Abstract:

The completion of first and second cycle higher education significantly increases one’s employment opportunities. It is primarily due to the education programmes implemented in the study course and the activities undertaken by students with regard to capital development. Accordingly, career capital might be understood as one’s career assets, the sum of experience, knowledge, skills, relationships as well as material status obtained in the educational process. The developed career capital, in turn, is an indicator of one’s employability, which is visible in two dimensions: the objective one (career development stages) and subjective (convictions about the possessed competencies and the corresponding satisfaction of one’s development). The effectiveness of a prospective employee in the labour market is therefore conditioned by two variables, i.e. the level of investment in own development and its scope.

The following article aims to analyse the proper preparation for the professional workforce in the final year students of the first and second cycles and demonstrate the measures taken by a higher education institution that may impact students' career capital acquisition in the subjective dimension. To achieve the objective, we conducted quantitative research in the group of 753 students in PSW in Biała Podlaska, which accounted for 98.8% of all the persons taking the final exam. To do the study, questionnaire no. 36, an assessment tool devised for The PSW Internal System for Ensuring the Quality of Education, consisting of close questions, was used.

Participation in the research was voluntary, although a targeted selection was made. The study concerned the period from February 1, 2017, to September 30, 2017. Programme STATISTICA 10 was applied to analyse the variables, whereas the relationships between the variables were examined using the Mann-Whitney U test. In all investigated cases, the assumed significance level was p <0.05, and statistically significant findings were marked with an asterisk (*).

The components of career capital were identified on the basis of variability in the mastery of social competences acquired while studying, study conditions, educational, social and cultural offer, self-assessment of learning outcomes as well as further education plans. The results of the conducted research are to indicate statistically significant relationships between providing the proper preparation for professional work by the university and the way the institution operates to ensure human capital development. The higher the level of social competences in students, the better they are prepared for the transition process. Providing higher academic standards of studying (quality of didactic classes, library resources, infrastructure) improves the readiness for work. The same is true of the development of educational offer in the field of language courses, lectures by interesting persons and study trips.

Those who are well prepared for professional work intend, first of all, to continue their education (the first cycle students) or face the labour market (the first and second cycle students). In the respondents’ view, the acquired competencies will increase their chances of successful entering the primary labour market. The presented research findings are part of the established research sequence in designing of educational safety in the university environment.

Keywords:

Capital competencies, students, higher education.