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4 June 2026

16 Pages

Perceptions of Employability Factors in Social Work: A Study Involving Students and Professionals

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Department of Social Work and Social Services, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain
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Soc. Sci.2026, 15(6), 368;https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060368
This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving the Competence and Professional Identity of Social Work Students
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Abstract

This paper analyzes perceptions of competencies and other employability-related factors in Social Work from two complementary perspectives: that of final-year Bachelor’s students in Social Work, and that of Social Work professionals serving as field supervisors during practicum. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and descriptive study was conducted. A total of 96 individuals from a Spanish public university participated: 77 fourth-year students and 19 professionals. Data were collected through two ad hoc questionnaires on competencies related to employability, the usefulness of practicum and the degree of job placement, additional training, geographic mobility, and the transition to employment. In both groups, although from different positions and perspectives, professional ethics and responsibility, social commitment, and teamwork were highlighted. Likewise, practicum and the Degree in Social Work were considered highly useful for finding employment, and the establishment of partnerships with companies and institutions was identified as the most effective measure to improve employability. In contrast, different results were observed among students and professionals with regard to additional training, mobility, and the transition to employment. The results underscore the value of further exploring the connection between higher education and the professional world, as well as studying the transition to professional practice.

1. Introduction

Employability is a widely used concept, but it is not univocal (Suárez Lantarón 2016). In general terms, it refers to a set of skills and attributes that enable a person to obtain and maintain employment (Choi-Lundberg et al. 2024; Li and Sun 2019), although its meaning has evolved over time in response to new realities and demands in the labor market (Suárez Lantarón 2016; Li and Sun 2019; Williams et al. 2016).
In the field of higher education, employability came to the fore following the Bologna Process and its inclusion as one of the objectives of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), which helped to link it to the quality of university education (Bonnard 2020). Since then, the issue has gained prominence on institutional agendas, in degree program evaluation processes, and in debates about the purpose of higher education (Tight 2023). However, this centrality has not resolved the complexity of the concept. Rather, it has helped to highlight the fact that the relationship between education and employment cannot be reduced to a linear logic, nor to an automatic correlation between the acquisition of skills and job placement (Bonnard 2020).
Given the complex and polysemic nature of employability, this study adopts a conceptual perspective that acknowledges its dynamic, relational, and contextual character. From this standpoint, employability is understood as a continuous process that facilitates the acquisition and maintenance of the competencies required to operate effectively in professional contexts shaped by globalization and by sociocultural and economic challenges (Choi-Lundberg et al. 2024; Suárez Lantarón 2016; Williams et al. 2016). Consequently, employability is conceived as the result of the interaction between the competencies and resources developed throughout higher education, the processes of professional socialization, and the contextual conditions that shape the real opportunities for labor market integration and professional development.
This conceptualization is adopted precisely because contemporary research on employability has evolved from approaches focused on individual attributes—reducing employability to isolated competencies or personal capacities—towards more complex models that recognize the simultaneous influence of educational contexts, disciplinary demands, and labor market characteristics (Choi-Lundberg et al. 2024; Llinares Insa et al. 2020).
This complexity is particularly evident in the case of Social Work, a profession linked to evolving social needs, institutions shaped by changing public policies, and intervention settings characterized by a diversity of practice settings (Vicente González et al. 2022). Within this framework, various studies have highlighted the importance of personal, educational, experiential, and contextual factors in relation to employability. For example, based on an analysis of job postings in Social Work, Fernández Robles and Pastor Seller (2018) highlight the importance of prior work experience, training in the field of the job posting, computer skills, and possession of a driver’s license and one’s own vehicle. For his part, Alpaslan (2019) identifies career histories in organizations within the sector, prior work experience, and personal maturity. Meanwhile, Gutiérrez Sánchez et al. (2024) highlight factors such as gender, year of graduation, prior vocational training, having chosen a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work as one’s first choice, active job searching, one’s network of contacts, and professional memberships.

