The overwhelming majority of graduates in Cyprus are employed in a field which does not meet their qualifications, a study carried out by the education ministry published on Saturday showed.

The study also showed that graduates felt their studies lagged behind in terms of offering internship and work opportunities.

More than 40 per cent of reported they were overqualified for the positions they currently work in.

A similar tendency was seen regarding the alignment of education and employment of the graduates, with only one third reporting that qualifications gained through their studies aligned with their current position.

Yet, most said they would plan to continue working in their position, with fully mismatched graduates appearing to be more likely to seek new jobs.

The study includes responses from those who graduated in 2018 and 2022 from both public and private universities in Cyprus and was carried out in collaboration with PwC.

Overall, graduates reported high levels of satisfaction with their education, with the highest satisfaction scores of the 2018 year reported by law graduates and those who had completed a degree in information technology, at 87 per cent.

Those who graduated in 2022 who reported the highest levels of satisfaction with their studies were in education and teaching (85 per cent) and business administration (80 per cent).

Students currently looking for a job said they were held back by a lack of adequate job opportunities as well as a lack of experience, leading them to finding employment outside of the sector of their studies. 

Graduates from STEM and health programmes were the most likely to be looking for a job within the field of study.