Abstract:

The University of Panama, through the Faculty of Psychology, offers training for graduates and masters in different specialties of Psychology, taking into account the descriptions offered by the American Psychological Association.

As university teachers and researchers, we have the responsibility and commitment to verify the degree of coherence between this profile of generic competencies of psychology graduates and the employability requirements of labor market organizations. Furthermore, it is important that the existing gaps are known to make the corresponding adjustments and make the insertion and stability of graduates in the labor field more viable. This study was done jointly with Loyola University.

An investigation of this nature led us to consider the following objectives: define the profile of hiring skills most sought after by companies that hire psychology graduates; obtain a classification of competencies based on the greater or lesser importance that companies give to them when choosing and hiring psychology graduates; compare the degrees of adjustment that exist, on the one hand, between the levels of generic skills that employers estimate that hired psychology graduates possess and the requirements of the jobs they occupy and, on the other hand, between the levels of skills generic characteristics that psychology graduates consider they possess and the requirements of the positions held; and, propose the approximation of quantitative and qualitative classification measures of employability and measures of adequacy of the profile of generic competences of university graduates in psychology.

To collect pertinent information, two questionnaires were applied: one to the sample of university graduates with degrees in psychology and another to the sample of Human Resources managers from companies and institutions that have hired these professionals.

The studied population of psychology graduates consisted of 95 graduates (81 women and 14 men). The sample was reduced to 70 graduates, since 25 who were unemployed and had no work experience were discarded.

The methodology used allowed collecting, measuring, and evaluating data on various variables, dimensions and components. Qualitative information and a semi-structured interview script with managers and human resources professionals were obtained through focus groups. This made it possible to define a profile of thirteen generic competencies to facilitate participants' homogenization of criteria and concepts.

The research shows that there are varying degrees of inconsistencies between job profiles and job demands, according to employers; This finding is important to advance the process of updating study plans, in order to respond to the demands of the world of work.

It is also demonstrated that competency-based training and the empowerment of the professional profiles of psychology graduates must focus on the correspondence between the present and future demands of the labor market, which become more complex every day and are oriented towards results. quality.

The conclusions of this research define the profiles of generic competencies according to the levels of development, importance and degrees of adjustment with respect to the requirements of the jobs occupied by graduates in psychology, from the perspectives of the companies that hire them.

Keywords:

Employability, generic skills, labor market, degree in psychology.