La universidad española ante la empleabilidad de sus graduados: estrategias para su mejora

ABSTRACTThe labor market has been changed in the last years, which also widespread debate has arisen about the employability and the university can’t stay away. Building on the importance that has taken the term employability, we propose to know what’s meant by employability and how the Spanish universities can optimize it to their graduates, focusing on two strategies: the design of new curricula and the provision of the career guidance services. The methodologies used to achieve this goal have been the literature review and the websites of Spanish universities review, moreover developing a questionnaire to survey to the heads of the career guidance services at the universities. The results indicate that employability is a complex and dynamic term, with a number of dimensions that influence it, concluding that must be understood as a responsibility shared by the individual, employers, governments and educational institutions. In the design of new curricula, Spanish universities have considered the importance of acquiring skills, promote workplace practice and adjust the degrees to the demands by the employers. However, the real adjust can’t be known until the next years. To support the students in their transition from the academic environment to the labor, the results indicate that the most of the Spanish universities offer career and vocational guidance services to their students. We conclude that incorporate employability as a strategic line in all university activities remains a priority activity.RESUMENEl mercado laboral se ha visto modificado en los últimos años, en los que también ha surgido un debate generalizado en torno a la empleabilidad y del cual la universidad no permanece ajena. Partiendo de la importancia que cobra el término empleabilidad, nos planteamos conocer qué se entiende por empleabilidad y cómo las universidades españolas pueden optimizar la de sus titulados, centrándonos en dos estrategias: los planes de estudio y el apoyo en la transición al mundo laboral. Las metodologías utilizadas han sido la revisión bibliográfica y documental y la revisión de páginas web de las universidades españolas, así como la elaboración de un cuestionario presentado a los responsables de los servicios de orientación profesional universitarios. Los resultados indican que la empleabilidad es un término complejo y dinámico, con una serie de dimensiones que le influyen, concluyendo que debe ser entendido como responsabilidad compartida por el individuo, los empleadores, gobiernos e instituciones educativas. En el diseño de los nuevos planes de estudio, las universidades españolas han tenido en cuenta la importancia de adquirir competencias, promover las prácticas laborales y ajustarse a la demanda de los empleadores. Sin embargo, el ajuste real de dichas titulaciones no se conocerá hasta los próximos años. Para orientar a sus estudiantes en la transición hacia el mundo laboral, los resultados indican que la mayoría de las universidades oferta un servicio de orientación profesional a sus estudiantes. Concluimos que incorporar la empleabilidad como línea estratégica en todas las actividades universitarias sigue siendo una actividad prioritaria. ABSTRACTThe labor market has been changed in the last years, which also widespread debate has arisen about the employability and the university can’t stay away. Building on the importance that has taken the term employability, we propose to know what’s meant by employability and how the Spanish universities can optimize it to their graduates, focusing on two strategies: the design of new curricula and the provision of the career guidance services. The methodologies used to achieve this goal have been the literature review and the websites of Spanish universities review, moreover developing a questionnaire to survey to the heads of the career guidance services at the universities. The results indicate that employability is a complex and dynamic term, with a number of dimensions that influence it, concluding that must be understood as a responsibility shared by the individual, employers, governments and educational institutions. In the design of new curricula, Spanish universities have considered the importance of acquiring skills, promote workplace practice and adjust the degrees to the demands by the employers. However, the real adjust can’t be known until the next years. To support the students in their transition from the academic environment to the labor, the results indicate that the most of the Spanish universities offer career and vocational guidance services to their students. We conclude that incorporate employability as a strategic line in all university activities remains a priority activity