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Lifelong learning is the only true answer for maintaining competitiveness in the labor market. This is a belief held by universities, colleges, vocational schools, both private and public, and that all students must master the skills of applying information technologies. However, the needs of the labor market and enrollment quotas for studies are not aligned, nor is the awareness of people regarding future professions and education for those professions.
The eagerly anticipated list of the most popular faculties in Croatia did not surprise this year with its results. The desires of future students do not show significant changes compared to previous years, but they certainly reveal the thoughts that guide young people when deciding about their future careers. Considering the ratio of the number of first choices and enrollment quotas, the Agency for Science and Higher Education states that the greatest interest was attracted by Zagreb’s studies Trainer Education at KIF, Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, and Speech Therapy at ERF. According to the highest number of first-choice applications, the University of Zagreb leads, particularly with Business Economics at EFZG (as many as 2957), FER, Medicine, and Law. Such data undoubtedly flatter faculties and universities, but they also pose additional headaches: how to educate these students while adequately responding to the needs of the labor market and consequently the entire economy?
Needed Economists
Although it is often heard in public that 'graduated economists have no jobs' and that there are too many of them in the labor market, some recent data indicate a positive shift in this regard. Namely, the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb claims that there is indeed a need for quality economists in the labor market. Within three months of obtaining their diploma, 48 percent of their students find their first job, another 13 percent find it three to six months after graduation, and another eight percent between six months and a year after graduation. It is commendable that a large portion of their students also find employment in their own companies after graduation.
Hope is also sparked by the English-language program Bachelor Degree in Business (commonly known as BDiB), after which as many as seventy percent of students find their first job within three months of graduation, and half of them work in international companies abroad. As they themselves say, they compare themselves with the best on a global level, which is also evidenced by the recently acquired international accreditations AACSB and EQUIS.
– EFZG’s study programs are the most popular because students and their parents recognize that quality and the opportunities provided for employment in Croatia and globally. We are aware of our surroundings and the global and digitized education market, which is changing very rapidly. We monitor changes and innovations in the market and continuously build the relevance of the Faculty in the global education market – they say at EFZG.
However, a year after graduation, one-third of their economists remain unemployed, and if data from other educational institutions in the field of economics are added, the Croatian Employment Service has rightly been appealing for more adequate plans and distribution of enrollment quotas for years. But let us not forget that in the current global situation, with inflation, rising energy prices, and minor but still persistent disruptions in supply chains, it is important to find and employ quality economists, whether in finance, management, marketing, controlling, or accounting.
Discrepancy Between Desires and Needs
That the needs of the labor market and enrollment quotas for studies are not aligned, nor is the awareness of people regarding future professions and education for those professions, is also recognized by Goran Oblaković, the vice-dean of undergraduate studies at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management. Although private and public educational institutions differ in their market position, the desire for continuous improvement and monitoring of labor market needs is not lacking on either side.
– Business economics has always been at the forefront of student interests, while psychology and speech therapy have become increasingly popular among high school graduates in recent years, which is good considering market needs. There is always a need for quality employees in the labor market, which is why quality business economics studies are popular among high school graduates – says Oblaković, adding that their undergraduate study of Economics and Management and the graduate MBA program are popular precisely due to the high employability of graduates.
On the other hand, studies that are even more deficient are not particularly favored among students, and Oblaković is well aware of this discrepancy. As an example, he cites the ZŠEM graduate study of Supply Chain Management, whose experts are currently in high demand, but unfortunately, it is not popular among students despite the fact that everyone who completes it finds employment even before finishing. Students evidently still do not understand the importance of supply chains for the entire economy, especially in the last few years when they have been disrupted. Or they understand, but it does not sound appealing to tackle that issue.
From the new offerings at ZŠEM, Oblaković boasts new specializations: International Business, Marketing in the Digital Age, Finance and Fintech, and Sports Management. A few years ago, they also launched a study of Business Mathematics and Economics and introduced courses such as Critical Thinking.
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Bitcoin Has Entered the Syllabus
Private educational institutions may not be able to compete for students on price, but they can certainly compete on the quality of their studies, emphasizes Irena Guszak, vice-dean for teaching at RIT Croatia, which faces competition from foreign universities as their number of international students continues to grow.
– The perception of higher education in Croatia changes year by year. Students and their parents increasingly realize that a lower price is not always lower in the end, so they start asking questions about employability and average salaries. They seek very concrete information, and we provide it very concretely – says Guszak.
They strive to ensure that the skills their students acquire meet the needs of not only the local but also the global labor market. For example, starting this fall, students can choose a course on – bitcoin. Although the most students enroll in their International Business program in Zagreb, they have the most graduates in the Management in Tourism, Hospitality, and Service Industries program in Dubrovnik because it has been running the longest. From this academic year, they will begin offering a new program, New Media Design, which has been conducted in the USA for twenty years.
– Year by year, we witness a growing interest in enrolling in the Information Technology program in Dubrovnik and Zagreb. This can be expected given the role and importance that technology plays in today’s way of life. The New Media Design program has proven to be an excellent choice, and in a very short time since its accreditation, we have recorded great interest from students and the market in general – explains the vice-dean, announcing new study programs, directions, and courses at RIT in the coming years.
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Newly Established Faculty
Two hundred kilometers to the east, at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, students this year most frequently chose studies in Information Science, English Language and Literature, and History at the Osijek Faculty of Philosophy. Although in Croatia, students from social and humanities studies generally find employment more slowly, we wonder why those three studies are particularly sought after in Osijek. The rector of the Osijek university, Vlado Guberac, says that they also record an increasing interest in study programs in STEM fields, in addition to social and humanities areas.
– The employability of our students who choose STEM is extremely high, but the selection of this year’s study programs from social and humanities sciences testifies to the fact that during their studies, this profile of students is provided with modern education that opens a wide range of employment opportunities – says the rector.
He emphasizes that, following labor market needs, they have recently launched several new study programs, such as Digital Agriculture and Automotive Computing.
– Next academic year, we will start a new study in Educational Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, for which there is enormous interest. A new undergraduate university study in Tourism will also begin at the newly established Faculty of Tourism and Rural Development in Požega. We have recognized the needs of our society for that profile of experts as there are more and more legal entities that require that type of expert. From the academic year 2023/2024, we will also start studies in Pharmacy and Speech Therapy, whose experts are sought by the Croatian labor market – explains Guberac.
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Nothing Without IT
He believes that the great interest of students in their studies is due to modern teaching methods, but he attributes the most credit to the continuous professional development of teachers. In addition to the fact that it is important for teachers to continuously educate themselves to acquire knowledge and skills, Guszak adds that at the same time they must be top-notch educators ‘who understand how much not only the environment in which they work is changing but also the generations that come to them, the way they acquire knowledge and communicate’.
– Future generations of students must remain as curious as they are now and open to new knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is extremely important to awaken in them the awareness that the world is continuously changing and that lifelong learning is the only true answer for maintaining competitiveness in the labor market. Also, regardless of which industry they find themselves in, they will have to master and develop skills in using information technologies as the presence of technology in industries will continue to grow – concludes the vice-dean of RIT.
