Social work graduates and welfare economy sector preferences: A cross-national perspective

Upon completion of their studies social work graduates are faced with a choice of employment in various sectors of the welfare economy. This article looks at the preferences of graduates in seven different countries, representing various types of welfare economies. The findings indicate that the private non-profit sector is that most preferred by graduates in most countries while for-profit employment was not the most preferred in any of them. Two different explanations, one focusing upon employment opportunities and the other upon the congruence between social work values and types of sectors, are employed in order to interpret these results.