1.1. The Labor Market in Spain: The Situation of Social Work

Employability in Social Work cannot be analyzed in isolation from the characteristics of the labor market in which it operates. In the case of Spain, various reports have highlighted the persistence of structural features such as the high sensitivity of employment to the business cycle, ongoing unemployment, precariousness in several of its dimensions, and a comparatively high proportion of temporary and low-skilled employment (Fundación FOESSA 2020). Although there have been some signs of improvement in recent years, unemployment remains at high levels compared to other OECD countries (OCDE 2024).
In addition, the young population is particularly vulnerable in job placement processes. Recent data reveal higher unemployment rates among those under 25, along with higher levels of temporary and part-time employment, and a higher incidence of poverty, while gender inequalities persist in terms of access to employment, job stability, and job quality (SEPE 2023, 2024a; Red Europea de Lucha contra la Pobreza y la Exclusión Social en el Estado Español 2024).
This vulnerability has also been linked to the subjective effects of precarity among young adults in Spain, particularly in relation to difficulties in projecting stable trajectories and in navigating the transition to adulthood and employment (Castrillo 2024).
Regarding the situation of Social Work in the Spanish labor market, the data available reveal characteristics that point in different directions. As of December 2024, the Public Employment Services had 15,351 registered job seekers with a degree in Social Work, of whom 6186 were unemployed, representing a year-on-year change of −5.01% in the number of unemployed individuals. However, the profession is among the occupations with the best employment prospects and trends in the short and medium term (SEPE 2024c), and its graduates have a Social Security enrollment rate of 81.8% four years after completing their studies (Ministerio de Universidades 2024). Their main career opportunities include non-residential social services, care at residential facilities, public administration, and, to a lesser extent, the education sector (SEPE 2024b).
Interest in this issue is not new. The socio-occupational situation of Social Work professionals in Spain has been addressed in various studies (Barrera Algarín et al. 2015; Blanco Carrasco et al. 2019; Cabezas Medina et al. 2014; Fernández Robles and Pastor Seller 2018; Gómez García 2010, 2012, 2013; Gutiérrez Sánchez et al. 2024; Hernández Echegaray 2018; Lima Fernández 2014, 2016; Luís-Yagüe López 2018; Pastor Seller 2013; Torices Blanco 2011; Vicente González et al. 2019).
The Fourth Report on Social Services in Spain and the Social Work Profession (Vicente González et al. 2022) provides a detailed and up-to-date overview of the issue. Of the seven aspects into which the analysis is subdivided, the area of working conditions merits special attention, with the following characteristics: (a) high employment rate compared to the national average; (b) widespread employment as salaried workers; (c) greater contractual recognition of social workers in the public sector than in the private sector, as well as among older professionals; (d) the predominance of permanent and civil servant contracts; (e) high rates of job instability among those under 40 (the majority in the private sector); (f) general trend towards full-time employment and an increase in part-time employment; (g) the majority of salaries fall between €1501 and €2500 net per month (between €1000 and €1500 if we consider only the private sector); and (h) considerable variability across regions.
All of this suggests that employability in Social Work cannot be understood as merely a result of the training received, nor as an individual characteristic detached from its context. Rather, it is shaped at the intersection of skills, experience, opportunities, and labor market conditions.

