53These results clearly showcase differences in the interplay between
occupational and educational structures in these countries. In Portugal,
shorter school trajectories and low credentials lead to earlier transitions
into the labour market, while in Switzerland longer schooling leads to
later transitions. Although the younger cohort is more highly educated
than the older in all countries, in-country cohort comparisons do not
show substantial differences. Interestingly, even though Lithuania is the
country with the highest levels of education, with close to 80% of indi-
viduals completing undergraduate or graduate levels of education, this
does not necessarily translate into later transitions to the labour market.
This could be related to the fact that many individuals start working at
very young ages and can reconcile work and their studies. However, it
should be noted that during Soviet times it was common in Lithuania to
first graduate from school (vocational or higher education) and only then
to move into the labour market. Such a trend is common for the
1950–1955 cohort. Currently, it is common for younger individuals to
start working during their studies. The 1970–1975 cohort lies some-
where in between: individuals from this cohort graduated in the early
1990s when the country was experiencing a major transition, some of
them therefore joining the labour market after secondary school, while
others did so after graduating from university. This would explain why
this Lithuanian cohort has a very mixed pattern.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland there is a clearer break between the end of
the education period and the beginning of job-related occupations. As we
have stressed before, Switzerland is one of the richest European countries,
while Lithuania and Portugal rank amongst the poorest and more
unequal. To attain a minimum standard of living, Lithuanians and
Portuguese men and women need to have full-time employment. This is
not necessarily the case for many of the Swiss, as for some couples one
income and a half are regarded as enough to live a comfortable life, once
the high costs of private day care centres are taken into account. We
should bear in mind that close to 14.5% of the Swiss are at risk of poverty
after social transfers (Eurostat 2013).
The differences between the mostly full-time trajectories for men and
women in Lithuania and Portugal and the more gendered scenario in
Switzerland can also be tied to recent developments of the State in these
Contextualising Personal Networks Across Birth Cohorts...