STA, 12 August 2019 - Less than half of young women in Slovenia are happy with their current standard of living and many are unhappy at work and ready to move abroad in search of better job opportunities, a survey has found.
The survey, conducted among 500 women in the ages between 20 and 35 as part of a project designed to improve the position of women in the labour market, found that only 35% have a job agreeing with the level and type of their education.
Nine out of ten of those questioned believe that there should be more contacts with potential employers during the education process and seven out of ten say they did not receive any career counselling.
More than a half (57%) would prefer to work in the public sector due to greater job security it offers, while 29% would want to work in the corporate sector and 14% would prefer to work for an NGO.
As many as 44% are unhappy with their current job and only 41% are happy about their pay. Among the unhappy ones, one in three expects their pay to improve and one in five do not expect a rise.
Nefiks, an educational institute which conducted the survey, commented that young women are proactive in seeking work, but still they have it hard to get right jobs.
"Many are willing to work outside their field of education or commute more than 20 kilometres to work, taking jobs below their education. Although 44% of them would prefer much more to work at home, they are even willing to move abroad if they don't get an opportunity," said Nefiks.
Similarly, only 47% of the respondents, including students who are generally happier, are happy with their current standard of living.
The survey also suggests that 44% of young women are not planning a family or do not want it, which Nefiks says is a high proportion, given that the respondents are of childbearing age.
Only 7% say that employment is not an important factor in deciding to have a family.
Women above 30 think they have fewer job opportunities because they are too old to qualify for benefits under the Youth Guarantee scheme, something that the survey confirmed.
This group of women has spent longer finding a job and less than a half of them are happy at their job. Moreover, 70% believe they did not get enough work experience during their school education. They also have housing difficulties.
