Gaps in education have been evident from an early age in countries in Colombia and around the world, to the point that according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), These disparities in the sector end up affecting adult life more and more in terms of work.
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In the report ‘Education Panorama 2024’, this entity assured that higher education improves job prospects but Countries with the highest proportion of college graduates do not always have the highest employment rates.
Generally speaking, and only reflecting the top level, The employment rate among young people aged 24 to 34 with university degrees was 8 percentage points higher than the result recorded in 2023.
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One of the relevant data is reflected in the work environment in terms of salaries. For example, 69% of workers with higher education earn more than the averagecompared to 42% of those with a higher secondary (or middle) education degree.
“The probability of having a job increases with the educational level, but Labor markets tend to underutilize the potential skills of foreign-born adultsIn OECD countries, 60% of native-born adults and 63% of foreign-born adults with less than upper secondary education are employed.s”, they say.
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And it is precisely this tendency, that countries with the highest proportion of university graduates do not necessarily have the highest employment rates, highlights the need for better collaboration between the education sector and the labour marketto avoid an excess in the supply of graduates in certain fields.
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Results for Colombia
Among the results for Colombia, the OECD showed that those adults without a secondary education qualification are at considerable risk of poor social and occupational outcomes throughout their lives.
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They say that reducing the proportion of adults with secondary education has been a priority in many OECD countriesof which 28 of the 35 member countries have lowered this rate, including Colombia.
For example, the proportion of people aged 25 to 34 without secondary education in the country decreased by nine percentage points between 2016 and 2023, reaching a rate of 22%, This figure is 8 percentage points higher than the OECD average.
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However, the Organization assured that the difficult situation of the labor market faced by adults with upper secondary education isThis is reflected in the employment rates among young people aged 25 to 34.
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In this way, in Colombia 67% of young people in that age range without a high school diploma are employed, compared to 70% of those with a degree at a higher level of education, while the OECD averages are 61% and 79% respectively.
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One concern is that workers without an upper secondary education degree run the risk of earning very low wages in most OECD countries. This is why, in the country, 42% of people aged 24 to 64 with an education level below secondary education earn half or less than half of the median income.
“Strong labour markets and increasing participation in education have led to a decline in the share of 18-24 year-olds who are neither employed nor in education or training in most OECD member countries. The average rate fell from 15.8% to 13.8% between 2016 and 2023. However, in Colombia, the share rose from 24.9% to 27.3%”, they detail.
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Gender gaps
Reflecting the country’s gaps in education, the OECD reported that girls and women obtain better results than boys and men, but in many cases the gap is widening.
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An example of this is the wage gap between women and men. Women aged 25 to 34 are less likely to be employed than men, and the disparity is usually wider for those with a lower level of education and narrower for those with a higher degree.
In Colombia, Only 43% of young women with less than upper secondary education are employedwhile the proportion of young men is 85%. Compared to the OECD averages, this would be 47% and 72% respectively.
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“In contrast, 76% of young women with a university degree are employed, while the corresponding share for young men is 89% (the corresponding OECD averages are 84% and 90%).”, they highlight.
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One of the problems that the Organization reflects is that the university degree does not help to reduce the wage gap between men and women. In the OECD, Young women with a college degree earn on average 83% of the salary of their male peers, while the corresponding fraction is 85% in Colombia.
Among those who have completed upper secondary or non-tertiary post-secondary education, lYoung women earn on average 84% of the salary of their male peers in the OECD and 91% in Colombia.
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