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Employees of the Future: Expected Competences at the Higher Education Level

Dobrosława Mruk-Tomczak
Dobrosława Mruk-Tomczak
 and 
Ewa Jerzyk
Ewa Jerzyk
   | Mar 20, 2024
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Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Mar 20, 2024
Page range: 117 - 147
Received: Aug 22, 2023
Accepted: Jan 16, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/minib-2024-0006
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© 2024 Dobrosława Mruk-Tomczak et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1.

“Tag cloud” summarizing the most common competences identified in the selected sourcesSource: Original compilation from the selected sources
“Tag cloud” summarizing the most common competences identified in the selected sourcesSource: Original compilation from the selected sources

Competences of the future – desk research report

Title of report, author, year Research methodology Key competences/skills that will increase in importance in the future / competences of the future
“Industry Balance of Human Capital II: Marketing Communications Sector” (in Polish), Krygowska-Nowak et al. (2022)

Qualitative survey: Employers, industry experts, education and HR experts, employees and clients.

Quantitative survey: Employers (n=813) and employees (n=819) in the key jobs of marketing communication sector, from February to August 2021.

 Competences to have greater significance in the future:

Effective/efficient communication (including brand trust building and negotiation skills)

Analytical (including trend analysis)

Specialized, i.e. handling specific tools and processes

Conduct in accordance with ethical principles

Creativity
“Talent shortage in Poland” (in Polish), ManpowerGroup (2022) Quantitative survey with a sample of over 40,000 employees from 40 countries, including Poland. Top 5 soft skills most difficult to acquire:

Resistance to stress and adaptability

Reliability and discipline

Creativity

Analysis and critical thinking

Ability to solve problems
“Competences of the future: How to shape them in a flexible education ecosystem?” (in Polish) Włoch & Śledziewska (2023) Non-representative survey (n=1062). Questionnaire included questions on competences identified in the WEF and McKinsey analyzes as key competences for employees in the changing labor market. Competences of the future divided into three groups of skills: cognitive, social and technical:

Cooperation with others (s)

Emotional intelligence (s)

People management (s)

Entrepreneurship (s)

Cognitive flexibility (c)

Critical thinking (c)

Creativity (c)

Solving complex problems (c)

Engineering competences (t)

Advanced digital competences (t)

Basic digital competences (t)
“Young Poles in the labor market” (in Polish), PwC, Well.hr, & Absolvent Consulting (2022) Online quantitative survey (n=3207), the analysis takes into account the responses of individuals up to 27 years of age (n=2023), conducted March–April 2022. The most important competences on the labor market in the future according to young people:

Openness to change and quick adaptation in new conditions

Combining different skills

Fast learning

IT and knowledge of programming languages

Effective time management

Dealing with stress

Interdisciplinarity

Big Data analysis and its understanding

Communication skills

Application of artificial intelligence

Self-management of one’s own work

Teamwork

Remote work skills

Managing virtual teams

Ability to use new media

Trend watching

Operation of advanced robots
“Employee competences today and tomorrow” (in Polish), Dębkowska et al. (2022) Quantitative survey (CATI, n=1000) among enterprises, Representative in terms of size and indicated code of Polish Classification of Activities, November 2021. Competences of the future:

Acting in a situation of uncertainty

Cooperation with others

Creativity

Taking responsibility

Industry-specific professional competences

Critical thinking

Negotiation skills

People management

Systemic thinking

Technical competence

Balancing tensions and solving problems

Basic digital competences

Emotional intelligence

Solving complex problems

Cognitive flexibility

Advanced digital competences
“The employee of the future” (in Polish), infuture.institute (2019) Quantitative survey (CAWI, n=1327), and qualitative survey (3 FGI and 10 individual interviews). Competences of the future:

Creativity

Negotiations

Ability to cooperate

STEM Science Skills

Ability to share knowledge

Design thinking

Critical thinking

Digital skills

Problem-solving mindset

Ability to actively learn
“Forecasts of the Future: Know How 2021” (in Polish) OLX Praca (2021)

Quantitative survey (CATI, n=302), representatives of small, medium and large enterprises, conducted September–October 2020.

