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A University Training Programme for Acquiring Entrepreneurial and Transversal Employability Skills, a Students’ Assessment

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  • Pilar Laguna-Sánchez

    (Business Department, University Rey Juan Carlos, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

  • Pilar Abad

    (Business Department, University Rey Juan Carlos, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

  • Concepción de la Fuente-Cabrero

    (Business Department, University Rey Juan Carlos, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

  • Rocío Calero

    (Business Department, University Rey Juan Carlos, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze university graduate students’ assessments of the attainment of skills acquired in a Training Programme (TP) to develop entrepreneurial skills and transversal employability competencies. Both are vital for the success of today’s societies and play an important role in the sustainable development agenda. The TP was a 12-week programme with six modules combining entrepreneurship training and traditional teaching methods. There were nine editions and 148 students worked in teams preparing business plans to present to consultants and potential investors. First, the nominal group technique was used to identify which competencies can be acquired through TP. Second, a survey was designed to identify the level to which the competences were attained. The results suggest that the students attained two types of skills, acquiring a higher level of proficiency in entrepreneurial skills and those transversal competencies. Additionally, different levels of attainment of entrepreneurial skills were found in different groups of students. We provide new evidence that TPs, as compulsory subjects in the core curriculum of degree programmes, will help accomplish both objectives: the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills and generic university educational competencies. The overall outcome of this research highlights the value added by the TPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Pilar Laguna-Sánchez & Pilar Abad & Concepción de la Fuente-Cabrero & Rocío Calero, 2020. "A University Training Programme for Acquiring Entrepreneurial and Transversal Employability Skills, a Students’ Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:796-:d:311638
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Pilar Laguna-Sánchez & Jesús Palomo & Concepción de la Fuente-Cabrero & Mónica de Castro-Pardo, 2020. "A Multiple Criteria Decision Making Approach to Designing Teaching Plans in Higher Education Institutions," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Lavinia Cornelia Butum & Luminița Nicolescu & Sergiu Octavian Stan & Andrei Găitănaru, 2020. "Providing Sustainable Knowledge for the Young Graduates of Economic and Social Sciences. Case Study: Comparative Analysis of Required Global Competences in Two Romanian Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-29, July.
    4. Rodrigo Martín-García & Carmen López-Martín & Raquel Arguedas-Sanz, 2020. "Collaborative Learning Communities for Sustainable Employment through Visual Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    5. Catalina Rus-Casas & Dolores Eliche-Quesada & Juan D. Aguilar-Peña & Gabino Jiménez-Castillo & M. Dolores La Rubia, 2020. "The Impact of the Entrepreneurship Promotion Programs and the Social Networks on the Sustainability Entrepreneurial Motivation of Engineering Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-20, June.
    6. Cristina Pardo-Garcia & Maja Barac, 2020. "Promoting Employability in Higher Education: A Case Study on Boosting Entrepreneurship Skills," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, May.

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