In 2022, fewer students graduated in Serbia than the year before, both at private and state colleges, as young people become aware of the demands of the labour market, where only a little over a third of vacancies want highly educated people, and would rather chase high-paying professions.
A total of 36,951 students graduated from all higher education institutions and all levels of study, and the majority of graduates were women and self-financing students.
While fewer students completed first- and second-degree studies, the number of PhD holders rose, although nowhere near the high figure of 2016.
The majority of students pay for their own tuition, while about 40 percent of them are financed by the state. This is not a small challenge, since individual school fees can cost them and their parents up to 300,000 dinars per year.
Although a smaller number of students obtained their diplomas in 2022 compared to 2021, a slightly higher percentage of them were financed by the state.
The statistics show that women study (and graduate) more often in Serbia than men – out of ten graduates, six are women. However, the proportion of men students compared to women students increased slightly last year.
Most students chose business, administration and law studies. However, statistics show that the number of students who choose these fields to study has been decreasing over the years, while the number of people studying information technology, as well as health and social assistance, is on the up.
However, research by the Serbian Youth Umbrella Organization (KOMS) shows that a minority of young people usually do the job for which they were educated. When asked if they are employed in the position for which they were educated, 55 percent of them answered with a “no” and only 27 percent with a “yes”. Furthermore, almost a quarter of young people believe that the labour market does not need their profession.
Looking at the current job ads, workers with lower qualifications are still in high demand. As many as 61% of the ads advertised positions for workers with a high school diploma and only 35% for workers with a university education.
(Bloomberg Adria, 11.07.2023)
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