Qualitative survey (TDI) with employers and HR employees of HR consulting companies.

 Key competences of the future:

Social competences (substantive exchange of opinions without interpersonal conflicts, multi-threaded communication, acceptance and openness to diversity and differences, acceptance and learning to work in an environment where relationships are not as intimate as before)

Self-awareness regarding occupational health and safety, self-monitoring (management of your working time, energy balance management, self-discipline, responsibility for yourself and your work)

Learning and critical thinking

Self-motivation

Flexibility in acting, acceptance of change and uncertainty

Solving complex problems

Acquiring information from different places

Building mutual trust in teams

 Key soft skills in the future:

Communication, relationality

Openness, flexibility, ability to adapt quickly to changes

Emotional intelligence and empathy

Good organization of work, independence

Knowledge of cultural differences and the ability to navigate them

Resistance to stress
“The future of education: Scenarios 2046” (in Polish), infuture.institute (2021) Quantitative (CAWI, n= 4023) and qualitative survey (CDV, 2020), including university undergraduates & teachers, secondary school students & teachers. Competences of the future:

Collaboration within a team

Digital and technical competences

Data analysis

Solving complex problems

Creativity
“The study of competences in the modern labor market: survey report” (in Polish) UpSkill (2021) Quantitative survey (CAWI, n=304), conducted October–November 2020. Key competences for future development:

Dealing with stress

Negotiations

Public speaking

Assertiveness

Planning and self-management in time

Influence

Decision-making

Self-presentation

Logical and critical thinking

Building relationships and trust

Leadership skills

Team building

Interpersonal communication

Emotional intelligence

Creativity

Teamwork
“Foresight of the competences of the future” (in Polish), Dębkowska et al., (2022) Quantitative survey (CAWI, n=65) of experts representing science, business, public administration etc. Foresight research methodology. Competences of the future in relation to the four (1–4) scenarios for the development of the labor market (s.).

Advanced digital competences (s. 1)

Transformational competences (s. 1)

Acting in a situation of uncertainty (s. 1)

Creativity (s. 1)

Technical and digital competence (s. 2)

Systems thinking skill (s. 2)

Ability to find and interpret signals of change in the environment (s. 2)

Creativity (s. 2)

Industry-specific professional competences (s. 3)

Responsibility for one’s own actions (s. 3)

Competences in the scope of use of pro-ecological and pro-social solutions (s. 3)

Ability to act in a situation of uncertainty (s. 3)

Ability to work in stationary and distributed teams (s. 4)

Care for work-life balance (s. 4)
“Report on empirical research in the field of competences and professions of the future” (in Polish), Łapińska et al. (2022) Quantitative survey (online, n=104), among management staff and managers of various levels coming from industrial enterprises operating in clusters Looking ahead to 2030, the following competences are projected to be highly important and increasingly gaining in significance:

Unconventional thinking

Analytical skills using technology

Risk analysis and assessment and responsible decision-making

Ability to find deeper significance of phenomena

Ability to see and assign meaning that is not evident at first glance

Interdisciplinarity, that is, proficiency in understanding and combining ideas and concepts from different fields

Proficiency in handling new media

Managing information overload

Ability to integrate robotic workstations

Ability to work in multicultural teams

Social entrepreneurship
“The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030,” Bakhshi, et al. (2017). Workshops with experts from industry, government, academia, and the social sector (Boston and London); data then used to prepare a machine learning model utilized in turn to estimate future demand for occupations and competences. The ten most important competences of the 21st century in the context of the greatest demand: The United Kingdom:

Judgment and decision-making

Ingenuity

Active learning

Learning strategies

Originality

 The United States:

Learning strategies

Instructing

Social observation skills

Coordination

Originality
“An analysis of the demand for skills in the labour market in 2035,” Dickerson et al. (2023)

First stage: literature review.

Second stage: producing forecasts and projections of the size and composition of the labor market in 2035.