1.2. The University System and Its Connection to the Labor Market

Although higher education alone does not eliminate the risks of job insecurity or unemployment, it does continue to play a significant role in both employment opportunities and the quality of career paths. In general terms, higher educational levels are associated with better employability levels and more favorable working conditions, although this relationship is neither automatic nor homogeneous (Fundación CYD 2023b).
At the same time, the link between higher education and the labor market is the subject of an ambivalent social perception. The Fundación CYD (2023a) shows that a large majority believe that universities should prioritize students’ job placement and professional development. However, a significant portion of the population views university education as having a weak connection with the demands of the labor market, and as featuring an excessively theoretical focus. This assessment is particularly relevant for degree programs with a strong applied component, where the relationship between academic training, internships, and professional practice is especially central, as also highlighted by studies emphasizing the need to strengthen the connection between theory and practice through authentic educational experiences (Nel and Pretorius 2019).
In the field of Social Work, the main reference documents guiding the design of university education in Spain are the White Paper on the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (ANECA 2005) and the Criteria for the Curricular Design of Bachelor’s Degree Programs in Social Work, approved by the Conferencia de Directores, Centros y Departamentos de Trabajo Social (2007). Both documents define the professional profile, intervention areas, roles, and competencies that should structure the educational process. In addition, the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training (FITS-AIETS 2020) emphasize the need to ensure education that develops the competencies required to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities, as well as the importance of also addressing student employability rates.
Within this framework, the concept of competence takes on a central role. Strictly speaking, a competency encompasses knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and enables effective action in specific contexts. In the university setting, a distinction is typically made between specific competencies, which are linked to the professional profile of each degree program, and cross-cutting or transversal competencies, which are shared with other disciplines but adapted to specific contexts (Gairín Sallán et al. 2009). In the case of the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, the White Paper (ANECA 2005) defines 25 specific competencies grouped into six main areas: working collaboratively with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities; planning, implementing, and evaluating professional practices; supporting client systems in expressing their needs and viewpoints; responding to risk situations; taking responsibility for one’s own practices within the organizational framework; and demonstrating professional competence in the practice of Social Work.
The acquisition of these competencies, along with those of a cross-cutting nature, is structured across various curricular components. Among these, supervised training holds a particularly prominent position, both because of its distinctive place within the curriculum and because of its potential to connect academic training with real-world intervention settings. The literature has highlighted the value of such internships in Social Work education (Concha-Toro et al. 2020).
Along the same lines, recent contributions have emphasized that training experiences involving practice, reflection, and supervision contribute to the development of students’ competencies, as well as to the formation of an emerging professional identity during Social Work training (Björktomta and Tham 2024). At the same time, it has been noted that professional identity is a multidimensional construct, the boundaries of which remain a subject of debate in the literature (Moorhead et al. 2025).
Previous studies also indicate that not all competencies are valued in the same way. In a study involving graduates of the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work program at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), Blanco Carrasco et al. (2019) identified conflict resolution, ethical practices, and effective communication as among the competencies perceived as most necessary for professional performance. From the perspective of employers, Fernández Robles and Pastor Seller (2018), in a study conducted in Murcia (Spain), highlighted teamwork, interpersonal communication, flexibility, negotiation skills, and, to a lesser extent, experience in managing programs and grants, as well as language skills. Along similar lines, the Spanish Public Employment Service (SEPE 2022) has identified training needs in both technical-professional competencies—related to areas such as mental health, gender-based violence, suicide prevention, and substance abuse—and in cross-cutting competencies—such as languages, ICT skills, and knowledge of finance, law, and the functioning of public administrations, among others.
Also in the Spanish context, a recent study identified critical thinking, ethical commitment, conflict resolution, the ability to work in an interdisciplinary manner, and organization and planning as some of the key competencies for employability in Social Work, while highlighting the need to strengthen the connection between university education and professional settings (García-Uceda et al. 2025).
The international literature also offers pertinent contributions on this topic. For example, Alpaslan (2019) highlights three competencies: the ability to work under pressure, a positive attitude, and a willingness to learn. For their part, Nel and Pretorius (2019) emphasize the importance of teamwork, time management, organization, technical and communication skills, and interpersonal competencies, while also arguing that authentic educational experiences can strengthen commitment, perseverance, and coping skills.
In addition, the literature has consistently emphasized that student employability does not depend solely on the formal curriculum. Kinash et al. (2016) outline various university strategies to promote employability, such as internships, career guidance, mentoring, mobility, and extracurricular activities.
Based on this framework, this study examines how certain employability factors in Social Work are perceived by two groups occupying different, yet interconnected, positions within the educational and transition-to-employment process: final-year students and Social Work professionals responsible for supervising their practicum.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Design and Objectives

This study was quantitative, cross-sectional, and descriptive in nature. Its main objective was to ascertain the perceptions of certain employability factors in Social Work from two complementary perspectives: that of students pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and that of Social Work professionals involved in their practical training. More specifically, the study aimed to: (a) describe how both groups assess various competencies related to employability; (b) describe the perceived usefulness of practicum and the Degree in Social Work in terms of job placement; and (c) describe other factors associated with employability, such as additional training, geographic mobility, and expectations or pathways for transitioning into employment.

2.2. Participants

The sample consisted of two groups: students and professionals. The first group consisted of fourth-year students enrolled in the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work program at a Spanish public university. The reference course was a mandatory 6-credit (ECTS) practicum course offered in the first semester.1 In the 2023–2024 academic year, 127 students were enrolled in this course, of whom 77 (60.6%) agreed to participate in the study. The second group consisted of Social Work professionals who were the professional supervisors of the students participating in the study; of these professionals, 19 (24.7%) agreed to participate.
Regarding the students, their mean age was 22.94 (SD = 4.12). 87.0% were female, and 13.0% were male. All of them were Spanish nationals. Their sociodemographic and academic characteristics are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Profile of the participating students.
Regarding the professionals, their mean age was 42.16 (SD = 9.94). 78.9% were female and 21.1% were male. All of them were Spanish nationals. Their sociodemographic, educational, and employment characteristics are presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Profile of participating professionals.

