UC study finds fall in job search and a high assessment of training in Chile

The report details that the labor participation rate is still below the 63% reached at the beginning of 2020 (last data from the INE May-Jul 2023 was 61%). It also revealed that 70% of people say that the training “has served them to a great extent”, and that 87% believe that “it will have important effects on their job performance”.

image corresponding to the news: “UC study reveals drop in job search and a high valuation of training in Chile”
photo_cameraThe survey also reveals that although 89% of the population has Internet access, Internet access with a minimum quality is lower and amounts to 69% of households. PHOTO: Karina Fuenzalida – UC Communications Directorate.

The OTIC of the Chilean Chamber of Construction together with the Center for Surveys and Longitudinal Studies of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile presented the study “Skills, demand for training and job search in a labor market in recovery” .

The report, prepared by both institutions and with the support of Sence , seeks to provide rigorous evidence with data on the labor market, allowing the generation of relevant information for public training and employment policy .

Its three main lines of work were first: to measure and characterize the access and use of the Internet and computers in the population of working age, as well as digital skills and job training needs; second, dimension and characterize the requirements for labor reconversion and the consequent demand for training; and finally, to characterize the job search mechanisms currently used by the unemployed population, within the framework of a recovering labor market and even in the midst of the pandemic.

The study is based on a survey of information carried out based on three nationally representative surveys with coverage of 98% of the country’s population. The samples amounted to 2,940, 2,157, and 2,434 households, with information on 7,922, 5,621, and 6,395 people, respectively. To obtain the data, the telephone survey method was used. The main results are revealed below.

The general manager of the OTIC of the Chilean Chamber of Construction, José Esteban Garay, highlights that “the data reflect an opportunity based on the positive assessment that job training has among the population, where 70% consider that it has served them to a large extent and 87% believe that it will have important effects on their work performance. However, the percentage of people who have been trained throughout their careers is still low, and there is a marked demand to acquire skills related to the incorporation of technology in production processes, which reinforces the need to do “more and better training focused on upskilling and reskilling of the population to face the post-pandemic world of work . “

For his part, the director of the Center for Surveys and Longitudinal Studies of the UC, David Bravo, pointed out that “this study presents relevant elements that could make it possible to focus the fiscal effort on training and development of skills in the group of people who have the greatest lag in the recovery of jobs compared to the pre-pandemic situation, and who face the greatest risks of displacement in the coming years in the labor market . “

Along the same lines, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare , Jeannette Jara, valued the meeting: “Instances like this are very important, where the public and private sectors, as well as academia, carry out this study to be able to see how it should adapt the labor market, considering the automation that the country is experiencing and the need to make a leap in productivity, which President Gabriel Boric has indicated as one of the Government’s priorities and which is part of one of our efforts” .

The minister also added that “we hope that important measures will be taken from here that have to do, for example, with access to training for the sectors of the lowest socioeconomic strata in the country, because today training is an imperative for all and all workers, not only for those who have the highest levels of education or who belong to the richest quintile, which is what the data shows us, but, precisely, for all workers .

Meanwhile, Romanina Morales, national director of SENCE, highlighted the results of this study, especially in terms of training, where it is revealed that “we do not necessarily have to train in something technical. Let us study mathematics, language, etc. I believe “that in our society, from now on to the future, we must train ourselves in conflict resolution, in innovation, in the capacity for adaptability, in teamwork. Obviously, these are tools that we must acquire. “

New data on the reach and use of the Internet
In the first instance, the report shows that the labor market has been affected by the pandemic caused by COVID 19, also accelerating processes that were already advancing, referring to the increasing inclusion of new information technologies, automation and digitization of processes.

