August 13, 2021

How schools can help students in the competition for employment after education

While young people are leaving education more qualified than ever before, in many countries they are struggling to compete for jobs in the labour market. Compared to older workers, young people tend to have less work experience, fewer useful contacts and less know-how about how to get a job. Young people face additional challenges in preparing for online recruitment processes. There are however, things that secondary schools can do to help students get a job and ongoing analysis of national longitudinal surveys in four countries reveal associations with better employment outcomes. This paper looks at how school can:

• Demystify the recruitment process
• Teach students how to apply for jobs
• Help them prepare to succeed in job interviews.

Getting a job: how schools can help students in the competition for employment