5. School-To-Work Transition and Labour Market

Authors

Darja Maslić Seršić
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4968-9243
Rudi Klanjšek
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2242-5355
Suzana Košir
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7112-8990
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.5

Synopsis

This chapter analyses youth labour market dynamics in Croatia and Slovenia before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show clear signs of post-pandemic recovery, including declining unemployment and an increase in permanent contracts. However, instability persists, with high rates of temporary, part-time, and student work that delay stable career transitions and expose young people to precarity. A rise in non-standard employment further reflects structural changes in youth labour participation. Although perceived employability has improved since 2018, the NEET rate remains a concern, particularly in Croatia. The authors observe that cross-country differences emerged, with Slovenia achieving better alignment between education and employment, while Croatia showed little progress compared to pre-pandemic trends. At the same time, work values remained stable, with good pay prioritised, while the public–private sector job satisfaction gap narrowed. Still, despite policy initiatives, many young people continue to face insecurity and difficulties transitioning into sustainable employment, with long-term socioeconomic consequences.

Author Biographies

Darja Maslić Seršić, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology

Dr. Darja Maslić Seršić, is a Full Professor of Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, where she has been employed since 1990. She teaches Research Methods, Organisational Psychology, Occupational Health Psychology, and Vocational Behaviour. Her research focuses on work and organisational psychology, particularly work-related well-being, motivation, and adaptive career behaviour. Her specific interests include occupational stress, burnout, job insecurity, school-to-work transition, and unemployment. She served as Head of the Doctoral Program in Psychology (2016–2022) and currently leads the Chair of Experimental Psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Zagreb.

Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail: dmaslic@m.ffzg.hr 

Rudi Klanjšek, University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts

Dr. Rudi Klanjšek, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, where he earned his doctorate in sociology. His expertise covers cross-cultural research on youth, including employment, housing, well-being, and deviance, as well as globalization, modernization, social change, inequality, and economic development. He was previously a research fellow at Auburn University (USA) and has been a guest lecturer at European institutions such as the University of Bologna, University of Orleans, and Masaryk University. He is also a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Post-Socialist Societies (CePSS) and a member of the Slovenian Sociological Association.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: rudi.klanjsek@um.si

Suzana Košir, University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts

Dr. Suzana Košir, is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Researcher at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia. With more than two decades of experience in higher education, her research focuses on human rights education, women’s rights, gender studies, quality assurance in education, curriculum studies, educational training, and the study of ageing. She has held various academic roles and actively contributes to advancing sociological and educational research. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and serves on the international editorial board of the International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: suzana.kosir@um.si

Downloads

PDF

Volume

Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study

Pages

103-132

Published

September 3, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Maslić Seršić, D., Klanjšek, R., & Košir, S. (2025). 5. School-To-Work Transition and Labour Market. In A. Naterer & D. Potočnik (Eds.), Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study (pp. 103-132). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.5