Study: One in five platform taxi drivers and couriers in Estonia stuck in career dead end

A new study has found that one in five people providing ride-hailing or courier services through digital platforms in Estonia is stuck in a career dead end, working full time in a field for which they consider themselves overqualified.

Olavi Miller, an expert at the Foresight Center, said platform work in Estonia is mainly a way to earn extra income rather than a deliberate career choice, though several thousand people work through platforms full time or more. He noted that as a long-term career path, platform work is currently unattractive, and its effect on someone's future career depends heavily on the type of work involved.

Mismatch between education and work

Research conducted by TalTech, the University of Tartu and Tallinn University found a significant mismatch between education levels and the nature of the work among ride-hailing drivers and couriers. Two-thirds of those working full time or more said they were overqualified for their jobs and expressed dissatisfaction with opportunities for learning and professional development.

The picture looks different for people doing professional work through online platforms. Their work tends to match their education more closely, and relatively few end up in a career dead end. This group also reports greater satisfaction with development opportunities and more willingness to pursue further training. Researchers say these workers often use platforms as a springboard into a new field, to expand their client base, or to experiment with new types of work.

Money as the main driver

For ride-hailing drivers and couriers, platform work is more closely tied to earning money than to career development — over 70 percent named money as their top priority, compared with nearly half of all platform workers surveyed overall.

Only 7 percent of people doing professional work online do so full time, while among ride-hailing drivers and couriers this figure rises to 30 percent, amounting to an estimated 2,245 people nationwide.

Mari-Klara Stein, an associate professor at TalTech, said platform workers believe the experience they gain is not valued by employers outside the platforms, which could hurt their future career prospects. She added that inconsistent health insurance coverage often pushes workers back toward salaried employment.

The Foresight Center also pointed to low participation in continuing education as a barrier, partly because information about suitable training opportunities does not always reach platform workers.