World Bank: More than 4 in 10 Moroccan graduates work jobs below their qualifications

More than 43% of Moroccan higher education graduates ages 25 to 34 are working in jobs that require lower skills than those they acquired through education, highlighting a growing mismatch between the country’s education system and labor market, according to a World Bank report.

The rate of overqualification has increased from 34% in 2019 to more than 43%, the report found.

The increase comes as Morocco has expanded access to higher education and produced more graduates, while the economy has struggled to create enough skilled jobs to match their qualifications.

The World Bank defines overqualification as a situation in which a worker’s education level exceeds the skills required for their job, including university graduates employed in positions that do not require higher education.

The analysis, based on data from Morocco’s High Commission for Planning, focuses on people ages 25 to 34, a group considered particularly important for assessing the transition from education to employment.

Vocational graduates face even wider mismatch

The mismatch is particularly pronounced among graduates of higher-level vocational and technical training programs.

About 70.7% of these graduates work in jobs below their qualification level, according to the report.

By comparison, workers with secondary education, including those who completed vocational training at the secondary level, show the strongest match between their qualifications and the jobs they hold.

The findings suggest that Morocco’s labor market continues to generate relatively strong demand for workers with medium-level skills, while opportunities for highly educated workers have not expanded at the same pace.

The mismatch also extends beyond the level of education required for a job. Many graduates work in occupations unrelated to their field of study.

The World Bank found that working below one’s qualification level is associated with a 20% lower wage, while working in a field unrelated to a graduate’s area of study is associated with an additional 10% reduction in pay.

The combined effect can weigh on earnings and career development while reducing the economic return on investments in education and training.

The report describes the situation as a “double mismatch,” in which graduates neither use their full level of education nor apply the specialized skills acquired during their studies.

Engineering, business and law among affected fields

The problem is particularly visible among graduates in engineering, industry, construction, social sciences, business and law, which have recorded some of the highest rates of workers employed outside their fields of study.

Graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, meanwhile, report lower rates of this type of mismatch.

The World Bank linked the lower mismatch in these fields to clearer career paths and stricter requirements for entering some professions associated with them.

Among vocational training graduates, nearly 30% work in areas unrelated to their specialization. The report said this mismatch has expanded across most fields since 2019.

Job creation remains a key challenge

The World Bank linked the growing mismatch to the types of jobs being created by Morocco’s economy.

Sectors that have recorded the strongest employment growth have also experienced some of the largest increases in skills mismatches, according to the report.

The findings point to a labor market challenge that goes beyond the number of graduates produced by Morocco’s education and training systems.

As more young people obtain higher levels of education, the economy must also generate jobs that make effective use of those qualifications and specialized skills.

Otherwise, a growing share of graduates risks entering the labor market in positions below their education level or outside their fields of study, with consequences for wages, career development and the economic return on education.