Ready for the future? Employability skills and competencies in the twenty-first century: The view of international experts

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Today’s uncertain economic and social dynamics are leading companies to seek the sort of human talent that will help them to survive and thrive. Training demands are thus arising for specific skills and competencies that would make current students and employment seekers more employable. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the twenty-first century’s major employability skills and competencies as well as the main demand trends for skills and competencies. METHODS: An international panel of experts (from Spain, Thailand and Poland), from both, academic and professional business backgrounds, were asked to quantitatively project the importance of different generic and specific skills and competencies over the next five years. They were asked to do so twice, once before and once after a four-year interval (in 2016 and in 2019). Each time, they were interviewed to discuss the results. RESULTS: The most valued employability skills were of a generic nature, in all three countries. Regarding specific skills, those of a social and managerial nature were the most highly valued. Work experience and formal education became less relevant for employability. CONCLUSIONS: The study’s results can lead to recommendations on how to design a more employability-oriented curriculum in educational institutions.