A professional license helps education graduates improve their chances of getting employed, but finding work that matches their training matters more when it comes to wages, according to a Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) study.
Licensure significantly increases the probability of employment, while education-to-occupation matching is significantly associated with higher wages, the study found.
Wage gains were also stronger among licensed graduates working in the public sector, suggesting that employment setting plays an important role in the returns to a professional credential.
‘Licensure is positive but not significantly associated with wages,’ PIDS said.
The findings were based on the July 2024 merged Labor Force Survey-Annual Poverty Indicator Survey covering bachelor’s degree holders aged 22 to 60 from education science and related programs.
It covered a weighted sample of about 1.83 million graduates, including more than 1.2 million who had taken and passed a licensure examination.
Among licensed graduates, 84 percent were employed, compared with 54 percent among those without a license.
Licensure also coincided with a much smaller share of graduates being outside the labor force, with 10 percent among licensed graduates compared with 32 percent among those without a license.
Job matching mattered for employment quality as well, according to the study.
Licensed graduates working in jobs aligned with their education had a predicted underemployment probability of 7.20 percent, compared with 8.46 percent among those working outside their field.
Public-sector employment produced a wider difference, with licensed graduates in government posting a predicted underemployment probability of 3.98 percent versus 14.73 percent among those in private employment or self-employment.
The study noted that professional licensure is particularly relevant to education graduates because a teaching license is required for permanent teaching positions in public schools.
However, for graduates without licenses working in an education-related occupation did not produce the same underemployment advantage.
Their predicted underemployment probability was 7.89 percent when working in an education-related occupation, compared with 7.12 percent when working outside the field.
‘For education program graduates, having a license alone does not significantly improve one’s labor market experience,’ the study said.
The researchers recommended stronger career pathways for education graduates, alongside better alignment among teacher education, licensure and labor-market demand.