Perceptions and role of university spin-offs on the employment of young graduates

Abstract

This study intends to characterise and analyse the role that university spin-offs play in the employability of recent graduates and their function in opposing youth unemployment. For that purpose, this study uses empirical data from Portugal to analyse the evolution of the population with higher education levels, the evolution of the unemployment rate and the geographical distribution of university spin-offs. Additionally, a survey was adopted to collect data from 117 Portuguese university spin-offs to identify the main advantages and difficulties in hiring young graduates. The results indicate that the number of young graduates in these companies is small, representing only 11.8% of their total employees. The main advantages of hiring young graduates include their learning ability and new knowledge brought from abroad. By contrast, the main difficulties are their low capacity in dealing with pressure, low autonomy, and difficulties in taking responsibilities.