The university-industry linkage as a generating force of job opportunities in the Eastern Zone of El Salvador

Abstract

Historically, the university-industry linkage has not been a strong one. There has been little or no mediation by the State; this has generated a feeling of dissatisfaction in employers and their expectations on the face of the actual performance of new professionals. The purpose of this research is to define those mechanisms that will strengthen the university-industry linkage with the purpose of generating job opportunities in the Eastern Zone, and to find out what the job requirements established by the companies, thus contrasting the business and the educational vision to the commitment towards the socioeconomic development of the country. University students, companies and academic officials from the existing five universities in the Eastern Zone provided the information for this study, during the 2018 fall semester. In order to define the professional profile required by companies, the vision of the professional trainer and the individuals in training were contrasted.