Abstract:

There is a consensus that transversal competences need to be integrated into Higher Education as a full and integral component. The challenge truly begins when the nature of many of such competences call for specific kinds of learning activities. Related to this, there are questions that must be answered, more research that needs to be undertaken for which little guidance is available. If it is possible to prioritize critical competences when considering the demands of employers, Higher Education Institutions (HEI), as well as other training entities will successfully guide their curriculums towards the first stage of considering those competences. By setting the goal to contribute to the knowledge in this area, this research helps to answer the main question: ‘Which transversal competences are crucial for the integration of students in the job market?’.

The present article addresses the results of an exploratory study that involved questionnaires prepared within the scope of the ActYouth-EU project, leading to the collection of 537 responses obtained both online and face-to-face. The 449 answers were collected from students and 88 answers from employers of leading industries of the four countries under analysis (Cyprus, Poland, Portugal and Lithuania). The questionnaire was composed by statements that assessed 21 competences – 11 personal competences and 10 generic competences.

The analysis was conducting based on Kruskal-Wallis H-test, the Dunn’s test for post hoc comparisons and the Importance Performance Analysis (IPA).

The results of this study allow us to understand which transversal, personal and generic competences are most relevant to students when considering the demands of employers and contributes to the understanding of the training needs that must be at the forefront of education and aligned with societal development goals.

Keywords:

Transversal Competences, Employability, Transition to Job Market, Training entities, Higher Education Institutions.