Professional competencies of business graduates and the expectations of the labor market in Ecuador

Abstract

Educational models have evolved over time, according to the new needs of students and the labor market. Hence, the current educational trend is based on the development of competencies in students and therefore, the way of applying knowledge is more important than the knowledge itself. Based on this, the present study aims to identify the competencies of professionals in the careers of administration, international business and marketing, which are most demanded by the labor market in Ecuador. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted with a sample of 54 employers in three representative cities of the country. The research instrument consisted of a questionnaire based on a 5-dimensional Likert scale that included 35 competencies. The results show that employers of professionals in administration, international business and marketing place a higher value on soft competencies such as ethics, teamwork and critical thinking. The authors conclude that there is a need to strengthen the development of soft competencies in response to labor market demand.