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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.63.03.31
How to Cite:
Turcas, I., Popa, D., Maican, C., Mușa (Piuaru), B.A., & Grigoroiu, M.C. (2023). Universities in the process of co-working with the
labor market. Amazonia Investiga, 12(63), 330-340. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.63.03.31
Universities in the process of co-working with the labor market
Universidades en proceso de co-trabajo con el mercado laboral
Received: March 6, 2023 Accepted: April 28, 2023
Written by:
Ioana Turcas1
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7234-7335
Daniela Popa2
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4538-7136
Catalin Maican3
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1968-9958
Brenda-Andreea Mușa (Piuaru)4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9374-3844
Monica Claudia Grigoroiu5
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4013-4017
Abstract
The current research focuses on investigating
several generations of graduates to observe the level
of absorption of graduates in the labor market in the
context of improvements in educational policies. A
longitudinal research design was used, a panel
study with a prospective design. The research
method was a questionnaire-based social survey.
The results show that there are significant
generational differences regarding the level of
assimilation in the labor market, the degree of
employment in the field of studies, and the level of
satisfaction of the participants. Gender differences
were observed in the timing of participants' jobs.
Also, labor market absorption is dependent on the
field of study, despite educational policies.
Keywords: employability, employment status,
professional insertion, tertiary education.
Introduction
Higher education has been widely accepted as
having multiple roles for both the individual and
society. According to the Ministry of Education
from Romania (2019), there are four essential
1
Ph.D. Student, Department of Marketing, Tourism, and International Business. Faculty of Economics, and Business Administration,
Transilvania University of Brasov, Colina Universității, Brasov, Romania.
2
Teacher Training Department, Faculty of Psychology and Science of Education, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov,
Romania.
3
Ph.D., Management and Economic Informatics Department, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Transilvania
University of Brasov, Colina Universității, Brașov, Romania.
4
Ph.D. Student, Department of Marketing, Tourism and International Business, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration,
Transilvania University of Brasov, Colina Universității, Brașov, Romania.
5
Ph.D. Student, Department of Marketing, Tourism and International Business, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration,
Transilvania University of Brasov, Colina Universității, Brașov, Romania.
functions that higher education has: (1) education
has significant implications for the economic
prosperity of every individual, every community,
and every nation; (2) cultural implications
Turcas, I., Popa, D., Maican, C., Mușa (Piuaru), B.A., Grigoroiu, M.C. / Volume 12 - Issue 63: 330-340 / March, 2023
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through which values and traditions are
transmitted from generation to generation, are
shaped to reflect cultural and economic
developments and are anchored in contemporary
social realities; (3) social role that offers each
individual the opportunity to accumulate
knowledge and ideas and develop the attitudes
and skills necessary to become an informed and
active citizen; and (4) personal development that
enables learning throughout life as a vital
direction in our contemporary society.
Technologies and rapid developments have
changed the business environment, and
production processes, and increased competition
at the local and global levels. Therefore, a well-
educated workforce is crucial in today's
competitive world.
At the macro level, some attempts to assess the
graduate professional path may be highlighted.
For instance, the European Union has
implemented a study - Eurograduates - intending
to try a unitary assessment of professional
insertion. The study represents part of a wider
project, which aims to create a single evaluation
mechanism for European universities
(Eurograduate, 2022).
In Romania, the purpose of university studies is
in-depth learning, the development of expert-
level skills in the field of study, as well as
research and innovation in the field of study.
University and postgraduate studies are built on
the principle of interdisciplinarity and consider
the dynamics of demand on the labor market at
the regional and national level, based on medium
and long-term development scenarios. In a
dynamic labor market, universities offer adults
the possibility to continuously develop in their
professions or add skills that allow them to
access new professions. Furthermore, the
universities involve the economic sector in the
individual support of the students for the
integration into the work from the period of
studies and thus achieve a good insertion in their
active life.
Under these circumstances, the purpose of this
study is to critically investigate if higher
education from Romania meets the requirements
of the labor market. It is important to highlight
that Argos and Ezquerra (2014) consider that
employability represents "a complex and
polysemantic concept that includes different
types of skills, and the graduates must display
"proactive adaptability" which involves a good
understanding of their future careers, good
adaptability, and excellent communication skills
(Asonitou, 2015).
