Education that is more oriented to the reality of everyday life, higher education with more courses in night cycles and training for workers already in the labor market are measures that promote transformation in education, according to speakers at the conference “The Future of the work seen by young people “carried out this Monday at Iscte, in Lisbon.

According to the executive president of the José Neves Foundation, Carlos Oliveira, half of the Portuguese population has, at most, basic education, almost half of employers have completed the 12th year at most, but nowadays, young people are more transformed than ever.

At the conference “the Future of work seen by young people”, which took place at Iscte, in Lisbon, the third previous panel answered the question “What transformations must we make in education to improve the qualifications of the Portuguese and economic and social development?” .

According to Diana Madeira, researcher at the University of Aveiro, the answer is to change the way of using it: teaching should be more focused on using skills, to the detriment of transferring knowledge. Furthermore, according to the researcher, teaching should be more personalized.

João Pedro Videira, president of the National Youth Council, there is an incompatibility with regard to university attendance of young workers and, therefore, there should necessarily be “more training in night cycles” and greater adaptation to the needs of students by the students. employers. Furthermore, according to João Pedro Videira, there is a mentality in Portugal of “I have to do a degree” stressing that the Superior Technical Courses (TeSp) “are also an option”.

In view of this, Carlos Oliveira added that half of the students complete the 12th year through the professional path – “it is not by vocation, but it should be”. The president of the José Neves Foundation also underlined the importance of “giving skills to older people in the labor market”. According to Carlos Oliveira, Portugal is the last country in the European Union to provide training to people already on the job market.

Despite everything, according to researcher Diana Madeira, teaching has quality in Portugal, with a clear positive evolution. The executive president of the José Neves Foundation responds that although there is an evolution, we are not where we should be. “Higher education has quality in Portugal, but it’s not enough”, says Carlos Oliveira.

After the panel, president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made an intervention in which he found that the country is “increasingly aged”, which is a “drama for youth” generating an “age divide problem”. The president also left the idea that many young people are “thrown into precariousness”, creating the term “precariousness” (precariousness + proletarian) to describe those “excluded from the labor market, poorly paid and unprotected”. The president also said that it is difficult to change and that is why it is up to young people to “force change”: “by doing, innovating, discussing, criticizing”.