2.3. Instrument, Procedure, and Data Analysis

To ascertain the students’ perceptions, a study-specific questionnaire was developed for the purposes of this research, structured into three sections: (a) demographic and academic characteristics; (b) characteristics of the internship institution; and (c) employability factors. The latter included questions on the perceived usefulness of practicum and the degree of job placement, as well as three sets of items aimed at assessing the development of general, specific, and transversal competencies.
To ascertain professionals’ perceptions, a second study-specific questionnaire was designed, also structured into three sections: (a) demographic and academic characteristics; (b) characteristics of the workplace and employment status; and (c) employability factors. As in the version aimed at students, questions related to general, specific, and transversal skills were included. However, in this case, the assessment criterion was the importance attributed to these competencies in employee hiring and retention processes.
Both questionnaires shared a parallel structure, although most of the questions were not strictly equivalent, as students and professionals responded from different positions and perspectives. Therefore, the interpretation of both sets of responses was approached in terms of complementary perspectives rather than as a direct comparison of the same measure across equivalent groups.
The general and specific competencies were developed based on the White Paper for the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (ANECA 2005). The cross-cutting competencies were developed based on the Catalog of Transversal Competencies of the University of the Basque Country (Uranga et al. 2019), with one descriptor selected per competency. In total, 7 general competencies, 25 specific ones, and 8 transversal ones were assessed using a 7-point Likert scale.
The internal consistency of the scales was very high in both groups. In the student group, Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega were, respectively, α = 0.895 and ω = 0.898 for general competencies, α = 0.971 and ω = 0.972 for specific competencies, and α = 0.911 and ω = 0.914 for transversal competencies. In the group of professionals, the values were α = 0.940 and ω = 0.941 for general competencies, α = 0.973 and ω = 0.963 for specific competencies, and α = 0.986 and ω = 0.979 for transversal competencies.
Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires in an online format via Google Forms between October 2023 and January 2024. Access to the group of professionals was obtained through the students agreeing to participate, who were asked to forward the invitation to their field supervisors. This strategy made it possible to gather both perspectives within the framework of the same training experience. However, the pragmatic nature of this recruitment strategy may have introduced selection biases, which are considered further in the final part of the discussion.
All participants received prior information about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of their participation, the confidentiality, anonymized and aggregated processing of their data, and their right not to participate or to discontinue their completion of the questionnaire at any time before submission. Participation or non-participation had no academic, professional, or institutional consequences. Explicit informed consent was obtained prior to the start of questionnaire completion.
Data analysis was conducted using univariate and bivariate methods, employing IBM SPSS Statistics v.27 software. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated for categorical variables, and means, medians, standard deviations, and ranges were calculated for scale variables. In addition, three indices were constructed for the general, specific, and transversal competencies, calculated as the mean of the competencies that comprised them. The comparison between the groups of students and professionals was conducted in purely descriptive terms, taking into account that both groups responded from different positions in the educational and professional process, as well as from backgrounds and contexts that were not fully equivalent. In addition, bivariate analyses were conducted within the student group, as it met the necessary sufficiency assumptions to ensure the stability of the analyses. Given the size of the analysis subgroups, the nature of the variables, and the distribution of the data, non-parametric tests were used: first, to identify differences between groups (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis H), accompanied by estimates of the effect size of the differences (Rosenthal’s r and squared epsilon, respectively); and second, to identify associations between variables (Spearman’s rho). Where appropriate, the Bonferroni correction was applied to control for the error resulting from multiple comparisons. A significance level of p < 0.05 was adopted. In the professional group, however, these analyses were not performed due to the small sample size, the dispersion in the frequency distribution, and the resulting limited statistical power.