 Fundamental competences needed for employment in 2035:

Collaboration

Communication

Innovative thinking

Information acquisition

Organizing, planning and prioritizing work

Problem solving, troubleshooting and decision-making
The Skills Imperative 2035: what does the literature tell us about essential skills most needed for work?”, Taylor et al. (2022) Study using the desk research method, reviewing 200 thematic reports, 30 items were included in the final analysis. Essential competences of the future:

Problem solving, troubleshooting and decision-making

Critical thinking / analysis and evaluation

Communication

Collaboration / teamwork

Creativity/innovation/originality

Leadership/Management

Self-motivation/learning orientation

Flexibility/adaptability

Resilience/optimism/persistence

Empathy/social perceptiveness
“The Future of Jobs Report 2020”, World Economic Forum (2020) Quantitative survey (n=291) of global companies collectively representing more than 7.7 million employees worldwide. Key competences in the next 5 years (to 2025):

Critical thinking and analysis

Problem solving

Self-management

Active learning

Resilience

Stress tolerance

Flexibility

 The top 15 skills for 2025:

Analytical thinking and innovation

Active learning

Complex problem-solving

Critical thinking and analysis

Creativity, originality and initiative

Leadership and social influence

Technology use, monitoring and control

Technology design and programming

Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility

Reasoning, problem-solving

Emotional intelligence

Troubleshooting and user experience

Service orientation

Systems analysis and evaluation

Persuasion and negotiation

 Results for Poland: Skills identified as being in high demand within an organization (from most to least important)

Creativity, originality and initiative

Active learning strategies and self-development

Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility

Complex problem-solving

Analytical thinking and innovation

Technology use, monitoring and control

Service orientation

Critical thinking and analysis

Technology design and programming

Reasoning and problem-solving

Management of personnel

Emotional intelligence

Management of financial, material resources

Leadership and social influence

Instruction, mentoring and teaching
“The Future of Jobs Report 2023”, World Economic Forum (2023) Quantitative survey (n=803) of global companies collectively representing more than 11.3 million employees worldwide. Essential competences in 2023:

Analytical thinking

Creative thinking

Resilience, flexibility and agility

Motivation and self-awareness

Curiosity and lifelong learning

Technological literacy

Dependability and attention to detail

Empathy and active listening

Leadership and social influence

Quality control

 Expectations about employee competences (2023–2027):

Creative thinking

Analytical thinking

Technological literacy

Curiosity and lifelong learning

Resilience, flexibility and agility

Systems thinking

Artificial intelligence and big data

Motivation and self-awareness

Talent management

Service orientation and customer service

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.006

(R11): I see two paths of competence development: a general one, where a person has the ability to perform different but basic tasks, and an expert one, when they have detailed and comprehensive knowledge, but it only applies to one task.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.017

(R11): The climate has changed and we need to start thinking about it and taking care to ensure the sustainable operation of the company, hence the demand for employees who bring ideas related to the protection of the environment and resources. This is just budding now, but it will be important in the future. (R3): Many companies incorporate sustainable development into their strategies, aiming to operate ecologically, develop sustainably, and change organizational culture to be more empathetic. The direction is such that governments will create a system of incentives for companies, and this must translate into an appropriate demand for skills in the labor market to create sustainable solutions.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.005

(R9):Technical and technological competences will be handled by artificial intelligence in the future and they will not be important because AI will take all of them over.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.016

(R1): People act as if they have only just now discovered that there is such a thing as personal development, self-management, building inner motivation; I assume that this will be a competence that will continue to be developed. (R3): The growing importance of self-motivation results from remote work, virtual teams; if employees see their boss on the screen once a day, then they must be able to motivate themselves independently, manage themselves.
(R2): Lifelong learning is and will remain important. For some people it is easier because they have an innate curiosity towards life and a desire to learn. This is not such a challenge for young people, they have completely different possibilities to elevate their skills. (R10): Lifelong learning – when you are young, you do not know that you should, but you should.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.008

(R8): Young people are not required to solve complex problems. You first have to trust them to assign them such problems. Once they learn, they are entrusted with more serious problems.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.007

