Educational trends in the higher education academic offer in El Salvador – The relevance of majors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) before the new digital economy

Abstract

In an era of rapid technological transformations, economic slowdown and transition to a post-Covid 19 “new normal”, many vicissitudes arise in the various economic activities, leading to the urgent need for other technical-professional profiles in the workforce and, at the same time, reforms in higher education programs.

One of the pertinent actions will be the prompt requalification of the workforce to adapt to the changing needs of the labor market. Among the areas to be promoted and strengthened in educational programs and in the vocational technical training system are skills in science, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The statistical analysis of the Ministry of Education – Higher Education 2017 data shows a favorable increase in enrollments in STEM careers in El Salvador; however, this group of careers only represent 23% of the total number of enrolled at the tertiary level in El Salvador. In addition, only 28.5% of STEM enrollments belong to the female gender, which could limit their inclusion in the formal economy and more equal opportunities for young women in the country. Another finding is that few specializations related to industry 4.0 technologies are offered by higher education institutions, such as robotics, 3D architecture, analyst and data scientist, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cloud computing, cybersecurity, among others.

One of the recommendations for initiating actions in the Feld of education and training of human talent is, obviously, to integrate a shared vision between different sectors of the country (government, academy and private sector) in educational reforms, including: 1) Curriculum design flexibility, 2) Decrease time length of career programs, short and intensive training programs, and 3) Design educational programs and training for the requalification of the workforce (especially jobless) in new skills and skills in demand. 4) Virtual education promotion.