3. Results

3.1. Competencies and Usefulness of Practicum and the Degree Program

From the students’ perspective, the index with the highest mean score was that of transversal competencies (M = 5.74; SD = 1.00; Md = 6.00; R = 5.50), followed by that of general competencies (M = 5.50; SD = 0.95; Md = 5.71; R = 6.00) and that of specific competencies (M = 5.17; SD = 1.03; Md = 5.32; R = 5.68). When considered individually, the three competencies with the highest scores were transversal: ethics and professional responsibility (M = 6.12; SD = 1.15; Md = 6; R = 6), social commitment (M = 6.10; SD = 1.18; Md = 6; R = 6), and teamwork (M = 6.01; SD = 1.25; Md = 6; R = 6). At the opposite end of the spectrum, the three competencies with the lowest scores were specific: Participating in the Management and Administration of Social Welfare Organizations (M = 4.25; SD = 1.76; Md = 4; R = 6), Using Mediation as an Intervention Strategy for Alternative Dispute Resolution (M = 4.84; SD = 1.50; Md = 5; R = 6), and Preparing, Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating intervention plans (M = 4.91; SD = 1.31; Md = 5; R = 6). Similarly, the importance attributed to practicum for finding employment was high (M = 5.68; SD = 1.24; Md = 6; R = 6), as was the perceived usefulness of the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work for the same purpose (M = 5.35; SD = 1.11; Md = 5; R = 5).
No statistically significant differences were observed based on age, gender, employment status, volunteer work, academic mobility, or the main field of the internship institution. The only differences were found in general competencies based on the university entry route (U = 386.5; p = 0.033; r = 0.243) and the nature of the internship institution (H = 8.09; p = 0.044; ε2 = 0.070). In the first case, students who entered university via Vocational Training showed higher scores than those who entered via test for Baccalaureate (A-level), with a small effect size. In the second case, scores tended to be higher among students who completed their training at publicly owned and managed institutions, or at publicly owned and privately managed institutions, than among those who completed their internships at private institutions, with a moderate effect size.
The importance attributed to practicum for finding employment was weakly associated with general competencies (ρ = 0.247; p = 0.030) and with specific competencies (ρ = 0.264; p = 0.020). In turn, the perceived usefulness of the degree for finding employment showed associations with all three indices, with the association being moderate for transversal competencies (rho = 0.471; p < 0.001) and somewhat weaker for general (rho = 0.385; p = 0.001) and specific ones (rho = 0.319; p = 0.005).2 Finally, the importance attributed to practicum and the perceived usefulness of the degree were also associated with each other, although weakly (rho = 0.298; p = 0.008).
From the professionals’ perspective, high scores were also observed for these sets of competencies, with a slight predominance of the general competencies index (M = 5.96; SD = 0.98; Md = 6.14; R = 4.00), followed by the cross-cutting competencies index (M = 5.93; SD = 0.75; Md = 6.25; R = 3.38) and, at a greater distance, the specific competencies index (M = 5.03; SD = 0.76; Md = 5.20; R = 3.44). When considered individually, the three competencies with the highest scores were again: Ethics and Professional Responsibility (M = 6.63; SD = 0.76; Md = 7; R = 3), Social Commitment (M = 6.42; SD = 0.77; Md = 7; R = 3), and Teamwork (M = 6.42; SD = 0.77; Md = 7; R = 3). In contrast, the three competencies with the lowest scores were, again, concentrated in the specific competencies block and were: Participating in the Management and Administration of Social Welfare Organizations (M = 3.26; SD = 0.87; Md = 3; R = 4), Using Mediation as an Intervention Strategy Aimed at Alternative Dispute Resolution (M = 3.32; SD = 0.95; Md = 3; R = 4), and Identifying, Minimizing, and Managing Risk to Oneself and Their Colleagues (M = 4.05; SD = 0.78; Md = 4; R = 4).
Similarly, the importance attributed to practicum for finding employment was also high (M = 5.11; SD = 1.59; Md = 6; R = 5), as was the usefulness attributed to the Social Work degree for the same purpose (M = 5.21; SD = 1.44; Md = 6; R = 4).
To facilitate a combined interpretation of the main results for both groups, a summary is presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Main findings on competencies and the importance attributed to practicum and the degree.
Regarding the measures considered most important for improving employability, the most vital, from the perspective of the participating students, was establishing partnerships with companies and institutions to facilitate job placement (51.9%), followed by improving career guidance and professional counseling (26.0%), improving the availability of practicums (11.7%), and offering more opportunities for additional training (10.4%).
In the case of professionals, on the other hand, the results show a clear predominance of institutional collaboration, with the most popular option being to establish partnerships with companies and institutions to facilitate job placement (79.0%), followed, at a considerable distance, by improving career guidance and professional counseling (10.5%), and offering more opportunities for additional training (10.5%).