Literature Review
The Importance of higher education for the
global workforce
Higher education was described as any type of
formal education done in a post-secondary
institution of learning that results in acquiring a
degree, diploma, or certificate of higher studies
(Britannica, 2022). Related to the benefits of
general education for their students, the four
most important aspects were identified: (1)
career preparation, (2) broader practical benefits,
(3) personal development, and (4) pursuing a
passion (Ma, Pender, & Welch, 2016).
Furthermore, Daniel (2014) adds that the
environment that surrounds these higher
education institutions is becoming more
complex, and at the same time, factors such as
global economic, political, and social change
pressure these institutions to equip their students
properly so they can be relevant to the global job
market. Higher education institutions are
perceived, in general, as knowledge producers,
promoters of innovation, supporters of
entrepreneurial potential, leaders in the economy
and civic societies, and most notably, knowledge
pioneers (Bejinaru, 2017).
Moreover, when it comes to higher education,
De Moura Castro & Levy (2015) stated that it has
for functions: (1) academic leadership,
(2) professional development, (3) technological
training and development, and (4) general higher
education. One crucial role that higher education
has is related to the constant need to change,
update, and upgrade the curriculum to maintain
relevance in the market (Gursoy et al., 2012). The
same author stated that the curriculum can be
split into three sub-elements that are crucial for
both the students and the employers: (1) skills,
(2) knowledge, and (3) values. Jack et al., (2017)
argue that the most common problem of higher
education is that it fails to deliver more than
knowledge resulting in a lack of necessary skills
and the main purpose of higher education
institutions should be to fill the spaces between
knowledge and practice. Even so, according to
Gursoy et al., (2012), working experience is
important but managerial skills are even more so.
As an argument, Jack et al., (2017) added that
although skills and experience are the most
important, they are not the only features needed
to succeed. Higher education institutions must
constantly change and adapt to the needs of the
market so they can deliver the best future
employees, regardless of the industry
(Katajavuori, Lindblom-Ylanne, & Hiroven,
2006; Alexakis & Jiang, 2019).
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Hard skills and soft skills - an asset for future
graduates
In the era of the 21st century, where career
opportunities are present at every company’s
door, and in every industry, it is almost
impossible for freshly graduated students to
recognize and choose their career paths (Balcar,
2016). The first academic year should be the
period when students experience industries
according to their area of interest, while the
following year should be the time when they can
experiment with different ideas, applying the
theoretical knowledge they received (Landry et
al., 2011). Along with the development of the
workforce, Gore et al., (2011) sustain that career
paths have become more diverse and eminent
since individuals make career decisions within an
increasingly dynamic organizational societal,
and global environment.
Specialized bodies such as the National
Qualifications Authority (NQA) propose
elements of national policies and strategies to
better coordinate the occupational and training
profiles (Ministry of Education, 2022b). At the
European level, a European Skills, Competences,
Qualifications, and Occupations (ESCO) body
has been set up to bridge the gap between the
world of education and training and the world of
work, helping to reduce skills mismatches and
support a better functioning labor market
(European Commission, 2022).
Skills are divided into hard skills (technical skills
that usually involve or are associated with using
equipment, data, and software) and soft skills
(Chell, Athayde, 2011). The second category
comprises interpersonal skills which refer to the
ability to interact with oneself, and interpersonal
skills that relate to interacting with others around
us (Laker, Powell, 2011). Experiential learning
exercises in the form of internships, computer-
assisted instructions, and live cases are the best
methods to transfer generic or soft skills such as
communication, writing, interpersonal skills,
judgment, and analytical skills (Culpin, Scott,
2012). Soft skills have high value and potential
but even so, the education systems focus far more
on hard skills. Hard skills attached to a
qualification are crucial for employability and
success. Even so, Balcar (2016) studies have
shown that both hard and soft skills translate
equally into wages. His findings revealed that
hard skills and soft skills prove productive only
when used together. Weber & Crawford (2016)
reported that even though many skills are
important, personality comes first. Necessary to
perform well at the workplace are self-awareness
and self-management capabilities that come from
an intrinsic drive and motivation (Johnson et al.,
2016).
