Spanish Universities and Their Involvement with the Employability of Graduates

• Main Authors: Rafael Leonisio, Oliver Strijbis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) 2014-01-01
• Series: Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (REIS)
• Subjects: Cluster; Higher Education; Employability; Scale; Graduates
• Online Access: http://reis.cis.es/REIS/PDF/REIS_146_02_ENGLISH1397045964020.pdf

The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale for measuring the commitment of Spanish universities to the employability of their graduates by looking at four different dimensions of the term: basic, business protocol, matching and feedback. These dimensions have been measured against initiatives that are run beyond the scope of official academic training. Based on this scale and applying the analysis of several clusters, we identify three profiles for university centers according to their commitment to the employability of their graduates. We gave a questionnaire to 230 higher education institutions in Spain. The results demonstrated that Spanish universities have a long way to go to reach sufficient commitment in the four areas proposed. Only one third of the centers analyzed met the criteria. Last, we propose some potential measures for improvement such as requiring a minimum level of a foreign language in order to complete a degree, the use of interactive learning methodologies and collaboration with employers.