3.2. Additional Training, Labor Mobility, and the Transition to Employment

From the students’ perspective, regarding additional training aimed at improving employability, a minority of the participating students reported having undertaken some form of employability-related training offered by their university (22.1%). Within this group, and given that the question was multiple-choice, the most frequent options were Languages (52.9%) and Information and Communication Technologies (47.1%), followed by Knowledge of Law and Regulations (23.5%). Far behind were Financial Knowledge and the Functioning of Public Administrations (5.9%, respectively).
Regarding geographic mobility, students expressed a high level of willingness to relocate for career reasons. The most frequent option was to relocate, even if it meant moving to another country (36.4%), followed by relocating within the same country (29.9%), within the same province (15.6%), and within the same autonomous community (administrative region) (10.4%), while a minority indicated that they would not relocate for work-related reasons (7.8%).
Regarding the transition immediately following the completion of studies, the most frequent responses were pursuing a Master’s Degree or a Doctorate (31.2%), actively seeking employment using one’s Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (26.0%), and preparing for civil service exams (24.7%). In secondary positions, the following options appeared: taking a break before deciding on one’s future (11.7%), pursuing Vocational Training (5.2%), and pursuing another university degree (1.3%).
Regarding job search methods, among the students who indicated that they would actively seek employment using their degree, and given that this was a multiple-choice question, the three most frequently cited methods were: (1) direct contact with companies and institutions (95.0%); (2) online job portals, digital media, and company websites (85.0%); and (3) online social and/or professional networks (75.0%).
From the professionals’ perspective, the same dimensions are presented retrospectively, in terms of actual career trajectories rather than future expectations. Additional training throughout their careers was widespread. Since this was a multiple-choice question, knowledge of law and regulations was mentioned in every case (100%), followed by knowledge of finance (68.4%), the functioning of public administrations (52.6%), as well as languages and information and communication technologies (26.3% each). There were also specific mentions of specialized topics, such as systemic family intervention, crisis management, addictions, intercultural mediation, mental health, and gender-based violence.
Regarding geographic mobility (in this case, mobility actually experienced), the majority indicated that they had to change their place of residence within their own province (57.9%), followed by those who indicated that they had not changed their place of residence for work-related reasons (36.8%) and, at a greater distance, by those who had changed their place of residence within their own autonomous community (administrative region) (5.3%).
Regarding the transition immediately following graduation, the predominant choice among professionals was to actively seek employment using their degree (84.2%), followed, at a considerable distance, by taking a break before deciding on their future (10.5%) and pursuing further university studies (5.3%).
Finally, regarding job search methods, among the professionals who indicated that they actively sought employment using their degree, and given that this was a multiple-choice question, the three most frequently cited methods were: (1) direct contact with companies and institutions (93.8%); (2) personal contacts, such as family or friends (75.0%); and (3) online job portals, digital media, and company websites (50.0%).

