Competence Training and Employability 6
4. Results
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Below, we present the assessments reported by employers for the last three academic years on
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employability and skills of graduates from any Spanish university and the same data for the university
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under study, so that we can compare and analyse whether the curricular measures carried out by the
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university under study on skills learning are being effective.
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4.1 Results on the candidates recruited from Spanish universities
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The companies in the study have to a large extent (44%) taken on 10 or more university graduates in
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the last three years, either as employees or as trainees. This is followed by those that have taken on 3
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to 5 (25%) and those that have hired 1 or 2 university graduates (20%).
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Other interesting results that emerge from the characterization of the employer companies are
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the following:
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44% of the companies that have taken on 10 or more trainees or employees are characterized by
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being large (56%) with more than 500 employees in 50% of the cases, while 38% are SMEs, mostly
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private (55%), followed by multinationals (17%) and the private health sector (19%), the
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pharmaceutical industry (10%) and education and research (9%). Of these companies, 61% are
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national in scope.
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The companies have incorporated the largest number of university graduates from the Faculty
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of Medicine and the Higher Polytechnic School, followed by the Faculty of Humanities and
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Communication Sciences and the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies.
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It also shows that 96% of the companies have taken on university graduates as trainees, and
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89% of them say that they have taken on graduates as employees. This means that the average
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number of internship placements is 7.1, slightly higher than the average number of employee
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placements (5.9). Moreover, 56% of the companies that have taken on internships have only taken on
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between one and five students, a similar figure to that for employee placements, where the vast
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majority of companies (60%) only take on a maximum of five graduates. It will be necessary for the
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university to find out the reasons for these figures: do the students not have the necessary training for
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the companies, and are there differences between the supply and demand of graduates in the labor
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market?
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In terms of degrees, the percentage of companies interviewed that have taken on graduates
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from the Faculty of Medicine is relatively lower, but they are the ones that have taken on the most
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graduates on average, both as interns and as employees (in this case together with graduates from the
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Faculty of Humanities and Communication Sciences). On the other hand, graduates from the Faculty
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of Pharmacy are among the graduates with the highest level of incorporation, but with a lower
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average number of incorporations.
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It is also observed that as the size of the company increases, the average number of people
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joining the company increases, whether as trainees or as employees.
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In conclusion, the students taken on as trainees or employees are:
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96% (have incorporated traineeships) x 7.1 (average number of additions) = 6.8 (average number
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of in-practices)
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89% (have incorporated graduates as employees) x 5.9 (average number of additions) = 5.3
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(average number of employees)
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In total, the average number of new recruits is calculated at: 6,8 + 5,3 = 12,1 56.1% as trainees and
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43.8% as employees.
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4.2 Results on the candidates recruited from the university studied
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It is interesting to note that half of the companies that have taken on a university graduate in the last
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three years have only taken on a single graduate from the university under study, so once again we
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must analyze whether the cause is the difference in the skills provided by the students who finish
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some of their studies at this university, since the companies have taken on a greater number of
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graduates from the Faculty of Medicine and the Higher Polytechnic School, and fewer in the case of
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those from the Faculty of Law.
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The number of university graduates recruited by companies in the last three years, either as
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employees or as trainees, increases as the size of the company increases.
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89% of the companies interviewed have taken on graduates from the university studied and
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60% of them claim to have taken on graduates as employees.
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The average number of trainees is 3.5, slightly higher than the number of employees 2.4,
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although in both cases the number of trainees is a maximum of two in 58% and 44% of the cases,
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respectively, with only 10 or more or 8% as trainees and 4% as employees, which is also interesting for
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analysis, as the difference in the number of students hired is large.
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The percentage of companies interviewed that have incorporated graduates from the Faculty of
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Medicine of this university is relatively lower, but they are the ones that have made the most
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incorporations, both in internships and as employees (in this case together with graduates from the
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Higher Polytechnic School).
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It is also observed that as the size of the company increases, the average number of graduates
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from the university studied who join the companies increases, whether as interns or employees.
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In conclusion, the profiles requested for internships or as employees according to origin are:
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89% (have incorporated trainee graduates) x 3.5 (average number of additions) = 3.1 (average
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number of in-practices)
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60% (have incorporated graduates as employees) x 2.4 (average number of additions) = 1.4
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(average number of employees)
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In total, the average number of new recruits is estimated at 3,1 + 1,4 = 4,5, 68% as trainees and
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32% as employees.
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4.3 Results of the comparison between candidates from other universities and the university studied
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In order to make this comparison, the data obtained are summarized in table 1.
