The labour market in Estonia is volatile, increasing the risk that groups with some obstacles to enter
the labour market (youth, non-Estonian speakers and workers with no upper secondary graduation
certificate) may become long-term unemployed, due to the aggravating skills mismatch in the wake of
structural change. Avoiding a permanent exit from the labour force makes a multi-pronged strategy
necessary, including strengthening activation policies, a better school-to-job transition, improving the cooperation
with employers to improve vocational training programmes, stepping up targeting life-long
learning support, and improving the access of tertiary studies for students from weak social backgrounds.
