Tracking graduate careers in Hungary - central and institutional program -

1. Tracking graduate careers in Hungary- central and institutional program - Modernisation of Higher Education, PLA in The Hague, 8-10 March, 2010.

2. Overview • Higher education and labour market in Hungary • Graduate tracking system: objectives and institutional scheme • What should be traced?

3. Higher education and labour market in Hungary

4. Graduates in the labour market • Graduates’ career opportunities have worsened, especially among freshly graduated: • longer term of the job-seeking • no labour needs in certain fields: e.g. law, business, communication • But: • need for labour in other fields: e.g. engineering • Salaries are significantly higher for graduates (highest diff. in EU) • varying needs of the labour market: some skills become more important (communication, foreign language knowledge) • Unemployment rate among graduates is lower, approx. 3-5%, (average 10%)

5. Will you find a proper job in your profession in 1-2 years? Source: Student Survey 2009,

6. HE and labour market • Government actions / provisions • introducing the Bologna system • compulsory professional internship (3-6 months) • establishing ‘Financial Boards’ supervising HEIs • Institutional actions • formalising labour market relations (EC, Magistrate) • joint degrees (internship, sandwich training, integrated industrial training) • joint development projects (R&D) • Career Offices: career counselling, employment agency, alumni • Graduate Career Tracking Program

7. Graduate tracking system: objectives and institutional scheme

8. Internal and external contexts • Internal • training and service development: labour market feedback • marketing: competitive advantage in entrance exam competition • part of quality assurance • information for career orientation ("what is the value of degree like?) • alumni programmes, labour market connections (sponsorship opportunities later). • External • Act on Higher Education : "Higher education institutions shall fulfil the tasks in career tracking, in which they shall monitor the labour market situation of graduates.„ • institutional accreditation • 3-year financing agreement with government • external application sources

9. Motives to GCTS* • Government (sectorial) motivation: • information on graduates availability and labour demands, • feedback to carrier orientation, • performance indicator of institutional output, • feedback for curriculum development. • Institutional motivation: • quality assurance, • institutional development, • marketing, public relations, • carrier counselling. * Graduate Career Tracking System

10. Tracking system at central and HEI levels • support HEI projects: provide the standard of tracking systems, helpdesk, conferences, handbooks • central services: national surveys, database, communication (web) • Educatio Nonprofit Company ~ 2M euro, • (15.05.2008-15.10.2010) Establish or improve graduate tracking system: surveys, institutional background, external and internal communication 30 projects of HEIs, total 16M euro 01.2010-12.2010)

11. Implementers of the program within HEIs

12. Developing institutional model Exploring the situation Institutional GCTS model development Institutional GCTS monitoring International practices (OECD countries) institutional APPLICATION requirement spec. training, help-desk "road-show" to size up demands Domestic practices 25-30 ("AUDITED") INSTITUTIONAL GTS PREPARED ON THE BASIS OF UNIFIED METHODOLOGY • know-how - web • good practices • case studies • conference • GCTS booklets International and domestic professional literature Professional support forinstitutional developments Empiric research 1. (focus group, regional-pilot) monitoring, assessment Handbook, Empiric research 2. Large sample: graduates, motivational May 2008 November 2008 April 2009 October 2009 February 2010 May 2010

13. 3 pillars of the institutional model Professionally established and sustainable model • Methodology of the survey • student motivation study, • competence and labour market research • same part of questionnaires (central data processing) • Institutional background • organisational framework, regulatory environment, quality assurance, • information technology, • sustainability, legal and data protection background • Communication • internal and external, • forms • central data service

14. What should be traced?

15. Scope of questions asked • Questions related to workplace and labour market position • Professional satisfaction, assessment of personal career • Retrospective assessment of education and institution • Professional competences - applicability of studies • Socio-demographic questions • Regional or ethnic questions in countries of special circumstances

16. Competencies: expectations of the labour market Source: GVI; More: http://www.gvi.hu/index.php/en/default/welcome.html

17. Indicators for career assessment at national level • income; • prestige of the job (position, work done); • satisfaction (with level of education – motivation – expectancies – labour market position – income); and composite indicators derived from the above. Frame of reference used: field of study, subject of study.

18. Thank you for your attention! horvath.tamas@educatio.hu kiss.paszkal@ppk.elte.hu More (in english): http://www.felvi.hu/felsooktatasimuhely/dpr/kiadvanyok/dpr1_angol