The Polish Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN) published the results of the 2022 matriculation exams. As in previous years, in the wake of the announcement, the National Information Processing Institute (OPI PIB) launched a new edition of the Polish Graduate Tracking System (ELA). The system enables the monitoring of the professional careers of graduates, students, and even those who have not yet commenced their studies. According to the data of the 7th edition of ELA, the most professionally active students majored in nursing and safety engineering. As far as full-time second-cycle programmes are concerned, almost three-quarters of nursing graduates had gained work experience before commencing their studies. Those who were employed during their studies worked for 75% of that time.
Many students work and study
OPI PIB has launched the 7th edition of the Polish Graduate Tracking System, which was commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Education and Science. The new data provides compelling information on the labour market in Poland. We know how many graduates combined studying with work and how many of them had worked before commencing their studies.
‘I am very glad that the data of the latest edition of the ELA system has confirmed what we already knew: studying pays off! Studying is not only about developing your interests and passions; it is also about honing the skills that are sought and valued by employers,’ said Przemysław Czarnek, Minister of Education and Science.
‘I would strongly recommend to young people who have just graduated from secondary school to study the latest ELA data. It will certainly help them decide which university to choose. Secondary school graduates can use our data to find out how quickly they will be able to secure a job after a specific degree programme, and to learn what percentage of graduates of specific higher education institutions are employed under employment contracts. This is credible and reliable information,’ added Minister Czarnek.
‘Each year, the ELA system is getting more popular. We have noticed that higher education institutions often refer to our data to pique new students’ interest in their offers. The prospect of better remunerated employment after finishing a specific degree is undoubtedly an important factor for secondary school graduates who are soon to become university students. I am glad that ELA can help young people make more informed choices. Let us not forget, however, that money is not everything; above all else, you should study what you’re interested in,’ said Dr Jarosław Protasiewicz, Head of the National Information Processing Institute.
‘In autumn 2021, we received the first ELA data on individuals with PhDs. Before then, our system had never monitored the academic circumstances of this group. This functionality provides us with more in-depth information on academic career paths in Poland,’ added Dr Protasiewicz.
In recent years, we have seen decreasing numbers of graduates and students enrolling in higher education, and each new cohort is becoming less numerous than the previous one. More new students have gained work experience before commencing their studies. There is also a growing number of students who work and study at the same time. The data of the 7th edition of ELA allows us to explore these phenomena. Clear differences can be observed across programme formats and cycles. Unsurprisingly, graduates of full-time degree programmes are less experienced in work than those of part-time programmes; similarly, graduates of first-cycle bachelor’s degree programmes are less experienced than those of second-cycle master’s degree programmes. Differences are also noticeable among students of long-cycle master’s degree programmes (including those who specialise in law and medicine), who, due to the rigorous nature of those programmes, find it difficult to reconcile their working lives with their academic commitments. As a result, students of these programmes (particularly of full-time degree programmes) rarely manage to combine studying with work.
Nursing students have the most work experience
‘The graduates of full-time first-cycle programmes with the most work experience gained before commencing their studies were those who majored in nursing and in safety engineering,’ said Dr Mikołaj Jasiński, an expert at OPI PIB.
‘In the case of nursing graduates, this may be explained by the presence of the bridging programmes that nurses who do not yet hold the necessary qualifications pursue, and by the high demand for nurses on the labour market. The majority of nurses are currently over forty years old. As far as safety engineering is concerned, the reason may lie in the educational decisions made by those employed in the uniformed services: the subject relates closely to firefighting,’ added DrJasiński.
As for part-time programmes, nursing and safety engineering graduates again had gained the most work experience before graduation. Other fields with considerable numbers of professionally active students included related areas, such as electrocardiology and manufacturing engineering. Graduates of long-cycle master’s degree programmes had the least professional experience. This might be explained by the nature of their studies.
‘Among graduates of full-time programmes, those who majored in theology stand out clearly: almost one-quarter of them had gained work experience before commencing their studies, and 40% worked under employment contracts during the studies. Graduates of artistic and medical degree programmes had gained the least experience of all groups before admission to their studies. Those who majored in medicine, however, typically work hard after graduation; this is mentioned in previous reports produced by OPI PIB on graduates’ economic circumstances,’ said Dr Marek Bożykowski, an expert at OPI PIB.
Graduates vs. COVID-19
The 2021 ELA report on the economic circumstances of graduates demonstrated the direct influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on their employment. Our study found that the initial months of the pandemic were particularly difficult for those who had recently completed their studies and were searching for jobs. The latest ELA report investigates whether the negative effects of the pandemic have been countered following the gradual lifting of restrictions, as well as increased access to support programmes in 2021.
‘The monitoring data demonstrated that the 2019 graduates—despite experiencing problems during the first months of the pandemic—were less likely to become unemployed than graduates of previous years during the same period after completing their studies. The 6th edition of ELA discovered that it was difficult for the 2019 graduates to find their first jobs. They were more likely to face unemployment than previous cohorts. Their situation improved, however, in 2021,’ saidDr AgnieszkaChłoń-Domińczak, a professoratWarsaw School of Economics and expert at OPI PIB.
‘The 2020 graduates entered the labour market with better results than those of all previous cohorts in the corresponding periods. This means that the prepandemic trends—that each successive cohort found better conditions on the labour market than the previous one—re-emerged in 2021. The negative impact of the pandemic on the fortunes of graduates on the labour market proved short-lived,’ Dr Chłoń-Domińczak added.
The earnings of the graduates of all programme cycles suggest that the prepandemic trends have endured, and that the relative earnings of the 2019 and 2020 graduates are generally higher than those of previous years’ cohorts.
The Polish Graduate Tracking System (ELA)
The Polish Graduate Tracking System (ELA) is developed and maintained by the National Information Processing Institute (OPI PIB) for the Polish Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN). It provides reliable information on the circumstances of graduates of Polish higher education institutions on the labour market. It relies on data that has been gathered in public registers. ELA imports information from POL-on, another system developed by OPI PIB, and uses data collected by the Polish Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). The latest data pertains to the graduates of 2020 and covers the period of at least twelve months of professional activity after graduation (up to December 2021). During this time, graduates typically gain their first work experience. All data processed by the system is anonymised. Appropriate security mechanisms have also been implemented. The system is innovative and user-friendly. It generates reports, rankings, and infographics to suit users’ needs. A free-of-charge mobile application that enables use of the system is also available.
ELA is accessible to the public at: www.ela.nauka.gov.pl.