More complex skills, such as decision-making,
critical thinking, task planning, communication
skills, and team management skills, are looked
for in candidates or employees with the
advancement in terms of occupied position on the
hierarchical scale of a company (Chiang, Saw,
2018; Weber, Crawford, 2016). According to
Merchante and Ortega (2012 cited in Sheehan et
al., 2018), while studying the productivity leaks
of different companies, one of the main sources
identified was the differences between the
education level required by the company versus
the actual education level of employees. The
same authors further stated that small and
medium hospitality establishments are forced to
hire underperforming employees due to a lack of
alternatives which often leads to blockers in
growth and expansion for the business and
reduced quality products and services which
translate directly into numerous negative effects
on the overall performance of the business.
Overview of the professional insertion of
recent graduates in the European Union
It has been widely accepted that Europe has been
the epicenter of higher education providing high-
quality students and graduates through famous
universities and renowned institutions (Ye,
2022). In 2020, the UniRank database showed
that in Europe there are 2725 officially
recognized higher-education institutions of
which 1922 are public and 777 are private. An
interesting finding was that 97% of the top 200
universities in Europe are represented by public
institutions demonstrating a high involvement of
the governments. Moreover, according to
Eurostat (2022), the European Union had 17.5
million tertiary education students divided as
follows: 59.9% are represented by students
studying for a bachelor’s degree, 29.5% studying
for a master’s degree and 3.8% are studying for a
doctoral degree.
Professional integration has been proven to be a
challenging process that most people, especially
young adults, must struggle to carry out on their
own (Neagu, 2015). At the same time, the
educational system frequently claims that its
obligation toward the public ends as soon as
students become graduates. On the other hand,
employers, considered to be the main players in
the labor market, are interested in recruiting and
hiring qualified personnel yet, in most cases, they
refuse to contribute to the professional and
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personal development of those who apply for job
opportunities. It is a certainty that the labor
market consists of both people who offer their
labor force and whom they ask for it
(Maquera-Luque et al., 2021). In this labor
context, Monteiro (2022) explains that the
demand-supply imbalances associated with this
specific market may be attributed to various
factors, in addition to the conventional ones.
Additional elements including institutional,
social, demographic, and cultural ones could
serve for a more thorough interpretation of such
imbalances. Job placement is not only related to
people’s lives and aspirations but is considered a
process that establishes clear directions in every
job market with obvious consequences for a
person’s professional progression
(García-Blanco and Cardenas Sempertegui,
2018).
The professional integration of recent graduates
and the effective measures that could be adopted
is a priority for all members of the European
Union. A recent study conducted by Eurostat
(2021) showed that the European Union had the
highest employment rate (79.6%) among those
who graduated with a tertiary education
compared with previous years. According to this
research, 36.6% of young Romanians, between
the ages of 15 and 34, work in other fields than
those for which they have trained. The skills
mismatch is defined as the discrepancy between
a person's current occupation and the
qualification according to the degree. Of the 30
European countries analyzed, the best placed,
with the lowest job mismatch rates, are Iceland,
with 17%, and Switzerland, with 20% while at
the end of the ranking, we can see Romania
(36.6%), France (35.4%) and Slovakia (35%).
The discrepancies between the design of the
curricula provided by higher education
institutions and the demands of employers can
generate an impenetrable gap and can cause skills
mismatch. This is one of the main reasons why
universities are becoming concerned with the
professional integration of graduates into the
labor markets, designing institutional
mechanisms to facilitate students’ transition to
the workforce (Silva et al., 2016).
Ensuring the correlation of the higher education
system with the requirements of the labor market
continues to be both a priority and a challenge for
Romania in recent years, with many solutions
being identified using European funds within the
sectoral operational programs regarding
education and training to integrate into the labor
market (Ministry of Education, 2022a). One of
the most important measures regarding the
correlation of university study programs with the
requirements of the labor market is the promotion
of entrepreneurial education (European
Commission, 2022).
From the perspective of human capital, the
national vision is to create a Romania with equal
access to sustainable, quality employment, and
an education system relevant to the labor market,
stimulating lifelong learning. Considering these
ambitious goals of the Romanian authorities
through action bodies as well as the intentions of
higher education institutions to deliver highly
qualified human capital and prepared for the real
needs of the labor market, through this study the
authors aimed to investigate the indirect impact
of educational policies on the level of
employability, in the case of a comprehensive
university.
