An Evaluation of the Determinants of Job Search and Career Advice Assistance Satisfaction of Young People in a Cross-Country Perspective

In the context of the debate on the transformation of the welfare state and labour markets in the wake of current challenges and multiple crises, which have been put on the agenda by the consequences of the corona pandemic, climate change, digitalization and automation processes, demographic changes, and increased migration, the role of governments, as well as the work and effectiveness of labour market administration and labour market advice, is increasingly discussed controversially. Therefore, this chapter analyzes the determinants of (dis)satisfaction of young people with career counseling and job search assistance from a cross-country comparative perspective in eleven European countries. Using data from the “Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-Sufficiency and Entrepreneurship” (CUPESSE) survey of 18.475 respondents aged 18 to 35, the influence of different educational levels and (un)employment experiences is analyzed, as well as other potential influencing factors such as age, gender and economic self-sufficiency. The results are interpreted from a country comparative perspective building on the youth welfare citizenship typology by Chevalier evaluating national career advice and job search assistance for different educational levels and employment statuses. They systematically show varying degrees of satisfaction among the target group for different types of youth welfare citizenship, but also country differences for different educational levels, experience of unemployment, gender as well as degrees of economic self-sufficiency. Thereby, implications for the further development of the work of labour market administration and labour market advice in post-pandemic labour markets are derived.