The Prospects of Graduates’ Career Development in Poland : The Example of the Competence Survey in Lower Silesian Region 2006-2010

The aim of this article is to analyze the situation connected with youth unemployment and professional development prospects of graduates in Poland based on the youth unemployment and competency research for the region of Lower Silesia among employers and graduates for the period of 2006 – 2010. Youth is a social group that requires a special approach within the aspect of employment opportunities by exploiting all available means. The most crucial factors affecting a young person’s success in the work market are their appropriate education, qualifications, and competency. Proper education whether vocational, secondary or higher university education, as well as different forms of training and professional courses, can be referred to as investments aiming to enhance employment opportunities, ensure satisfactory pay and career prospects, which, in turn, allow for the person’s sustenance in the work market as well as adjusting their own competencies to the changing requirements. A person’s prospects in the work market can be substantially enhanced by the constant education system, their self-education, mobility, and readiness for a career change. Young people, especially under the age of 25, are in the focus of great attention of both state and provincial work market policies. This report presents the analysis of the situation of youth in the work market in the region of Lower Silesia over the years 2006 – 2009. Great attention has been drawn to the data allowing for the assessment of the unemployment scale among post junior high school graduates, as well as to the possibilities of enhancing graduates’ employability through developing appropriate qualifications and skills. What has also been analyzed is the migration process, which is becoming increasingly less complicated to realize, and young people, not having attempted to find a job in Poland, decide to go abroad. The authors took into consideration personality factors, a person’s readiness to take risks as well as his or her adaptation skills which affect migration intentions