Methodology
The authors chose a longitudinal research design,
which involves measuring the investigated
phenomenon in successive moments, from 2015
to 2021. The interest of the research is focused on
how the employability rate evolved following the
introduction of educational policies aimed at
bringing the university educational offer closer to
the labor market requirements. The panel study
was based on a prospective model therefore, the
information was collected from the moment the
research started (2015), and in several later
moments (2016-2021) continuously. Under these
circumstances, the research method used was the
questionnaire survey. The decision regarding
choosing the appropriate research instrument was
based on the aim of the research, in correlation
with the need to capture the complexity of the
research topic. For this article, one data
collection instrument was considered, to gain a
detailed understanding of the professional
insertion of recent graduates in Romania.
Results and Discussion
One of the largest comprehensive universities in
Romania, with a long tradition in tertiary
education, having been established in 1948, was
chosen as representative. It has 18 faculties
covering all fundamental fields and offers 101
bachelor's programs, 79 master's, programs, and
19 doctoral study programs, benefiting
approximately 20,000 students annually. The
data collection procedure was as follows: a
research instrument was constructed - a
questionnaire that graduates completed one year
after their graduation. This moment was not
chosen by chance, but it was thoroughly
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considered because, in Romania, a diploma is
issued one year after graduation. When the
former students came to collect their diplomas,
they were asked to fill out the questionnaire – the
research tool decided.
Table 1.
Responses rate
Number of filled questionnaires
Total/Year
Graduates 2021
14
Graduates 2020
705
Graduates 2019
1926
Graduates 2018
1217
Graduates 2017
1097
Graduates 2016
2743
Total
7702
*According to data collected until 10.03
Furthermore, for the study, the rights and
obligations of each research participant were
explained to those who agreed to participate in
the survey. Moreover, any graduate that wanted
to participate in the research completed an
informed consent document from the beginning
of the collection year (2016), as we can observe
in Table 1. Responses rate. According to a
specific procedure, the questionnaires were
adapted to different levels of study – bachelor,
master, and Ph.D.
Sociodemographic features of participants
To analyze the data collected through the
questionnaires, the IBM SPSS Statistic Tool was
used, and the results showed a total number of
7702 participants divided for all years
researched. Under these circumstances, most
participants (35,6%) completed the questionnaire
in 2016 while the lowest number was registered
in 2021 (0,2%) mainly because all data was
collected until March 2023. The age range of the
respondents was not divided into any groups,
with each participant being asked to provide the
age. According to the descriptive statistics, out of
7702 participants, the youngest involved was 21
years old while the oldest person was 69 years
old, the mean being 26.68 years with a standard
deviation of 6.024. Important to mention is that
the highest number of participants involved in the
study was 24 years of age (22,4%) which is
justified because they completed the
questionnaire when collecting their diplomas.
Regarding gender, the authors decided to run a
chi-square goodness-of-fit test to identify if there
are statistically significant differences in the
percentages of females and males that decided to
complete the questionnaire. According to the
results, χ2(1) = 224.05, p < .0005 therefore,
women were more interested to complete the
questionnaire than men one reason being the
higher number of women graduates.
The research aims and objectives
The aim of the research consists in assessing
some characteristics of the professional itinerary
of graduates, by following them in time in a
longitudinal way, to find out if there are
differences regarding the professional pathways
between the considered generations.
Research objectives are: to critically investigate
the differences between generations regarding
the level of absorption in the labor market; to
examine the differences between generations
regarding the degree of employment in the field
of studies; to analyze the existing relationships
between the level of student satisfaction with the
graduate study program and the level of
insertion; to inspect the existing relationships
between the time of employment in the first job
(during studies or after completion) and the
gender of participants; to identify the level of
absorption in the labor market according to the
graduated faculties. For the study and in-depth
analysis, five hypotheses were formulated to
reveal the level of insertion of recent graduates
from the university involved.
1. There are significant differences between
generations regarding the level of
assimilation in the labor market.
2. There are differences between generations
regarding the level of insertion in the field of
studies.
3. There is a relationship between the level of
satisfaction of the students regarding the
graduate study program and the level of
insertion.
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4. There are significant differences between
gender regarding the time of employment in
the first job (during studies or after
completion);
5. There are differences between graduated
faculties regarding the level of absorption in
the labor market.
