Abstract:

Employability, after higher education, depends on many factors, including subject-specific knowledge, understanding and skills, emotional intelligence, work and life experience, career development, and reflection and evaluation (Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007) [1]. This paper presents an innovative approach with ‘professional capsules‘ aims to show how students should approach career decision making in complex situations, and how higher education institutions and VET can contribute to strengthen their softskills of decision making and their judgment. A comparison between the professional programm of Fundacio Universitat Empresa de les Illes Balears in Spain, Reykjavik University and IMT Atlantique, ‘grande ecole ‘ in France will be presented with recommandations. The commonalities between these three universities are: an isolated territory, little developed economically, a lack of territorial attraction for young graduates trained to stay work locally. The development of a specific course on the reflection of the professional project allows students to think upstream about their choice of first job. This course, in the form of a continuum for three years with marketing approach, brings them maturity, decision-making ability and softskills. The study may assist by identifying learning areas like the ‘capsule’ device, as a transferable result, which may need to be reinforced in career-preparation course inputs.In fact, as a new standard of career guidance training and decision making of the choice of the first job, it could contribute of the new managers with emotional intelligence and an entrepreneurship generation.

Keywords:

Career / employment guidance, Transition to work, first job, professional project, development curriculum, international comparison, higher education.