Graduates’ competences and assessment from their employers’ perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show the employer’s perspective regarding the competences required of college graduates, from different professional sectors and the contribution of evaluation systems to its development and assessment. From a qualitative methodological approach, an open questionnaire has been applied in order to gather information from employers of Primary Education, Pharmacy and Engineering on the following issues: competences that graduates should have; instruments and evaluation criteria used in their selection processes and, learning strategies and assessment systems used at the university. The results allow us contrasting perceptions offered from the three sectors investigated. Finally, we present a critical reflection that explores the complexity of the competencies approach and the need to adapt the evaluation systems to this new scenario. Suggestions to strengthen the relationship with the labor market, increasing employability and improving the quality of university education are provided.