The study premises and analysis of results
involve the presence of significant generational
differences regarding the level of absorption in
the labor market. The seven thousand seven
hundred and two total respondents who have
completed the questionnaire have answered five
different sections of the survey, changing from
answers with open answers, to score allocation
and rating priorities to keep the engagement
activities throughout the entire time, as well as to
fully complete a graduate profile and test the
accuracy of the answers.
When testing the first hypothesis, a chi-square
test was run to determine if there were
differences between the graduation year and the
status of graduates in the labor market. As we can
see in Figure 1. The relationship between
variables: Graduation year and Status on the
labor market, there are differences between the
analyzed generations regarding their status on the
labor market. The main categories were
employed, business ownership, and unemployed.
There were no outliers in the data as assessed by
inspection of a boxplot. Under these
circumstances, there is a significant difference
between the year of graduation and the status of
graduates in the labor market, as the test
demonstrated χ2(10) = 45.04, p < 0.0005.
Figure 1. The relationship between variables: Graduation year and Status in the labor market
Furthermore, the researchers intended to
investigate if there is a close relationship between
the generations and their work field to fully
understand if the widely known phenomenon, the
skills mismatch was visible in the previous years.
According to Eurostat (2021), only 36.6% of
Romanian graduates are working in their field of
studies but running a chi-square test has
statistically shown that there is a significant
difference between the graduation year and their
work field, as the test demonstrated χ2(5) = 24.88,
p < 0.0001. As the figure displays (Figure 2. The
relationship between variables: Graduation year
and Employment in the field of studies), the
highest number of graduates that are having o job
according to their studies is from 2016. As the
results showed, 2016 is the year with the greatest
number of participants (2743 out of 7702) and
the year when employability was at a high level.
Interesting to observe is that the graduates of
2016 in comparison with other years are working
in their field of study.
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Figure 2. The relationship between variables: Graduation year and Employment in the field of studies
Moreover, the research focuses on observing if
there are associations between the graduation
year and the level of satisfaction of the graduates.
To constantly improve the curricula to
successfully match the industry requirements,
most universities recognize the importance of
self-actualization following the dynamic,
globalized labor market. Therefore, the analysis
was conducted, and the results showed that 80%
of all respondents stated that, regardless of the
graduation year, they are satisfied to a large
extent or totally with the knowledge received
throughout their program of study (Figure 3. The
relationship between variables: Graduation year
and the degree of satisfaction). Analysis of the
results obtained shows that there are significant
differences between generations, as the test
demonstrated χ2(20) = 33.68, p < 0.05).
Analyzing the data obtained, we observe a
progressive increase between the years 2016-
2019, which explains the impact of educational
policies adopted both at a national and local level
at the university under investigation.
Figure 3. The relationship between variables: Graduation year and the degree of satisfaction
For the fourth hypothesis, the researchers aimed
to investigate if gender had influenced their time
of employment in the first job respondents. The
analysis demonstrated that 66% of all
respondents managed to have their first job
during their undergraduate studies.
The results confirmed what Gursoy et. al (2012)
stated highlighting the idea that working
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experience is important but managerial skills are
even more so, according to and as a logical
extension to be successful at the point of
graduation, the students must have a firm grasp
of both operational and managerial skills. At the
same time, it is important to mention that,
according to the analysis researchers performed
(χ2(5) = 13.006, p < .0005), women who
graduated from the investigated university
managed to successfully obtain their first job
during their undergraduate studies same as the
men graduates, therefore, there is a clear
association between gender and the period when
respondents decided to apply for a first job
(Figure 4. The relationship between variables:
Gender of participants and the moment of the
first job). The results contradict Eurostat (2021)
which stated that even though there are more
females than men who graduate, men are more
inclined to be absorbed in the labor market.
Figure 4. The relationship between variables: Gender of participants and the moment of the first job
When investigating whether there are possible
associations between the type of faculty students
graduated from and the level of absorption into
the labor market, the results showed that those
graduates who completed their studies at a
faculty with higher applicability also have a
higher insertion rate (Figure 5). The relationship
between variables: Faculties and Employment
status).
This confirms what Eurostat (2021) stated
regarding the low integration of students who
graduate from applied science faculties. Pearson
χ2 test results for the association of variables
indicate that Employment Status differs
according to the faculty graduated, as the test
demonstrated χ2(36) = 424.26, p < 0.0001. Those
who complete educational programs such as
Economics and Business Administration,
Medicine, Food, and Tourism have a better
chance of being absorbed into the labor market.
