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One in 10 young Belgian workers is overqualified
Ten percent of Belgian employees under the age of 30 are overqualified for their job, reports De Standaard. The phenomenon of overqualified workers – such as an engineer who works in retail, for example – is on the rise across Europe since the start of the economic crisis, according to a study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
In most European countries, anywhere between 10- and 20% of the working population is overqualified for their job, with peaks in countries such as Russia, and significantly lower than average percentages in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway (each around 6%).
In Belgium, 9.8-14.6% of employees perform a job that is ‘below’ their skills and education level. In the youngest age group (under 30), around 10.2% of the workers are overqualified.
Comments
Ah, this old gem. Spend half your life studying, on the tax payer of course, for a qualification nobody wants. I met a young lady in Belgium some years back, studying "hard" for a degree in, erm, I think it was classic literature.
I used to take the mickey out of her saying she should get a job because nobody needs somebody qualified in classic literature or pay for her own studies, to which she replied...... " The type of degree does not matter, I'll still get a well paid job and my taxes will pay for my education".
Sounds great.
The reality is that 9 Months after qualifying at the age of 26, never having paid a penny in taxes in her life, she now complains that she can't find a job and complains even louder about the indignity of having to wait a year to collect unemployment benefits!
Oh yes, plenty of jobs she could do, but she is "over qualified" to do them so does a little in the black and waits for her state hand outs because after all, it's the State that has let her down. Her words!
What a bloody joke.