4. Discussion

The objective of this study was to determine how certain employability factors in Social Work are perceived from two different but complementary perspectives: that of fourth-year students at a Spanish public university, and that of professionals associated with their practicum. One perspective lies in the final stage of the educational pathway, while the other is shaped by professional experience and career trajectories.
A first point concerns the convergence of the competencies most highly valued by both groups. In the student group, the competencies with the highest scores were professional ethics and responsibility, social commitment, and teamwork. For their part, in the group of professionals, and from a different position and perspective, these same competencies also stood out. This result is consistent with the educational and professional framework for Social Work, as set out in the White Paper (ANECA 2005), in the curricular criteria agreed upon by the Conferencia de Directores, Centros y Departamentos de Trabajo Social (2007), and in the global FITS-AIETS standards (FITS-AIETS 2020). Along these same lines, previous contributions had already highlighted the importance of ethical practices and teamwork (Blanco Carrasco et al. 2019; Fernández Robles and Pastor Seller 2018; García-Uceda et al. 2025; Nel and Pretorius 2019). Beyond their connection to employability, these competencies also relate to core dimensions of professional performance in Social Work and to benchmarks that guide student training.
However, this fact should not lead to an overemphasis on the comparability between the two groups, as the students responded from an educational and forward-looking perspective, whereas the professionals responded from a professional and retrospective one. Rather than representing a hierarchy of competencies, these results seem to indicate that these employability factors are perceived differently depending on the point in time at which respondents provide their answers, which is consistent with approaches that view employability as a dynamic reality shaped by various factors (Choi-Lundberg et al. 2024; Lin-Stephens et al. 2024). Moreover, in the context of Social Work in Spain, the lower valuation of specialized competencies compared to transversal competencies may be interpreted in relation to the convergence of educational and professional factors, among which the generalist nature of the discipline and the diversity of entry pathways into the labor market across different fields of practice stand out, fostering the perception that transversal competencies are more readily applicable in changing professional contexts.
A second issue concerns the role played by practicum and the Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. In both groups, the value placed on internships for finding employment was high, as was the usefulness attributed to the degree. This result is consistent with the literature, which has highlighted the value of supervised practical training (Concha-Toro et al. 2020). It is also consistent with the assertions of Kinash et al. (2016), who identify experiences in real-world settings, mentoring, and connections with the professional world as some of the most effective strategies for improving employability. In the case of Social Work, these types of experiences can be understood as a resource to facilitate the transition to employment, as well as a significant forum for professional socialization, skill development, and the construction of professional identity during university education (Björktomta and Tham 2024; Moorhead et al. 2025).
Along the same lines, both groups believed that the measure that could contribute most to employability, at least from the perspective of the university in question, was the establishment of partnerships with companies and institutions. This finding is interesting, as it shifts the focus from an individualized view of employability to a more complex and contextual understanding (Choi-Lundberg et al. 2024). This finding is consistent with contributions emphasizing the need to strengthen the connection between higher education and professional environments as a prerequisite for improving labor market integration and aligning academic training with the demands of professional practice (García-Uceda et al. 2025; Kinash et al. 2016). From this perspective, the assessments provided by both groups suggest that employability is perceived as a phenomenon that depends, at least in part, on the institutional articulation between higher education and the professional context. This interpretation aligns with an understanding of employability as the result of the interaction between university education, competency development, and the structural conditions of the labor market. In practical terms, this points to the importance of strengthening practicum coordination, career guidance, and curricular strategies aimed at consolidating stable links between university training and professional settings.
A third issue concerns additional training, geographic mobility, and the transition to employment. Among students, participation in employability-focused additional training activities within the university was low. Meanwhile, among the group of professionals, the training accumulated over the course of their careers was widespread and focused primarily on legal, administrative, and financial topics. This is consistent with the idea that certain professional practice requirements become more apparent after completing one’s studies and upon encountering the specific demands of employing organizations, which accords with the findings of Fernández Robles and Pastor Seller (2018) and the SEPE (2022). The limited participation of students in additional training activities may also be related to structural and institutional factors inherent to university education. The academic workload of the degree and the centrality of practicum placements may reduce the time available for such activities, which are often perceived as having an indirect or delayed usefulness for labor market entry.
A similar pattern is observed with regard to mobility, the transition to employment, and job search methods. While students expressed a high degree of willingness to relocate in the future for work-related reasons, the retrospective career paths of professionals showed few relocations, and those that did occur were local. This divergence may be interpreted in relation to the territorial concentration of employment opportunities in the sector, particularly within municipal social services and third-sector organizations, as well as to the importance of institutional and relational networks in professional insertion processes. In this sense, actual mobility appears to be shaped by structural factors in the labor market that tend to favor stability and geographical proximity over inter-regional mobility.
These findings should therefore be interpreted as reflecting different dimensions, since students responded in terms of expectations whereas professionals referred to actual trajectories. Similarly, students’ expectations were divided between continuing their studies, preparing for civil service exams, and seeking employment. Professional trajectories, on the other hand, showed a clear predominance of immediate job searches. In addition to reflecting different cohorts, employment contexts, and life stages, this result may also be influenced by the current uncertainty associated with the transition to a labor market characterized by unemployment, temporary employment, and segmentation (Fundación FOESSA 2020; SEPE 2023, 2024a, 2024b; OCDE 2024). This interpretation is also consistent with studies on young adults in Spain that highlight how precarity affects the capacity to project stable futures and shapes expectations surrounding the transition to adult and working life (Castrillo 2024). Although both students and professionals cited direct contact with companies and institutions as the most frequently mentioned forms of job searches, in the professionals’ retrospective career paths, their network of contacts also played a significant role (Gutiérrez Sánchez et al. 2024; Kinash et al. 2016).
Finally, it should be noted that this study is not without limitations, which must be taken into account when interpreting its results in a balanced manner. First, the group of professionals was small in size and was accessed through the participating student body, which limits the external representativeness and restricts the generalizability of the results. It would be advisable to increase the professional sample in future research in order to achieve a greater balance between the groups and to enhance the interpretive robustness and external validity of the conclusions. Second, the professional group was recruited through participating students, which may have introduced selection bias. Recruitment relied on students promoting the study, and professionals who supervise practicum students may differ systematically from the wider Social Work professional population. Third, the methodological design used makes it impossible to establish causal relationships, while the self-administration of the questionnaires by the participating groups introduces the risk of response bias. Fourth, although study-specific questionnaires shared multiple items, there was no strict equivalence between them, as students responded from an educational and forward-looking perspective, whereas professionals responded from an employment-related and retrospective one. Fifth, the exclusive use of a quantitative approach, while providing clear and measurable results, constrains the interpretive depth of the study, particularly given the nature of the research topic. It would be advisable to employ mixed methods in future research. Finally, the scope of the results is limited to a single context, which underscores the need for future studies to use multi-center samples in order to validate the trends observed here.

