Work in Progress
Over-skilling and job satisfaction in the Australian VET sector
Summary
- Item:
- 10440
- Title:
- Over-skilling and job satisfaction in the Australian VET sector
- Type:
- Managed research project
- Project no:
- NR10006
- Status:
- Finished
- Date commenced:
- 14 September 2009
- Contact:
- Michelle Circelli
- phone: 08 8230 8646
- email: michelle.circelli@ncver.edu.au
- Principal researcher:
- Kostas Mavromaras
- National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine differences between various forms of skills mismatch and examining their impact on levels of job satisfaction among individual employees.
Earlier studies have looked at the extent of over-skilling in Australia, its impact on wage levels, job mobility as well as its over time persistence, using HILDA data. This study will extend this analysis by differentiating between various manifestations of skills mismatch and examining their impact on levels of job satisfaction among individual employees. Job satisfaction has been used in the literature as an indicator of the quality of job matches, especially in these cases where the qualifications (over-education) or the skills (over-skilling) possessed by the worker appear to be in excess of those required by the job. The idea is simple: where conventional mismatch indicators such as over-education and over-skilling suggest the presence of a bad mismatch and the worker reports a low level of job satisfaction, we should be inclined to believe that the conventional measures of over-education and over-skilling are sufficiently accurate indicators of employer-employee mismatch. Where, however, the worker does not report a below average level of job satisfaction in the presence of over-education or over-skilling, the evidence of a mismatch becomes less convincing and alternative explanations may be sought.
Approach
Quantitative
Research questions
1. What is the level of job satisfaction of under-utilised workers?
2. Depending on the different education pathways, to what degree can observed skills under-utilisation be counted as genuine mismatch or as apparent mismatch?
Methodology
Using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey 2001-2008, this project will undertake statistical analyses focusing on individuals with VET qualifications and their differences and similarities with other groups in the labour market. Both descriptive and regression analysis will be undertaken. The regression analysis will be used in order to estimate the attractiveness of job matches by education pathway using the information on job satisfaction and its facets, for all education pathways.
Organisations
The National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) is one of Australia’s leading independent research centre’s. Operating from Flinders University, we have been serving government agencies at national and State level, overseas governments, large companies, trade unions and other groups for over 30 years. We are multidisciplinary, having high level research skills in economics, demography, statistics, industrial relations, sociology, geography, and psychology. The multidisciplinary character of our research team provides us with a diverse and flexible analytical capacity. This capacity encompasses high-level skills in the analysis of survey and census data using sophisticated quantitative techniques. Our remit is labour studies broadly defined, and we conduct projects on a range of diverse topics, such as skills and skill formation, the youth labour market, workforce planning in major industries (e.g., mining), immigration, work and health, and particular workforces (e.g., community services, health, mining). We continuously review trends and developments in the Australian labour market and demographics, and place these in an international context. We do independent scholarly research, which continually refreshes and deepens our understanding of contemporary labour market issues. NILS edits and publishes an academic journal, The Australian Bulletin of Labour, and NILS staff undertake independent scholarly research.
