89

April 2018

ARTICLES

6th edition of the study on access to the labour market: Master's degrees

Daniel Torrents - Senior advisor

In 2017, a total of 8,747 Master’s degree graduates from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years were surveyed, accounting for almost half of all those who qualified with a Master’s degree in the Catalan university system in those years. All of the public and private Catalan universities took part in this latest edition of the survey (the 2nd at Master’s degree level), along with 12 attached centres.

Table 1. Population, sample, response rate and sample error in the 2017 study on Master’s degree graduates

Population Sample Response rate Sample error
19.307  8.747 45,3% 0,79%

The analysis of study programmes at postgraduate level is becoming increasingly significant in our society. The proportion of Master’s graduates to training programmes/Bachelor’s graduates rose from a ratio of 1 to 3 in the 2011-12 academic year to 1 to 2 just four years later in the 2015-16 academic year.

Below we have set out some of the foremost results of the survey Access to the labour market for graduates of Master's degrees from catalan universities.

Employment and employment conditions

According to the data from 2017, 9 in every 10 Master’s degree graduates were in work at the time of the survey while only 6% were looking for employment. Moreover, 6 in every 10 graduates were working or had recently worked in the specific field they had studied, a proportion that has increased in virtually all sub-fields compared to 2014.

Trend in the percentage of graduates performing functions specific to the Master’s degree broken down according to sub-fields

Evolució del percentatge de titulats que realitzen funcions específiques del màster per subàmbit

 

Unlike the results seen at Bachelor’s level, for Master’s degree graduates employment conditions also show an improvement compared to 2014. The proportion of graduates on permanent contracts surpassed the proportion on temporary contracts; the proportion of Master’s graduates with responsibilities over other employees also increased, particularly among middle managers.

. Trend in employment conditions experienced by Master’s degree graduates (in percentage points)

Qualitat de l'ocupació 

Nevertheless, as shown in table 2 – with more in-depth information available on the EUC Dades portal (estudis.aqu.cat/dades – there are differences according to educational field which should be mentioned.

Table 2. Employment conditions according to educational field

  Permanent contract Full-time employment More than €24,000/year With responsibilities
Humanities 40% 64% 32% 39%
Social sciences 57% 81% 55% 51%
Experimental sciences 34% 84% 34% 35%
Health sciences 49% 82% 50% 42%
Engineering 52% 91% 62% 53%

Satisfaction with the education

On the basis of the Spanish qualifications framework (MECES), most of the specific Master’s programme skills were rated as satisfactory by qualified graduates. Nevertheless, a slight downward trend was seen between 2014 and 2017 in terms of satisfaction with many skills (especially in the fields of social sciences and engineering).

Table 3. Trend in satisfaction with the education provided

  2014 2017 Difference 2014-2017
2017-2014
Theoretical skills 6,8 6,7 -0,1
Practical skills 6,0 5,8 -0,1
Communication 6,4 6,3 -0,1
Team work 6,0 5,9 -0,1
Problem solving 5,7 5,6 -0,1
Critical thought 6,8 6,7 -0,1
Creativity and innovation 5,9 5,7 -0,2
Documentation 6,9 6,7 -0,1
English 3,2 3,2 0,0
Self-assessment and self-learning 6,3 6,2 -0,1
Ethical and social responsibility 6,1 5,9 -0,2

For 2017 in particular, the rating given to the various skills was above satisfactory and, indeed, the level was almost on a par with that required in the labour market. Even so, English is still a skill that shows scope for improvement in the Catalan university system.

Education shortfall: difference between the average level of education provided and its usefulness in work (only for Master’s degree graduates who perform university-level functions)

Qualiat formacio millora



Willingness to take the Master’s degree again

Lastly, Master’s degree graduates were broadly satisfied with the programme studied; 2 in every 3 would take the same programme again. The number who would take the programme again has fallen slightly compared to 2014 in many sub-fields, particularly in economics, business and tourism, and ICTs, which is in parallel to the drop seen in satisfaction with the education provided as mentioned earlier.

Trend in willingness to take the Master’s degree again detailed according to sub-field

B89_ILMaster_2_en

Accordingly, although all the employment indicators are positive and show an upward trend, in future academic years there is a challenge to address when it comes to focussing on the education provided and student satisfaction with Master’s programmes at a time when a broader panorama of programmes is being offered and demand is reaching unprecedented levels.

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Generalitat de Catalunya

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