Higher education and socioeconomic development: utopia or reality for low-income youth in Bogotá. Case study Industrial Engineering UNIMINUTO, Colombia

The objective was to know the impact of the expansion of coverage and permanence in higher education of low- and middle-low youth in Bogota, in improving the socio-economic level of their families, through the quantitative evaluation to students of last year (2015 and 2016) and graduates of Industrial Engineering, UNIMINUTO, Headquarters. The information was collected in secondary sources of the university and in surveys; the sampling was realized with the simple random probabilistic method. With the data collected, descriptive statistics and discourse analysis were performed. The inclusion and permanence of students of low and medium-low levels of industrial engineering at UNIMINUTO, Headquarters, is mainly related to their interest in having a better job future, higher incomes, and better quality of life, as well as the costs of their studies and the time they can allocate. At the time of joining the workforce graduates, the program is not a mere offerer of titles, but allows the development of skills that are determining in the linking and permanence of work. Studying Industrial Engineering, determines improvements in the employment relationship, social security, salary, living in a better stratum, and access to an own house.