Employability of Recent Graduates. Opinions of Catalonian Companies and Institutions

Abstract

Introduction: Labor insertion for young people is probably more difficult nowadays than it was a few decades ago in all productive sectors and in academic education. A few decades ago, having a university degree was a guarantee of quick labor insertion, but nowadays, although having a university degree may somewhat alleviate the unemployment rate, it is still high among recent university graduates. In this paper, we show the differential profile of the companies who do hire recent graduates as compared to those who do not.Methodology: We worked with a sample of 1,325 employers from the business world of Catalonia, who were administered the questionnaire prepared adhoc during 2014. Results: The main results show that the more workers a company has, the higher the probability that they will hire recent graduates. Companies with a high percentage of graduated workers are more likely to hire recent graduates. Companies who are willing to work with Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia hire more than those who are not. And finally, the service sector hires more than construction or industry.Conclusions: In the present study we have shown a differential pattern between the companies that hire recent graduates or not, a very important aspect because this could help define university policies to facilitate the transition to the labor market.

Prácticas profesionales y la formación en competencias para la empleabilidad

“…Para ello, deberá realizar el diseño de ese Proyecto con criterios de coherencia, viabilidad y sostenibilidad. Se pretende facilitar la búsqueda de un punto de encuentro entre las expectativas de cada estudiante y las oportunidades externas reales, como elementos clave, no sólo para la integración sociolaboral, sino también para avanzar en su autorrealización personal (Sánchez-García, 2013;Guàrdia-Olmos et al, 2018).…”

“…En cuanto a los motivos que estos estudiantes manifiestan para fundamentar su decisión se alejan mucho de lo que se espera de los alumnos de último curso: un proceso reflexivo que les ayude a tomar decisiones de manera argumentada. Como se desprende en la Figura 2, la mayoría se limita a justificar su elección en unos intereses personales, sin contrastarlos con su viabilidad y sostenibilidad en el contexto en el que viven y con las salidas profesionales que les facilita el Grado, cuestión que es similar a la indicada por otros autores (Pineda i Herrero et al, 2018;Guàrdia-Olmos et al, 2018).…”

“…En cuanto a carencias más significativas en este campo destacan las competencias digitales específicas para el desarrollo profesional (Torres-Valdés et al, 2018;Guàrdia-Olmos et al, 2018). Desconocen el uso de las redes sociales para el networking, las redes más relevantes en su ámbito profesional, tanto para encontrar empleo, promocionar profesionalmente o promover una idea de negocio.…”

“…Ser conscientes de la situación del mercado al que se desea acceder (principales empleadores, requisitos mínimos solicitados, tipos de contratos, nichos emergentes de mercado, posibilidades de emprendimiento, etc.) es un punto de partida que muchos estudiantes obvian a la hora de planificar su futuro profesional (Guàrdia-Olmos et al, 2018).…”

Testing the psychometric properties of a short skills inventory for students looking for their first job

“…To respond positively to this reality, organizations need professionals who are able to get involved with the organization's goals and also implement changes that allow them to achieve a competitive advantage [ 1 ]. However, access to labor is challenging for recent graduates who, despite being the main candidates in the selection processes, are a group that is often underestimated in terms of research [ 2 ].…”