Abstract

RUIZ LARRAGUIVEL, Estela. Companies as spaces for occupational lerning: The educational experience of college technicians. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2014, vol.36, n.144, pp.69-84. ISSN 0185-2698.

This paper analyzes the results of an investigation into the labor-related effects of the formation of higher technical college (TSU is the Spanish acronym) course participants at a technological college regarding the occupational evolution and job performance of graduates with this degree. Following a qualitative methodology, 69 interviews were applied to course students from several generations of a technological college located in the State of Mexico. Amongst the findings, it is noteworthy that the TSU graduates were quickly integrated into employment in middle-management positions related to their own careers, under stable working conditions, and whose performances demonstrate a high grade of satisfaction. It is shown that the opportunities open to TSU graduates to integrate themselves into the workplace under favorable circumstances is an effect of the work-experience periods undergone during their time as students, thus highlighting the role of the educational process within a company environment.

Keywords : Higher technical education; Higher education and work; Higher technical college; Technological colleges; Situational learning; School-business links; Companies and learning.