Abstract
This study compiles data on the mobility of a group of Portuguese public higher education students. It aims to understand how these young people are seeing their professional future and the hypothesis of international labour and academic mobility in a period of economic and social crisis. Based on data from a survey applied to 425 students of the Universidade do Algarve in 2016, their predisposition for mobility is analysed according to their professional perspectives, demographic characteristics and language skills. The results show that most of the respondents (69.6%) consider the possibility of working abroad and that this intention is motivated by the disbelief of reaching, in Portugal, work that provides stability and security, good remuneration conditions and social prestige. The possibility of an international academic experience, considered by 60.7% of the students, is not associated with the benevolent self-assessment of language skills. However, in the case of labour mobility, it was seen that this predisposition is greater amongst those who express greater confidence in their English skills.
Highlights
At the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century, when the Portuguese pondered the issue of emigration in Portugal, the most probable conclusion was that this type of migratory movement had reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, and that in the beginning of the 21st century the focus of attention would be precisely the opposite movement: immigration
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD (2013), this age group suffered the greatest worsening in the unemployment rate between 2007 and 2013 (Table 9)
Concern over recent terrorist attacks is not a relevant factor for this option because the overwhelming majority (82%) say that this factor has little or no influence. When asked about their agreement with the statement “Two years the crisis will have ended and the employment situation in Portugal will be better than today”, it was found that only 17% of students believe that the crisis and unemployment situation will be resolved in the near future – a result lower than the 21.6% obtained by Lobo, Ferreira and Rowland (2015) – for residents in Portugal above 15 years old
Summary
This study intends to analyse the perceptions of the students of the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism of the Universidade do Algarve (ESGHT-UAlg) regarding their professional future and perspectives on international mobility. This school was chosen because it is the one with the highest number of students at this public university (approximately 2,000 students). The study objectives are: to analyse the professional perspectives, both in general terms and in relation to the national labour market, and to identify in what aspects they differ; to examine the relationship between the various professional aspects considered and the predisposition for international labour mobility; to characterise the predisposition for international mobility, both labour and academic, according to demographic characteristics and language skills
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