Sociology and territorial development: training in social research methods and techniques for local development and employment agent candidates

The research presented here addresses the relationship between sociology and local development through the study of the training in methods and techniques of social research of candidates for the post of Employment and Local Development Agent (AEDL). This is an empirical work that uses, on the one hand, the documentary analysis of institutional materials of the selection processes for AEDL in the province of Valencia in 2019 and the review of the curricula of the degrees (degrees, diplomas and bachelor's degrees) of these candidates. On the other hand, these results are put in relation to the training demands of active staff. This lays the foundation for the demand for professionals trained in sociology, capable of comprehensively facing the process of in-depth analysis of the realities and challenges of the local sphere, which can strengthen and revalue our discipline.