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Table 1: Comparison of graduates entering the labor market
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Concepts Total additions Incorporations from the university studied
Average number of traineeships 6,8 3,1
Average number of employee additions 5,3 1,4
Average total number of additions 12,1 4,5
Note: Own elaboration based on the data obtained in the survey.
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These data allow us to know the ratio of graduates from the university studied in relation to the rest.
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• Ratio of trainees: 45.7%.
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• Ratio of new recruits as employees: 27.4%.
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• Ratio of total incorporations: 37.7%.
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Of the total number of new recruits in the companies interviewed, almost 38% came from the
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university analyzed, although this ratio is higher when they are recruited as trainees than when they
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are recruited as employees, a fact that needs to be analyzed.
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4.4 Candidate competencies
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Firstly, we begin by defining the skills we have asked employers about, which are grouped into the
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following, following studies such as the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report.
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(World Economic Forum, 2020), the Adecco Report on the future of work in Spain (Adecco,
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2016), the Skills Forecast study: trends and challenges to 2030 (Cedefop, 2019), the one conducted by
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ADEI & Google on the Work of the Future (ADEI & Google Observatory, 2017) or the one by the
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consultancy Price Waterhouse Coopers on Working in 2033 (PWC, 2013), among others.
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Teamwork: understood as helping in the pursuit of a common goal, subordinating personal
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interests to team objectives.
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• Communication: understood as interpersonal communication skills and communication
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with different types of interlocutors, in different academic, professional and social contexts.
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• Self-knowledge and personal growth understood as personal and professional autonomy,
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critical thinking with the development of personal resources for decision- making.
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• Innovation and entrepreneurship understood as the capacity to propose new solutions to
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new needs, integrating social, cultural, economic, organizational and technological aspects.
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• Leadership: conceived as the effective coordination and organization of a team of people,
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the search for a suitable working environment and knowing how to guide and direct in
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order to achieve the goals and objectives set.
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The companies that have incorporated graduates from the university studied indicate teamwork
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and communication as the competences in which they stand out the most, with leadership being the
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competence with the lowest level of compliance.
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In any case, the companies generally attribute a notable degree of compliance with the
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competences considered by the students from this university.
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As the size of the company increases, there is a tendency to attribute a lower degree of
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fulfilment of the competences analyzed to graduates who have joined the companies, this being
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statistically significant in the case of leadership among the largest companies.
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There are no major differences in relation to the competences perceived by the companies in
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the new recruits from this university depending on the faculty of origin, if only to point out a
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perception of greater competence in Leadership on the part of the graduates from the Faculty of Law.
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Finally, the figure 1 shows the existing differential between the competences required by
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employers and the training in these competences by graduates, being non-existent for "Teamwork"
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and "Innovation and entrepreneurship".
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In the rest of the competences analyzed, employer companies have a somewhat less favorable
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perception than they have with other universities, with the gap being greatest in "Leadership".
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Figure 1: Competence differential between employers' requirements and graduate students.
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Source: Own elaboration based on the data obtained in the survey.
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The data on the differential is the main focus of our study, which attempts to find out whether the
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gap between the labor market and university institutions also exists at the university under analysis.
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As can be seen, in this case, we can affirm that there is practically no gap, which may be due to the
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fact that the relevant measures have been taken to implement the learning of these competences
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through a specific degree offered to all degrees, where during four academic years learning is carried
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out in each of these competences, to which is added a transversal module on digital and agile culture.
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Another important characteristic of this degree is its dynamism, as each year a new framework and
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updated content is proposed, depending on the demands of the labor market.
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In any case, this requires a change in the curricular mentality and the learning process in
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university institutions, achieving the integral education of students understood as one of the pillars
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and main purpose of the university under analysis.
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In this way, it considers it essential that all its students have the opportunity to develop values
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and attitudes that promote a personal and professional life committed to society and to the best
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version of themselves.
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A hybrid teaching methodology is applied, with individual and group monitoring through
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mentors and teachers from the institution, and using various teaching resources that are adapted to
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this methodology, such as specific online pills, master classes, face-to-face conferences with leading
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professionals, continuous collaboration with Alumni and Initiatives and activities of the University
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and the Vice-Rectorate for Students and University Life, which make the learning of transversal skills
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experiential and attractive.
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To ensure the flow of information given the large number of potential students who may take it
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each year, the student's own intranet is used for its accessibility, attractiveness and easy navigation,
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allowing simple administration and content management, with capacity as a streaming platform,
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documentation manager and publication of news and content and with the possibility of creating a
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wall of comments and proposals from students that make this degree adaptable not only to the
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demands of employers but also to those of the students themselves, who being aware of their
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shortcomings in skills training, request specific content courses.