95.6%), other engineering fields (95.0%), and the scientific, mathematical, physics, and computer science areas (92.6%).
As graduates navigate their future paths, these insights underscore the importance of aligning educational choices with market demands to enhance employability and address the critical gaps in the labor market.