The election of career in Colombia continues to show a strong concentration in some areas and programs. According to a report from the Economics Laboratory for Education (Lee) of the Javeriana University, Between 2019 and 2024, the higher education system registered 9.1 million registrations in undergraduate programs.
The knowledge area that concentrated the greatest number of registration was economics, administration, accounting and related, with 3 million in the period analyzedequivalent to 33% of the national total. Despite its leadership, this area showed a decrease in recent years, from 647 thousand inscriptions in 2020 to 372,000 in 2023.
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In second place was engineering, architecture, urbanism and related, with 2.5 million registered, equivalent to 27% of the total, followed by social and human sciences, with 1.3 millionwhich represents 14.6%. According to the report, these three areas concentrated around 75% of all demand in the country. In contrast, mathematics and natural sciences barely reached 174,000 inscriptions in six years, with a 1.9%participation.
When disaggregated by basic knowledge nuclei, The most demanding discipline was administration, with 2.39 million registered in the period, which represents 26.1%. Secondly, Systems, Telematics and Related Engineering appeared, with 862,000 inscriptions, followed by education, with 659,000, and medicine, with 437,000.
Likewise, the Law and Related Group was 349,000 registered, which is equivalent to 3.8% of the total. “These data confirm the relevance of programs linked to management and technological sector in students’ preferences”, Mentions the report.
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Business administration was the most demanded program, with 478,658 registered, equivalent to 4.8% of the total.
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Regarding training levels, most young people opted for university programs, with 5.8 million registration, representing 58.7% of the national total. In fact, In 2024 the largest number of registrations was recorded in the period evaluated with 1.12 million. For their part, technological ones added 3.6 million, 36.9%, while professional technicians reached 430,000, just 4.3%.
The analysis by specific programs shows that business administration led the ranking, with 478,658 registered, equivalent to 4.8% of the total. Secondly, medicine was located, with 385,695 inscriptions (3.9%), followed by law, with 341,980 (3.4%), and psychology, with 340,325 (3.4%). Fifth was public accounting, with 310,831 (3.1%).
In the following places programs such as Systems Engineering were highlighted, with 259,329 registered, and Industrial Engineering, with 203,973. “The most requested undergraduate top 20 represented 40.4% of national registrations in six years, confirming high concentration in a small racing set”, They indicate.
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In second and third place were medicine (385,695 registered) and Law (341,980).
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At the territorial level, the data also show relevant differences. In Bogotá, for example, in 2024 inscriptions were concentrated in economics and administration (32.8%) and engineering (35.4%). In the San Andrés archipelago, the highest proportion corresponded to Engineering, with 46.7%, while in Putumayo 80.1% of registration was given in programs related to economyadministration and accounting. While in departments such as Chocó, Social and Human Sciences reached a higher weight than the national average, with 21.7% of registrations.
The study also examined the correspondence between academic training and labor demand. In 2023, the Public Employment Service (SPE) registered 2.2 million vacancies in the countryof which 49% required some type of undergraduate formation. 20.6% of vacancies requested university training, 20% technical and 8.4% technological.
“This means that 5 out of 10 vacancies that were published in the SPE at the national level needed profiles with undergraduate education. The most demanded educational level in the SPE is high school with 29.8%,” they estimate.
The area with the highest requirement by companies was administration and law, with 23.8%, followed by engineering, industry and construction with 9.6%, and health and well -being with 8.7%. This shows a correspondence between the most demanded areas by students and the most requested in the labor market.
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Three areas of knowledge – economic and administration (33%), engineering (27%) and social sciences (14.6%) – concentrated about 75%of demand.
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Technical Education and for Work
The report also included an analysis of education for work and human development. In 2023, This level recorded 647,778 enrolled, almost half of those enrolled in undergraduate higher education programs that same year.
Of that total, 55.7% concentrated on work technical programs, 41.4% in language courses, mainly English, and 3% in other short courses. The most demanded work technical programs were auxiliary in nursing, with 8.9%of the enrolled, followed by administrative assistant (4.3%) and auxiliary in pharmaceutical services (3.9%). Together, the 20 programs with the highest registration concentrated 33.6% of the total at this level.
Due to performance areas, sales and services programs absorbed 33.7% of the technical labor enrollment, followed by health with 20.8% and finance and administration with 19.5%.
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The university level was the most requested, with 5.8 million registrations, that is, 58.7% of the national total.
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The report concludes that tertiary education in Colombia continues to show a high concentration in programs linked to administration, health and law, both in university higher education and in labor technique.
These areas not only concentrate most registrations, but also the ones that companies most demand through vacancies in the labor market. In addition, there is a significant weight of technological and technological education, which represents more than a third of registrations, which shows the importance of this level of training to respond to business demand.
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Diana K. Rodríguez T.
Portfolio journalist
