Employability and higher education in Chile

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Abstract

This essay seeks to critically analyze employability as one of the central challenges facing Chilean higher education today. Using a comparative approach with the development of the Argentine university system, it examines the critical issues that arise when higher education institutions aim to improve their labor market integration indicators as part of national accreditation requirements and national and international rankings. The work aims to problematize how, in Chile, the pressure to demonstrate employability outcomes has led to the creation of graduate tracking units, the signing of agreements with employers, and the redesign of curricula, but has also generated risks of curriculum instrumentalization and short-termism, prioritizing initial job placement over the quality and sustainability of professional trajectories. At the same time, it questions the dependence on external metrics that tend to value research and reputation more than corresponding social relevance and comprehensive general education Curricular and public policy strategies are proposed to promote employability with a social purpose: training in cross-cutting skills and competencies, situated learning and collaboration with productive and territorial sectors, development of medium-term employability and job quality indicators, and an evaluation system that balances teaching, research, and community engagement. These reflections aim to contribute to a higher education model that addresses both the challenges of the knowledge economy and the country's needs for inclusive and equitable development.