Characterizing the school-to-work transitions of young men and women in Tunisia

Abstract

This paper investigates the characteristics and determinants of the transition of young men and women from education (dropping out) to work in Tunisia, using data from the Panel Study of Tunisia Labor Market 2014 (TLMPS 2014). One of the main findings is that 17 per cent of the 15 to 35 years old population remains in transition. One - third had completed the transition. The remaining (55 per cent) had not started transition. The transited category is strongly male-dominated while young females face a particularly difficult time. Youths who were still in transition were largely unemployed. Econometric method (Kaplan-Meier or product limit estimator) is used to analyze the determinants of unemployment duration. Results point to differences between men and women in the difficulty of getting a decent job. They confirm that individual characteristics (gender, area of residence and level of education…) influence the length of transition from school to the labor market. Indeed, we found the following. First, for most youth, the school-to-work transition is not long to a first job, but it takes on average more five years to complete the transition to a stable or satisfactory job. One third of young males and females found a first job through contact with employers. Second, transition period decreases substantially as education level increases. Third, the rural – urban gap continues to be significant. Fourth, the probability of longer unemployment is found to be considerably higher among women and lower education. The study offers some recommendations in terms of economic policy on the insertion of young people.