What will students from Radom find in the career offices of their universities?

The best academic career offices operating at universities have a chance to earn big money. In the near future, they will receive PLN 50 million from the European Union, from the first competition dedicated to them.

The latest report by the Ombudsman for Graduates shows that career offices already operate at three-quarters of universities in the country. Their importance is growing.

THE EMPLOYER IS LOOKING FOR A SKILLED STUDENT

Thanks to them, among other things, employers have a chance to submit job offers to selected candidates, even before they graduate. This is how it works, among others, at the Center for the Promotion of Students and Graduates at the University of Technology and Humanities.

See also: What studies in Radom to finish in order to find a good job?

– It happens that during the academic year employers who need specific specialists come forward, says Elżbieta Jędruszczak, head of the Center for Promotion of Students and Graduates of Radom University. – So we are looking for suitable candidates at the faculties and we put them in touch with companies.

The University Center also organizes training courses. In 2013 alone, 230 students took part in them. They mainly concern self-presentation, CV writing skills. Students will also learn about the labor market and its demand.

– We also organize job fairs, acquire and distribute job, apprenticeship and internship offers. We provide personnel consulting. We carry out initial recruitment – lists Elżbieta Jędruszczak.

Soon, the Center for the Promotion of Students and Graduates will organize another Job Fair for students. Several large companies from the Radom region have already confirmed their presence there.

MULTIPLE NAMES – SIMILAR OPERATIONS

Career offices, under various names, also function, among others, at: Radom School of Higher Education, Higher School of Economics or the European Socio-Technical University.

The Office for the Vocational Promotion of Students and Graduates operates at the Radom School of Higher Education.

– In addition to the basic obligations that we fulfill towards our students, we also cooperate with the Voivodship and Poviat Employment Office – says Tomasz Paprocki from the Radom University of Science and Technology. – We do not keep statistics on how many students managed to find a job thanks to our help. As many as 90 percent of them are already working and studying with us extramural.

See also: Academic Career Offices not effective enough

Tomasz Paprocki adds, however, that the organization has been successful when it comes to the latter group: – We helped our graduates who were looking for a job, either to find it, or in the so-called self-employment.

The Career Office at RSW also cooperates with employment agencies abroad. As a result, many medical or paramedical students found employment abroad in their professions.

WHAT’S NEXT WITH GRADUATES?

Academic career offices have recently also been examining the fate of their former students as part of the obligation introduced in 2011 to monitor graduates’ professional careers by universities.

A report by the Ombudsman for Graduates shows that 88 percent do so now. This is very important. It is to serve, for example, to improve the quality of education at universities. The use of different methodologies by universities makes it difficult to obtain objective and comparable information about the situation of graduates on the labor market. In addition, graduates rarely fill in the questionnaires sent to them by universities. Therefore, the amended Act on Higher Education provides for the introduction of central, uniform monitoring of the professional fate of graduates.

– We are currently introducing an appropriate program that will help us follow the fate of our graduates and check how they are doing on the labor market – adds Elżbieta Jędruszczak.

Monika DASZKOWSKA