Partners in the Back2Basics project plan to develop a “Guide on Online Communication and Etiquette” to help graduates develop a more professional image of themselves before the employers and within the labor market and thus facilitate their integration in this environment. As a starting point, between July and October 2022, Associação BioLiving and GRI developed two Focus Groups each with companies and recent graduates to identify real-life experience and knowledge of what is lacking in the labor market from both perspectives, specially in terms of digital skills. For the first focus group with companies, the goal was to diagnose the business and industry sector in Portugal and Spain to collect information on what the labor market actually needs, whereas in the second focus group we wanted to diagnose young people who have been in the job market for some time to understand what is the gap between what is taught in universities and what is needed in the job market.
The conclusions drawn from both partners are interestingly similar. The findings suggest that, in general, recent graduates are not well-prepared for the real job market and lack the necessary digital skills and employability profiles required by the industry. Another conclusion was that universities should provide more practical training and focus on teaching flexible, decisive, proactive, and practical skills, as well as emotional support and frustration management. Some suggestions that were made in order to increase possibilities of being hired include attending specific training courses, taking initiative to solve problems, doing internships, participating in brainstorming sessions or engaging in online forums to discuss political and social issues.
The information gathered in these Focus Groups will help to develop the contents for the other project outputs in order to comply with identified real needs both from the recently graduated and the labor market.
