Competences of University Graduates from Economics andManagement, as Perceived by University Students and Employers

As a consequence of Poland’s accession to the structures of the European Union and the resulting idea to create the European Higher Education Area, the issues related to the university graduates’ competences acquired during their education have become particularly vital. One of the decisions by the Bologna Process is a necessity to reform the curricula of university courses in order to standardize the competences acquired as a result of studying particular university courses in individual European countries. The reform of higher education system offers colleges and universities significant autonomy regarding the development of university curricula which should be based on the effects of education (knowledge, skills and attitudes revealed by the graduates). National Councils for Educational Qualifications are supposed to create a reference platform for individual university courses at the higher level, based on educational effects and competences. Competences are understood here as a combination of knowledge and its comprehension, professional, interpersonal, intellectual and practical skills, as well as ethical values. This is the definition of competences that has been used in the present work. The present study constitutes a part of more extensive research regarding the competences possessed by the graduates from economics and management university courses, in reference to the requirements of the modern job market. The empirical material was collected on the basis of studies conducted in the years 2009-2011 with the use of a diagnostic survey. The studies included two groups of respondents. The first one was made by employers potentially offering work to the graduates of economics and management university courses. The other group consisted of students of the final, fifth, year at three state universities in Lublin, namely John Paul II Catholic University, Maria Sklodowska-Curie University and the Technical University.