Young people on the labour market in Poland ? the point of view of the employer

Abstract

Research background: The article presents the problem of youth unemployment from the perspective of employers in Poland exemplified by the research results conducted in Podlaskie province. The unemployment rate of young people in Poland in the age range 15-29, reached 14.2% in 2015. For comparison, at that time the average for the EU was higher by almost two percentage points, and the decline compared to the year 2013 was lower than in Poland. It turns out that higher education in Poland has lost its importance in the process of hiring staff. Employers are increasingly less likely to look at the educational background of candidates, as they focus more on their experience and specific skills.
 Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to present the results of re-search regarding the diagnosis of the situation of young people on the labour market in Poland from the perspective of employers. In particular, there were competency gaps and other reasons for not recruiting young people which have been identified.
 Methods: Two types of research were carried out with employers from Podlaskie province: quantitative, using CATI/CAWI and qualitative, using the technique of IDI. Quantitative research was carried out on a sample of 346 respondents. A qualitative study was carried out among 16 companies registered in Podlaskie province.
 Findings & Value added: Among the reasons for not employing young people which were most often mentioned by the entrepreneurs in quantitative research there were financial reasons. During the interviews, employers indicated the reasons for not employing young people such as "lack of appropriate qualifications," "specific skills" or simply "practical preparation for work." Employers were asked about the competence gaps of young people, and they pointed out that they lack experience, initiative and entrepreneurship, as well as learning skills.

Determinants of youth unemployment rate: case of Slovakia

“…Similar results have been achieved in other studies from Poland as well. This Polish study has determined that employers had problems with youth employment due to lack of experience, initiative and entrepreneurship skills, and learning skills and courses (Kobylińska et al, 2017). Similar results have been achieved in study of Saxunová and Chorvatovičová (2018).…”

Institutional development gap in the social sector: Cross-country analysis

“…Dmytrów & Bieszk-Stolorz, (2019) analyzed the relationship between the unemployment rate and length of unemployment in Visegrad countries. Kobylińska et al, (2017) analyzed youth unemployment in the context of education. It is a comprehensive study that links youth employment and educational development.…”

Internationalisation Patterns of Polish Family High-Tech Firms

“…This study conducted Empirical research on the internationalisation of high-tech firms operating in Poland at the end of 2015 with the use of Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) (see: Kobylińska, Rollnik-Sadowska, & Samul, 2017). Random sampling was selected according to the following criteria about a firm (Daszkiewicz, 2019: (i) conducts international activity, (ii) belongs to one of the classes of activity (PKD; Polish Classification of Activities), namely "high-tech" or "medium-high-tech," (iii) fulfils at least one of the three following criteria: − obtains patents or signs licensing agreements in areas considered high-tech, − employs personnel with high scientific and technical qualifications, − conducts industrial research or developmental works.…”