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How to develop higher education curricula towards employability? A multi-stakeholder approach

Daniela Olo (Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies, University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal)
Leonida Correia (Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies, University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal)
Conceição Rego (Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics, University of Évora, Évora, Portugal)

Education + Training

ISSN: 0040-0912

Article publication date: 1 December 2021

Issue publication date: 1 February 2022

690

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

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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