Results of the CAWI survey conducted in the second half of 2023
The NASK report presents the results of survey research conducted among nearly 17,000 students graduating from general secondary schools, vocational secondary schools, and sectoral vocational schools.
Students of sectoral vocational schools are more likely to plan to work (49.4%), while over half of students from vocational secondary schools (50.6%) and general secondary schools (57.5%) intend to continue their education and work simultaneously. However, 15% of students do not know what they would like to do after graduation. The intention to continue education increases with the size of a student's place of residence.
Regarding higher education plans, general secondary schools students are more likely to want to study psychology and medicine, while vocational secondary schools students are more likely to want to study computer science and logistics.
Most students have specific career plans, and only one in five is unsure about the sector they would like to work in. The remaining respondents would most likely pursue work relating to IT (10.3%), psychology (9.4%) and medicine (8%). Interestingly, almost 35.1% of students consider running their own business to be the most attractive form of employment.
The majority of surveyed students negatively assess the school curriculum in terms of future professional work – 67.8% of students believe they will receive only a low (30.9%) or very low (37%) level of vocational preparation. Student opinions vary depending on the type of school they are attending. Nearly half (49.6%) of sectoral school students believe that their school education prepares them for their profession to a very high or high degree, compared to 11.7% and 26.3% of general and vocational secondary school students, respectively. In this context, however, it is worth noting that 24.1% of young people approaching the end of their secondary education are unsure about the choice of their future profession.
The surveyed students are very optimistic about their professional future – over 76.1% of them assess it positively. Regardless of gender, nearly 80% of secondary and sectoral vocational school seniors believe that their happiness depends on achieving their career goals. The overwhelming majority of students want to derive satisfaction from their future profession and receive a high salary. On the other hand, less than 10% of respondents want their future profession to build their respect in society and provide them with the opportunity to influence their surroundings.
The full report is available on the NASK website.