Abstract:

In the different degrees offered by the universities, the internships provide students a real work experience, where they must apply the specific and generic knowledge and skills acquired during their training, constituting the best scenario for the development of professional competences. Two questions arise from this approach: Do the competences required by the collaborating organisations correspond to those acquired in their academic training? Are the internships really effective in acquiring and improving these competences?

The main objective of the present paper is to evaluate the competences acquired by the students during their internships, compulsory subject of the Degree in Labour Relations and Human Resources at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), as well as to analyse the competences demanded by the labour market.

In this way, the study aims to analyse two fundamental aspects:
a) The comparison between the competences acquired by the students during their academic training and their correspondence with the competences or skills demanded by the institutions or companies where the students carry out their internships;
b) The evaluation of the acquisition and/or improvement of competences during the their internships.

In order to achieve this objective, several surveys will be sent to both students and tutors of the collaborating organisations. Students will answer two surveys:
a) The first one, before starting the internships in the collaborating organisation;
b) The second one, at the end of the internships.

The tutor in the company/institution will answer the survey prior to the student's incorporation. The surveys will take into account the type of organisation or company where the student will carry out his/her internship, as well as the area(s) where he/she will carry out his/her activities and tasks. Once the surveys have been completed, the work will carry out a descriptive and statistical analysis that will allow the achievement of the previously indicated objectives.

The results obtained in the paper will allow to know the competences demanded in the labour market with regard to the students of the Degree in Labour Relations and Human Resources, and therefore the competences that have to be reinforced and promoted. In addition, the acquisition and development of the competences will be evaluated during the realization of the internships, being able to act on possible existing weaknesses in them. Both results contribute to the improvement of the internships and, therefore, to the quality of the Degree in Labour Relations and Human Resources. In addition, this experience may be useful for other degrees interested in evaluating their internships.

Keywords:

Internships, Competences, Labour Relations and Human Resources, Evaluation, Labour market, skills.