Graduates of non-traditional fields of study on the labour market five years after graduation

Abstract

The article presents the results of work on non-traditional fields of study (as a continuation of the research described in Rocki 2018b, 2018c, 2022a). The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis about the validity of conclusions regarding selected fields of study initially formulated on the basis of data on the economic fate of graduates following their first year after graduation, but taking into account data obtained five years after graduation. Changes in the values of selected indicators determined in the nationwide system for monitoring the economic fate of graduates and information from the reports of the Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA) were compared in the study, with focus on fields classified as non-traditional (conducted in one or at most several universities). An additional goal of the work was to verify the hypothesis about the differences in the fate of graduates of non-traditional and traditional fields of study with the same name (similar learning outcomes) and the impact of migration on the economic fate of graduates. The results discussed in the author’s previous publications were confirmed: some of the analysed non-traditional fields of study are not valued by employers. However, it was also shown that in most of the analysed cases graduates of non-traditional fields of study are assessed better by employers than those of traditional fields of study. Graduates of a few selected non-traditional fields tend to take up work in voivodeships other than the voivodeship of their studies. Comparison of the conclusions resulting from the data from the system for monitoring the economic fate of graduates with the PKA reports developed in the procedure for assessing the quality of education leads to the conclusion that PKA reports are often more favourable for universities than the valuation of graduates on the labour market.