Habilidades blandas y empleabilidad de los estudiantes de posgrado en línea

Abstract

In the current context, marked by the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence, soft skills have emerged as a crucial and distinctive factor for professionals. This research focuses on assessing the relationship between soft skills and their importance for the employability of online graduate students. A mixed-methods, non-experimental and explanatory-level approach was employed, analysing a sample of 192 online graduate students from a university in northern Ecuador. Data were collected through an online survey, validated with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 93.2%. The survey gathered socioeconomic information and assessed soft skills using a 30-item questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. According to the students’ perceptions, the soft skills most in demand for employability are leadership and teamwork. Following dimensionality reduction using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), respondents were classified into three clusters. Individuals in clusters one and three demonstrated the development of soft skills such as self-regulation, effective communication, leadership, and innovation.