TITLE:
Vocational Education and Training with the Development of Soft Skills in STEM-Oriented Students from a Technological University in Partnership with a Mexican Manufacturing Company
AUTHORS:
Teresa Arias Ramos, María Amparo Oliveros Ruiz
KEYWORDS:
Vocational Education and Training (VET), Soft Skills, Technological University, STEM, Higher Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.14 No.4,
April
27,
2023
ABSTRACT: A descriptive, quantitative, non-experimental, transactional study is shown with the purpose of describing soft skills development in STEM-oriented students during their professional practices in the industry, by the Vocational Education System in a Mexican Technological University. The student’s perception is analyzed on the multiple soft skills acquired during their professional practices, the advantages of the Vocational Education System compared to the Traditional Education Model, and the given knowledge to students through the university for the rich performance in company tasks. This research was done in a Mexican Manufacturing Company, where a structured survey was applied in the year 2021 to 81 students from a variety of academic programs of STEM disciplines in a Technological University located in Estado de Mexico. The technique used for data analysis was descriptive, where frequencies and percentages were processed on an Excel program; data was organized in graphs and represented as totals. Results showed that students managed to develop soft skills, on a larger scale teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and communication.