Along these lines, it is detailed that Internet coverage in Chile reaches 89% of homes, showing a significant increase compared to the pre-pandemic situation. Access is lower in rural areas and in lower-income households and in groups aged 65 and over. In a novel way, the study found that 22% of households with access have a poor quality internet signal. Therefore, it is concluded that “in the country, almost 31% of households have access problems, which translate into either not having access to the Internet or having poor quality access . ”

Regarding the uses made of the Internet, the study details that the majority of people use it to communicate, entertain and inform themselves. A little over a third of the population uses it to work and a smaller percentage to look for work (14%). “In line with the above and perhaps due to the scenario caused by the pandemic, which to a certain extent forced a large part of the population to communicate only through digital devices, it is observed that almost the entire population indicates that it is “very easy to communicate on WhatsApp (94%), make video calls (86%) and carry out banking actions (82%)” .

In addition, the study emphasizes that 18% of the population indicates that they do not handle the Internet and new technologies, and 36% evaluate themselves at a basic level and, in the same percentage, at an advanced level. “Only 6.6% self-assess themselves as an expert. Among those who belong to the lowest income quintile, 29% indicate that they do not have any management, while only 7% of the highest income quintile express this. Those who express no handle new technologies and the Internet if they would participate in a free course, with 30% saying that they would do so . “

The positive evaluation of the training
On the other hand, the study reveals that “45% of people aged 18 and over have received job training at some time in their lives. While, among men, 50.7% have received it, in the case of women the percentage only reaches 41.3%” . Along these lines, the text reveals that “more than half of those who have received job training have been oriented towards specific technical skills (56.2%), one in four has received training in other topics, 10, 6% on new ways of delivering goods and services, 9.2% on leadership and 8.4% on the use of new technologies . ” And he adds that, “60% were trained in person, 30% was online and 9% in hybrid mode . “

Furthermore, the study indicates that, in the last five years, “27.1% have received training, again with a gender gap, where 31.8% of men have received it and only 24% of women. It is observes a large gap regarding age, the groups that have received the most training are between 25-34 years old (45.8%) and 35-44 years old (46.5%).”

Likewise, the study shows large gaps in household income. “While 45.8% of people in the highest income quintile received job training in the last 5 years, only 12.9% of people in the first quintile did so. Another point to highlight is that migrants received in a higher percentage of job training in this period than people of national origin, 38.3% and 25.7% respectively ,” the report reads.

The job search situation
Regarding the dimension that has to do with the search for employment, the director of the UC Center for Surveys and Longitudinal Studies David Bravo indicated that “one of the characteristic features of the labor market since the beginning of the pandemic, together with the sharp drop in employment, there has been a parallel drop in the job search of those who lost their jobs. In fact, in the latest data released yesterday by the INE, the labor participation rate amounts to 61%, a rate even lower than that of before the pandemic (63.1%)” , that is, it has decreased job search throughout the pandemic.

It is also highlighted that among the main reasons indicated for not looking for work are studies or a disability situation. However, in the case of women, among the main reasons they indicate that “they are caring for children, the sick and other family tasks, covering 25% of inactive women, while only 1% of “Inactive men name them as the main reasons . “

“This group of women who are inactive because they care for children were asked if they would agree to participate in the world of work if an institution were to take care of the children and 37% were willing” , reads the report.

The study also details that, in reference to the actions carried out in the last four weeks by people to search and apply for jobs, “the majority of unemployed people sent their resume to a company or institution; reviewed and answered advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet and, in third place, the most mentioned mechanism was to update their curriculum published on the internet” .

Another point that the study emphasizes is that also, among the employed population, “those who would be most willing to accept a job offer are immigrants (55.5%), while, in the population of national origin, a little more than a third only (39%)” .

Likewise, the report details that “more than half of the unemployed population (51%) indicates that it is very difficult to find a good job” . The most mentioned reasons – explained in the report – that would make it more difficult to have a good job are age, lack of experience and lack of certificates or licenses of specialization and knowledge.

Concluding, the report points out that “from the data collected, it is generally clear that there is a scenario in which it is possible to work on the development of appropriate training plans and policies according to the needs of the labor market and the people. “