EMPLOYABILITY AND HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CASE STUDY OF ESTM MASTER'S DEGREE

The labor market in this globalized world, based on new technologies, is constantly changing. In an increasingly demanding and dynamic world of human resources competences, young people have to focus on their training in order to enter in the labor market better prepared and thus contribute to the success of the entity that receives them and for their own professional and personal fulfillment. The choice of their academic journey is crucial to ensure the achievement of these competences and make that decision is not easy, with a system of higher education such as the Portuguese, where there are so many graduation courses and two systems of teaching, University and Polytechnic. In fact, with the changes introduced in higher education by the so-called Bologna Process, most undergraduate's courses saw the number of years reduced from five to three years, while others opted for integrated master's degrees. In the case of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology (ESTM), the option was to offer three-year degree courses and two-year master's degrees. This study intends to understand where are the students who have bet on their training at the master's level and finish their master's degree at the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of the Polytechnic of Leiria, if they are working in the area and if the employers recognize these qualifications.