Those who complete highly specialized degree
programs such as Wood Industry, Materials
Science, and Engineering have the lowest
chances. Most entrepreneurs come from
Economics Business Administration and
Mechanical Engineering.
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Figure 5. The relationship between variables: Faculties and Employment Status
Conclusions
This research investigated the indirect impact of
educational policies on the level of employment
in the case of a comprehensive university. In
carrying out the research, essential aspects
resulting from strategies and operational plans
starting from 2016 were considered, analyzing
the strategic objectives aimed at promoting an
educational system based on a good transition
from school to the labor market.
Consequently, several implemented projects
were considered, which allowed the
improvement of the transition process from the
university to the labor market under different
aspects: optimizing the professional path by
developing collaboration with the economic
environment; improving communication
between universities, students, graduates, and
companies by combining classic and modern
communication tools; integrating the approach to
the problems of the professional route – skills,
orientation, and involvement.
There is an obvious connection between the level
of insertion and the practical skills graduates
obtained through their first job during the
undergraduate program that enabled them to
better blend theoretical knowledge with practical
ones. It is essential for any university to
constantly stimulate students to apply for jobs
during their studies so they can apply all
theoretical knowledge in various professional
environments. Apart from this, students can
discover more about their field of study and at the
same time, they can establish quality networks
that will eventually turn into different
opportunities.
The hypotheses of the study have been
confirmed, so we can affirm that there are
differences between generations in the level of
assimilation into the labor market, many of
which are due to the change in university
education policies in favor of the graduate, to
ensure the highest degree of employability. One
of the educational policies supported and
developed has been the maintenance of close
relations with the economic environment,
enhanced by the creation of multiple internship
opportunities and part-time student employment.
The findings of our study show that those who
participate in internships or are employed during
their studies are more likely to find a job after
graduation. Our findings are consistent with
other studies (Nunley et al., 2016; Baert et al.,
2021).
There were also notable differences between
generations in terms of employment in the
professional field of study completed. The level
of satisfaction of the graduates showed a visible
progression, both from year to year and within
the categories referring to their employability
status (unemployed, employed, self-employed).
Interesting to note is the high proportion of
research participants who have been engaged
since the time of their studies, the results
highlighting the existence of gender differences
in this regard, with female representatives
engaging at a higher rate compared to male
students. This finding contradicts recent studies
that highlight that being a woman and especially
completing social science studies is a risk factor
(Monteiro, 2020).
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However, educational policies aimed at
facilitating labor market integration do not act in
the same way for all fields of study. The results
obtained in this research show that there are
fields where labor market take-up is lower than
in others. Thus, the highest employment rates
were presented by the graduates of the faculties
of economics and business administration (874
graduates were employed), faculty of medicine
(698 employed graduates), and those with the
lowest employment were the graduates of the
faculty of furniture design and wood engineering
(79 employed graduates) and Civil Engineering
(122 employed graduates).
One of the limitations of the study is represented
by the fact that the results cannot be extrapolated
to the entire Romanian graduate population. As
the data are self-reported, they may also be
biased by factors such as social desirability.
Another limitation was the large number of
incomplete questionnaires completed. This
limitation was reduced to some extent by not
including in the study those participants who did
not provide sufficient data. Also, the data
collected for the 2021 generation is not
conclusive, as not enough data was collected and
the process is still ongoing.
As a final appreciation, the process of transition
from university to the labor market is
continuously improved, as the labor market is a
very dynamic one – due to specific causes and,
also, to unexpected causes – and the university
tries to adapt to its changes. This process might
be considered a difficult one, as the process of
adaptation is most of the time harder to realize in
real-time with the labor market changes.
The study has both theoretical implications, as it
establishes some aspects that might become
components of insertion general assessment –
employment status, employment in the fields of
study, degree of satisfaction -, as well as practical
implications, by carrying out an analysis that
goes from the macro level – a general level and
without focusing on issues related to each
educational institution in particular – to a micro
level (the university) - allowing the analysis to be
framed in the national and European context.
Following the interpretation of these results, we
consider it necessary that the skills offerings that
universities provide to future graduates include
more transversal competencies as well as an
ncreased focus on the contexts for putting
competencies into practice. This will allow
students not only to test their theoretical
knowledge but also to adapt their knowledge to
the socio-economic reality.
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