Abstract:

Today's society has its sights set on the 2035 horizon in terms of being more just, caring and sustainable. The European Union formulated in December 2015, the Circular Economy Strategy, approving in 2020 the Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, proposing for the future: mitigating the effects of Climate Change, reduction of waste generated, elimination of substances toxic substances in the environment, dematerialization of the economy, among other issues.

Universities have launched degree and master's programs in Circular Economy, in order to provide society with technicians who are capable of providing their services for a fairer and more balanced transition towards the 2035 horizon.

There are three key objectives of the study:
- Contrast the importance of the trends identified for the study area, the sectors and activities that form it and their implications for the Circular Economy.
- Assess the relevance and suitability of the identified and proposed professional profiles (identification of trends) for defining a training itinerary, occupations and related qualifications.
- Deepen the analysis of training needs and the skills required for each professional profile.

The professional profile integrates the description of the knowledge or professional qualifications, skills, competencies, attitudes and aptitudes that a person must have to carry out an activity in different situations and environments.

For this reason, the Environmental Innovation Group of the Polytechnic University of Madrid has carried out a study of some 2,000 jobs offered on websites and social networks in the United States; United Kingdom and European Union, such as green jobs, and on the profiles most in demand by the productive and consulting sectors.

The methodology followed has materialized in 5 phases:
- Establishment of the geographical and sectoral framework to investigate and bibliographic analysis
- Analysis of sectoral tendencies
- Analysis of employment and training needs by study areas
- Establishment of training priorities
- Results and conclusions

The results obtained show a very interesting variability of demanded profiles, according to the geographical block studied, discriminating between management, technical, R&D&i, marketing and communication, maintenance and training scholarships. Within these, the typology of graduates in demand has been studied, resulting equally variable depending on the required profile, between engineering and construction; information technologies, management sciences, health sciences and biology and occupational risk prevention.

Future jobs determine training priorities in each specialty or branch of knowledge. Companies and organizations in general clearly show where the trend is in the form of needs:
- implementation of energy efficiency measures and conversion of systems to renewable energies.
- dematerialize the economy by closing loops in products.
- Recycling and other waste recovery systems.
- financing, especially for SMEs.
- penetration in the market and new clients.
- new sustainable materials, packaging, elimination of plastics,
- digitization of economies, which will lead to sensorization and BigData, linked to artificial intelligence that helps decision-making in organizations.

Keywords:

Circular economy, employment, university education.