Numerous higher education rankings vary in terms of what they measure. However, monitoring of graduates released by the Ministry of Education and Science provides actual information from the labour market. 

Graduate monitoring looks at the employment and income of higher education graduates at the beginning of their careers – 1 and 2 years after graduation.

The report includes data about graduates from the Classes of 2017 and 2018 and analyses their performance in the job market in 2019.

Among private sector universities, SSE Riga ranks first in the employment of graduates (98% of graduates are employed), following only the state-owned National Defence Academy of Latvia.
 

employment


On average, students who graduate from SSE Riga programmes also earn more than those from other higher education institutions in Latvia (see the table below). The median annual salary in 2019 was EUR 29 522 for graduates from the Classes of 2017 and 2018.
 

salary

 

As the Ministry of Education and Science points out – these data provide an objective picture of graduates' performance in the labour market. Moreover, according to the data, the annual income of university graduates is 30% higher than the national average (one-third of young people enter the labour market with secondary education, incomplete secondary education, or primary education). The data clearly show the positive impact of higher education on financial success later in life.

The full report in Latvian is available here