In this contribution, we will present the results of a research carried out with the aim of analysing the perceptions that university master’s students have about work and decent work. Specifically, we have carried out the research with future Vocational Training teaching staff, and students of the master’s degree in Training and Guidance for Work at the University of Seville.

Precarious employment, understood as poor quality employment, affects 48% of salaried workers in Spain, according to a CCOO report published in 2021, which points out that the greatest shortcomings are atypical working hours, over-qualification, instability, and low monthly salaries. Specifically, Andalusia has a youth unemployment rate of 39.2% in the under-25s and 62.1% in the under-20s (EPA of Andalusia, 2022), which is well above the national average. This drastic outlook must be tackled through educational intervention, specifically through educational and employment guidance.

The scientific literature on career guidance stresses the need to include work and decent work as an essential element of guidance action. Knowing the ideas people have about work is important as they can influence the way their careers and lives are managed (Ferrari, et al. 2008). In 2015, the International Labour Organization has defined decent work as "opportunities for work that is productive (to satisfy individual basic needs and to give a contribution to society) and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organise and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men". Burchell et al., (2014) relate decent work to worker expectations of the job and perceptions of job quality, the well-being of workers according to the strategies adopted by employers, the desirability of work, and their contribution. The work of Zammitti et al., (2021) agrees with Ferrari et al., (2009), both indicating that a more complex representation of the concept of work or decent work may correspond to higher levels of self-efficacy or a greater capacity to manage the complexity of today's world of work. In the same vein, Hughes et al., (2021) claim that investment in training on decent work, inclusion, and finding sustainable ways to tackle poverty, displacement, and inequalities is vital to individuals, communities, and economies. Much of the above-mentioned work also agree on the need to change the orientation of unemployment policies. Historically, these policies have taken a purely economic orientation, neglecting social and educational aspects. Our results invite us to rethink the organisation of the curriculum in Andalusian formal education, as well as the urgency of incorporating aspects of work and decent work gave the existing lack of knowledge among students in Higher Education, which can be transferred to lower levels as shown by many scientific studies.

A multiple case study (Yin, 2014) has been conducted using a narrative biographical approach. We are interested in delving deeper into the perceptions and descriptions of the participants and therefore consider the narrative perspective to be the most appropriate to provide information about their experiences of work and decent work in a complex and contextualised way (Benson et al., 2010). Participation in the research was voluntary and with the informed consent of all participants. The participants were 97 master's degree students from the University of Seville. These students are enrolled in the master’s degree in Teacher Training (specializations in Vocational Training and Training and Career Counselling) and the master’s degree in Training and Guidance for Work. The most common age range among participants is between 25-35 years old, however, we also have a percentage of students who are between 40-50 years old and looking to reinvent themselves in the world of work (represents 35% of participants). Regarding the gender distribution, the participants were 42 males and 55 females. The data were collected at the beginning of the 2021/2022 school year. An in-depth interview was used with a biographical approach focusing on three main areas: a) their conception of work and decent work; b) their work history, and the repercussions of this on the development of their life and professional project; and c) their future work prospects for the next 5 years. The interview began with a general question ("Tell me, what image of "work" did you grow up with? You could make a history of how this concept has evolved for you over the years?). In a second phase, more specific questions are asked to complete the collection data (e.g. Now, what do you understand by work, and decent work?; Do you think that our socio-political context contributes to the development of decent work?; Thinking about decent work, does it teleport you to a specific socio-cultural context (e.g. country, autonomous community, company, etc.)?; Do you think that decent work could be a matter of interest to work on from formal education?, etc. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed to facilitate subsequent thematic coding from a double perspective: deductive (the above-mentioned focuses) and inductive (the categories resulting from the content analysis). The identification of themes was carried out independently by three researchers, to triangulate a system of categories for the coding of the content.

Our results are still preliminary, and we are currently looking into some specific aspects that will help us to understand the conception that Higher Education students have of decent work. However, we can advance the predominance of a classical and simplified concept of decent work. We found that most of the participants consider work to obtain economic benefits and satisfy certain values, and decent work as characterized by the respect for rights and duties and economic benefits. This simplified vision highlights the need to design educational and guidance interventions that encourage reflection on decent work from childhood onwards. The 2030 agenda also supports this purpose, highlighting the achievement of decent work for all as one of its goals. The preliminary results of the research as well as the literature review underline the need to review guidance practices along the lines of accompanying young people in career transitions to achieve truly decent work.

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