A solid and structured specialization key in changing environments like the current one

Continuing education or long-life learning seems to be the ideal formula for developing in a labor market like the current one, in which the advance of AI, automation, and digitalization is changing the rules of the game by leaps and bounds and requires new skills from professionals. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, six out of every ten workers will have to update their skills before 2030. With this scenario in the background, in the words of Paqui Blánquez, director of the UAB School of Lifelong Learning, lifelong learning is no longer an option, “but a necessity”. In this context, she continues, master's and postgraduate degrees “continue to play a fundamental role because they offer a solid and structured specialization that allows for delving into areas of knowledge that undergraduate studies, by definition, cannot address with the same level of detail”. A specialization, she highlights, “especially valuable in professional environments that evolve rapidly and require profiles with advanced knowledge and the ability to adapt”.

However, Blánquez points out that, nowadays, lifelong learning is much more diverse than a few years ago. To master's and postgraduate degrees, she notes, formulas such as microcredentials are added, which allow for acquiring very specific competencies in short periods and responding to emerging needs, such as AI, sustainability, or digital transformation. “These are not alternatives that compete with each other, but rather complementary tools within the same learning ecosystem”, she highlights. Consequently, she states, the challenge is “that each person can build a flexible training itinerary that combines deep specialization with constant updating of competencies throughout their professional trajectory”.

Facing increasingly complex challengesThe director of the UAB School of Lifelong Learning emphasizes that companies are looking for professionals who, "in addition to a good academic foundation, provide specialized knowledge and are capable of facing increasingly complex challenges." In this sense, she continues, "a master's or postgraduate degree represents added value because it certifies advanced preparation in a specific field and a willingness for permanent updating, two qualities highly appreciated in a transforming labor market."

Blánquez points out that it is not that the undergraduate degree does not provide the necessary skills to enter the labor market, "but that the master's degree allows for deepening into specific specialties, often with a close connection to professional practice, research, or innovation." In some sectors, this specialization has practically become a requirement to access certain responsibilities or professional profiles. "Furthermore," she adds, "postgraduate training encourages the creation of professional networks, contact with experts and companies, and the development of transversal skills, aspects that also contribute to improving employability and opportunities for professional development."

First filter in the selection processThe forecast is that the Catalan university system will incorporate about forty master's degree programs this 2026-2027 academic year, including the Master's in Film Directing at the UB; the Master's in Out-of-Hospital Emergency Assistance and Management at the UVic-UCC; the Master's in Vision Science Research at the UPC; the Master's in Respiratory and Cardiac Physiotherapy at UIC Barcelona; the Master's in Global Business Management at the UPF; the Master's in Agri-food Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the UdL in collaboration with the universities of La Rioja, Navarre, and Zaragoza; the Master's in International Business Law at the URL, or the Master's in Applied Data Analysis and Visualization at the UOC. These are degrees that are increasingly consolidated within our university system, among other reasons because, leaving aside regulated professions, which necessarily require a qualifying master's degree as a requirement to practice the profession, having a master's degree is increasingly an added value for being able to apply for numerous jobs. And the fact is, as highlighted by Sergi Torner, Vice-Rector for Academic Planning at the UPF, "on many occasions, it is not required to have a specific degree for certain knowledge to be valued, but rather the fact of having a master's degree acts as a first filter in the selection process".

Faced with the question of what skills and values a master's degree provides in order to develop in a work environment like the current one, Torner points out that "it is difficult to provide a single answer to a situation that is enormously complex". Even so, he insists that master's degrees offer "a first specialization" that allows one to guide their professional career after undergraduate degrees, which are generalist in nature. This specialization, he continues, can come "at an initial moment, the first years after having finished undergraduate studies, or later on, if someone wants to reorient their career".

Career guidance, keyIn the opinion of the vice-rector of Academic Planning at UPF, the master's degree is linked to career orientation, to the choice of a specific field in which to practice professionally. "Once the professional sector where one works is decided," he points out, "it is true that things change a lot and quickly." For this reason, he maintains, "more and more, education does not end at the master's level, but is completed with short-term training throughout life." In this context, he highlights, the master's degree must serve "both to acquire a global understanding of the field in order to be able to integrate into it professionally and also to acquire sufficient training to, later on, continue training, learning, and updating oneself."

The profile that continues to opt for master's degree education tends to be very varied. As Torner points out, students leave their undergraduate degrees perfectly prepared and with more than sufficient skills to join the labor market. "The master's degree, however, provides an added degree of specialization," insists Torner, who, as a general rule, recommends "not starting a master's degree if the career orientation you want to undertake is not very clear." It is always advisable to have a first empirical experience with the labor market and explore various options before making the final decision. In short, he concludes, "it is necessary to be clear about what the labor market is demanding and what each person can contribute to it; from there, you can begin to orient your professional future and postgraduate studies."