ShareRegistration now open for AQU Catalunya’s seminar: ‘What does the labour market think of university education? Hiring, competencies, and new training trends’
The seminar, where the results of the 2024 Employers Survey will be presented, will take place on Wednesday, June 18.
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Every three years, AQU Catalunya conducts surveys among employers who hire graduates from the Catalan university system. The fourth edition of this survey was conducted in 2024, and the results will be presented this year. To do so, the Agency has organised a seminar titled What Does the Labour Market Think of University Education? Hiring, Competencies, and New Training Trends, to be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The event will be hybrid: it can be attended in person at the Barcelona campus of the Open University of Catalonia (Rambla del Poblenou, 154) or followed online via a YouTube link, which will be sent to all registered participants.
The seminar will present the results of the latest Employers Survey, which asked employers about the factors influencing the hiring of recent graduates, hiring difficulties, the competencies that should be improved in university education, and their overall satisfaction with the skills of the graduates they employ. Additionally, this latest edition of the survey explored employers’ views on increasingly relevant issues in the university context, such as lifelong learning for graduates, the role of double degrees, dual university programmes, joint university degrees, and the importance of in-person versus online education, among other topics.
The seminar aims to explore whether companies value university education differently depending on whether they are SMEs or large corporations, and whether the field of study affects hiring decisions. It will feature contributions from several experts in the field. Following a welcome address by Francesc Xavier Grau Vidal, President of AQU Catalunya, and Àngels Fitó Bertran, Rector of the Open University of Catalonia, there will be a keynote speech titled How Do University Social Councils Contribute to the Alignment of Higher Education with Labour Market Needs?, delivered by Montserrat Guàrdia Güell, President of the Social Council of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Afterward, Jaume Valls Pasola, Director of AQU Catalunya, will introduce Sandra Nieto Viramontes, the lead researcher of the study at the Agency, who will present the survey results. This will be followed by a roundtable discussion titled University Strategies for Embracing New Training Trends, moderated by Josep Joan Moreso Mateos, Professor of Legal Philosophy at Pompeu Fabra University. The panel will include Victòria Girona Brumos, Director General for Universities; Joan Guàrdia Olmos, Rector of the University of Barcelona; Àngels Fitó Bertran, Rector of the Open University of Catalonia; and Pep Garcia Garcia, President of the Training Commission of the General Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia.
The purpose of AQU Catalunya’s Employers Survey is to provide valuable information for redesigning degree programmes in order to improve the employability of graduates from the Catalan university system. For this reason, the seminar is open to degree coordinators from Catalan universities, public administration representatives, faculty, students, evaluators who collaborate with AQU Catalunya, and university guidance professionals and agency staff.
You can register for the seminar at this link and view the full programme here. In-person spots are limited.