When reviewing the literature with respect to skills mismatch it shows that there
are different dimensions in this concept and these different dimensions take place
due to mismatch in either demand or supply of labour. In Sri Lankan graduate job
market, the skill mismatch is considered as an issue in the supply side. Therefore,
most of the research had paid attention on the matters deriving from the supply
side factors such as skill gap and skill shortage. However, skills mismatch is not
always due to the supply side factors. It may take place due to the deficiencies in
the demand side as well. Education mismatch (vertical mismatch and horizontal
mismatch) is one of the main skill mismatch dimensions that occur due to the lack
of labour demand. However, in the Sri Lankan graduate job market, there is a
lacuna of research with regards to education mismatch dimension. Therefore, the
objective of this study was to identify whether there is an education mismatch in
the Sri Lankan graduate job market and if there is an education mismatch to decide
whether this mismatch is a real or a formal. The study has adopted a deductive
methodology and two types of declarative hypothesis were developed. The data
were analyzed by using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The
findings of the study conclude that, there exists an education mismatch in the Sri
Lankan graduate job market and the vertical mismatch is a formal mismatch while
horizontal mismatch is the real mismatch.