Are Social Economy Organizations a Viable Alternative on the Labour Market for Students from Non-Economic Fields of Study? Research Results

Abstract

Labour market is getting more and more diverse. Young people have broad spectrum of possibilities to plan and develop their future careers. Future graduates may put attention on different opportunities from huge corporations to local non-governmental organizations. One of still underestimated sectors as a working place is the social enterprise sector. The current debate of the labour market is focusing on the issue of competences needed to meet the needs of a highly competitive labour market. The idea of entrepreneurship is also a focal point for these considerations. The main aim of the paper is to present the analysis of choices for career development among students from non-economic fields of study. The research was conducted among students of non-economics majors in the University of Lodz, Poland. Authors were seeking the answer to the question of whether the social economy organizations are treated as a potential workplace. The main results of the study confirm that the social economy sector is not the priority as a future choice for career development.

Social Entrepreneurship: a poorly recognised element of Entrepreneurship Education at HE institutions

“…Research conducted in Egypt by Kirby and Nagwa (2011: 412) shows that "the sample was not unaware of the concept but that there was some confusion over what a social entrepreneur is or does and only relatively weak awareness of Egyptian social entrepreneurs." Polish research brought coherent results: students from economic and non-economic disciplines have little knowledge about social entrepreneurship and do not consider their professional careers in this area (Reichel, Rudnicka-Reichel, Socha, 2021;Reichel, Rudnicka-Reichel, Socha, 2019). Students who took part in the research did not have many opportunities to participate in social entrepreneurship courses and generally did not associate this activity with earning money.…”