A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

89

April 2018

The first graduate destination survey of the system of public universities in Catalonia was carried out and coordinated by AQU Catalunya in 2001 under the auspices of the social councils of the public universities in Catalonia. Since then, the survey has been carried out regularly once every three years and now includes the private universities and affiliated schools and institutes. The scope of the survey has also increased and now covers Master's programmes, doctoral programmes and programmes leading to awards in the Performing Arts and Plastic Arts.

The methodology and number of variables that are analysed, the scope of which extends to one hundred and fifty-three in the case of undergraduate programmes, together with the six surveys already undertaken (between 2001 and 2017), have thus far provided one of the most complete databases in Europe on the entry into the labour market of the graduate population. The wealth of information provided in each subsequent survey continues to increase with the evolution over time of the quality of graduate destinations and career outcomes.

In order for all of this to be well managed, data are needed to quantify as much as possible that which is quantifiable. In this regard, the survey provides highly valuable findings and conclusions for universities, as well as for society that absorbs their graduates. The quality of graduate destinations depends on both of these, with higher education institutions, on the one hand, offering and delivering excellence in teaching and, on the other, socio-occupational conditions conducive to the absorption of both the quality and quantity of this level of education.

The graduate destinations survey enables universities to better understand the results of their efforts invested in teaching and how to transform these efforts within the fabric of society. It is a potent instrument for planning changes in provision and is significantly supplemented by the survey of the perceptions of employers regarding the employability and skills of recent graduates. The second edition of the employers survey, which seeks to identify the skill requirements of graduates according to enterprises and institutions, was launched in February.

The graduate destinations survey enables universities to better understand the results of their efforts invested in teaching and how to transform these efforts within the fabric of society. It is a potent instrument for planning changes in provision and is significantly supplemented by the survey of the perceptions of employers regarding the employability and skills of recent graduates. The second edition of the employers survey, which seeks to identify the skill requirements of graduates according to enterprises and institutions, was launched in February.

For society, and more specifically for management in the public sector, the survey needs to be much more than just an instrument for establishing the level at which degree courses match with the labour market and fit in with the fabric of society. It goes much further than this in that the data that it provides, together with other data, enable us to see the kind of society that we live in and where we are in relation to other so-called information societies. In short, we know where we are and the direction in which we need to head in order to continue to improve.