Education, Job Training, and Social Outreach

Abstract

The employment prospects of young people who have received job training depend on the qualification achieved and, above all, on having developed management capacity and basic skills, social competencies, and preparation for lifelong learning in order to adapt to a changing society.

Training becomes particularly important when considering that young people from marginalized groups in society are either unemployed or engaged in poorly paid jobs, which contribute very little to the learning and development of new capacities and competencies.

Particular emphasis is placed on the meaning that graduates construct from obtaining a certificate in job training or a degree in graduate studies, as well as on the significance they attribute to their own capacities, competencies, and job training. Those related to knowing how to do are connected with work performance; knowing how to know refers to basic competencies that cut across all forms of training, especially reading, writing, arithmetic, oral and written expression, social competencies, and the methodologies and procedures specific to each specialty, profession, or trade. To these is added knowing how to learn, which will place them in an advantageous position in relation to the demands of personal and social development.

When these capacities are not developed, opportunities for employment prospects and social insertion become limited. Understanding the representations of young people and teachers in training institutions regarding training and employment prospects will make it possible to overcome stagnation and improve their social and labor situation, recognizing that training is a necessity that will define their access to and permanence in the labor market.