Social entrepreneurship as a professional career path for the young generation in Poland

Abstract

Background: In Poland, just like it happens worldwide, we are observing a generational shift when it comes to values and people’s needs. The current young generation is characterised by higher level of social and ecological awareness than the previous ones. Social entrepreneurship has the potential to channel this drive for social engagement seen in the representatives of differ­ent sectors, however, in Poland this type of activity is not well known. Although extended studies have been conducted on the issues related to social economy, the scholars’ focus has not been placed on this particular subject so far.

Research purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine whether the pro-social attitudes of the young people in Poland are being fully utilised; whether social entrepreneurship has the po­tential of becoming a career path for them, and how the popularization of social entrepreneurship in the academic space could contribute to achieving such status by this model.

Methods: The research methods used were: literature studies, participant observation, in-depth interviews and surveys.

Conclusions: The research confirmed that the young generation is characterised by the awareness of social problems and the will to solve them. It showed that there is a relation between the level of involvement of the people in different countries in social entrepreneurship, and level of their knowledge about this model as a result of it being popularised in various forms in those societies.

The above results allow to draw the following conclusions: The potential of the socially involved focus of the young generation in Poland is not taken advantage of to the fullest extend as a result of, among other factors, the lack of awareness about social entrepreneurship. For this to change, it is necessary to spread the knowledge about this model, and in particular about its possibilities as a career choice, through: 1. the inclusion of social entrepreneurship as a subject in the higher education’s curriculums, and with time the establishment of social entrepreneurship departments at universities with an economic profile and at faculties of social sciences; 2. giving a separate legal form to this model on a par with other entities within social economy; 3. adding a social entrepreneur to the official list of professions.