5. Conclusions

Based on these results, it can be concluded that, from the perspective of the participating groups, employability in Social Work is linked to skills, connections with the work environment, and different aspects of academic and professional trajectories. In this sense, the study contributes to the literature by bringing together two complementary perspectives—that of final-year students and that of professionals involved in practicum supervision—thus making it possible to identify both clear convergences and relevant divergences in the perception of employability-related factors.
The study also suggests that, in this context, practicums are perceived as spaces for bridging the gap between university education and job placement, and that collaboration between universities and the professional world is a means of bolstering this transition. In particular, the strong convergence between students and professionals regarding the importance of partnerships with companies and institutions points to the need to strengthen university–practice connections through practicum coordination, career guidance, and curricular strategies that bring academic training closer to the realities of professional practice. From this perspective, improving employability in Social Work involves not only supporting students’ individual preparation, but also reinforcing the institutional conditions that facilitate a more effective transition into employment.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, J.F.-A.; Methodology, J.F.-A. and V.M.G.-B.; Formal analysis, J.F.-A. and V.M.G.-B.; Investigation, J.F.-A., V.M.G.-B., M.C.-S. and E.M.C.-F.; Data curation, J.F.-A.; Writing—original draft, J.F.-A., M.C.-S. and E.M.C.-F.; Writing—review and editing, J.F.-A., V.M.G.-B. and M.C.-S.; Supervision, J.F.-A.; Project administration, J.F.-A.; Funding acquisition, J.F.-A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the University of Alicante, University Teaching Research Networks Program of the Institute of Education Sciences at the University of Alicante (2022 call for proposals). Ref. 5826.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Formal ethical approval was not sought for this study because it was a non-interventional, anonymous, questionnaire-based study involving adult participants and focused exclusively on perceptions of employability-related factors, professional competencies, practicum, and transition to employment. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679, data protection principles do not apply to anonymous information, including information used for statistical or research purposes. In Spain, this Regulation is further developed by Organic Law 3/2018, of 5 December, on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights (LOPDGDD). Furthermore, under the Spanish legal framework, the express requirement for prior review by an ethics committee is established for specific areas such as biomedical or clinical research, particularly under Law 14/2007 on Biomedical Research. The present study does not fall within those categories. No identifying, clinical, health-related, or other special category personal data were collected, and participation did not involve any risk, intervention, or modification of the participants’ academic assessment or professional relationship. Participation was entirely voluntary and had no academic, professional, or institutional consequences for participants. All participants received prior information about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of participation, the anonymous, confidential and aggregated processing of the data, and their right not to participate or to discontinue completion of the questionnaire at any time before submission. Explicit informed consent was obtained prior to participation. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable data protection requirements.

Data Availability Statement

All data generated can be obtained by contacting the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the students and professionals who participated in the study.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1
At the university under study, the practicum comprises four mandatory 6-credit (ECTS) practical training courses, two completed in the third year and two in the fourth and final year of the Degree program.
2
These differences remained statistically significant after applying the Bonferroni correction.

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