How to develop higher education curricula towards employability? A multi-stakeholder approach
ISSN: 0040-0912
Article publication date: 1 December 2021
Issue publication date: 1 February 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to find out what conditions are needed to enhance higher education curricula towards employability from the perspective of different stakeholders in the graduate labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was developed, using a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews with higher education institutions (HEIs) and labour market players, in the north region of Portugal. The data were analysed through content and descrip\tive analysis with NVivo.
Findings
The results show a set of constraints that hinder the match of higher education curricula with employability, namely, (1) the weak connection between HEIs and employers and (2) the curricular structure, which is characterised by a heavy theoretical component and a weak approach to the soft skills required by the current labour market. Possible solutions, with implications for educational policy, are given throughout the study.
Research limitations/implications
The geographical scope and the nature of the study suggest that some precautions are required when generalising results. However, the literature on other areas in Portugal strengthens the findings and compensates for the sample's limitations.
Originality/value
This study combines the perspectives of the different individual stakeholders involved which, when taken as a whole, provide some recommendations for tailored curricula towards employability. Other studies in Portugal address each of these issues individually, without a connection between all the different perspectives.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge all interviewees for their contributions, as well as the valuable comments received from the anonymous reviewers.
Funding: This work was funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through the project UIDB/SOC/04011/2020 and was supported by the project UIDB/04007/2020.
Citation
Olo, D., Correia, L. and Rego, C. (2022), "How to develop higher education curricula towards employability? A multi-stakeholder approach", Education + Training, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 89-106. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-10-2020-0329
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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