(R5): Analytical competences are very important – to be able to make decisions based on data, not hunches. Do not educate people in data generation but educate them in the direction of data aggregation and analysis and knowledge of what data is needed. (R2): Unconventional thinking and courage are necessary because competitiveness is growing.
(R3): Critical thinking is very important. Unfortunately, many people just follow the crowd. Still, few people take the trouble of thinking critically and making self-evaluation, analysis. (R4): The world will not abandon analysis, but what about its usefulness in such a rapidly changing environment?
(R1): Certainly analytical skills and data analysis, these types of skills will be in demand. Similarly, problem-solving skills. So that they do not come with every problem, but instead take actual responsibility for solving it and owning the outcome.
(R9): Cognitive competences, especially critical thinking, will be the most important ones, because this is something that artificial intelligence does not yet have.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.018

(R5): Companies interested in recruiting employees in a particular specialization may be interested in sponsoring a specific field of study and providing their specialists to teach courses at the university. (R7): Cooperation in the form of practical trainings, paid internships, workshops, brainstorming meetings.
(R3): …so, of course, university programs give some basic engineering or economic knowledge, but the point is that there should be more practical classes… During the whole period of study, there are only 4 weeks of practical training. This is really limited. (R2): Cooperation with business during the creation of curricula.
(R9): Cooperation between businesses and universities is practically nonexistent, and there is no clear idea for it. Instead of focusing on corporations, we should turn our attention towards SMEs, which are the backbone of the economy. They are the basis that should have an impact on the direction of education and it is these companies that should be prioritized for cooperation.

Competences of the future in the 5-year horizon – comparative analysis of research results

Desk research Semi-structured individual interviews
Creativity, creative/innovative thinking Collaboration in virtual teams
Solving (complex) problems Adaptation to change / openness to change
Communication (including negotiation, interpersonal skills) Acting in a situation of uncertainty
Cooperation in stationary, virtual, intercultural teams Competences in the field of pro-ecological and environmentally friendly solutions
Decision-making and responsibility for the decisions Internal motivation
Flexibility, adaptability to change, openness to change Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning, self-development Critical thinking
Critical thinking Combining skills
Analytical thinking Ethics
Technical competence Identifying client’s needs
Management of resources (people, talents) Solving complex problems
Digital competences (basic/advanced) Responsibility for the decisions made
Literacy in and use of new technologies Industry-specific professional and technological competences

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.009

(R2): Responsibility – many companies apply the “owner mindset” approach. This is a policy of shaping the attitudes of employees within an organization so that each employee who has to make a decision approaches it as an owner would, trying to look at the problem from the perspective of the owner. – What decision would they make if they were the owner of the company?

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.011

(R5): Young people look and see in fragments. They lack the skill to look at the issue more broadly, they don’t understand interdependence, they fail to see the bigger picture… they don’t have the ability to plan, and don’t know what they want to achieve in 10/20 years ...they embark on something and quickly let it go, they have no perseverance because they don’t see the aim.
(R9): Young people do not see the complexity of issues, they lack the ability to think more broadly. This stems from a flaw in the education system, which narrows their perspective. But it is also due to intellectual laziness.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.010

(R10): Flexibility, the ability to quickly adapt to new conditions is certainly a feature that will become increasingly important… being open to changes that are indispensable, the speed of decision-making. (R6): Combining is fundamental. We are moving away from a purely industrial economy towards a combination (of technology & utility). Steve Jobs combined science with the humanities. (R4): The most important thing is an interdisciplinary approach.
(R7): Combining competences – empathy with creativity and so on – would certainly be very desirable in the labor market, but I do not know if it is feasible at all. Most likely the labor market will look for such conglomerates, but I fear that it will be difficult. (R3): Today, we expect the employee to have many skills, entrepreneurship, it is somehow being forced by the market, one employee must be able to perform many tasks. (R1): Problem-solving skills are (and will be) very important at higher levels of management. Conflicts of needs/interests, different goals and resources… someone has to be an arbiter, make decisions, this is the desired skill and its importance will grow.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.013

(R3): I observe a decreased interest in skills related to advertising and marketing. (R7): The ability to collaborate—yes, but more the ability to listen and speak up when it makes sense, to pay more attention to the other person and to what they have to say.
(R11): We live in a world focused on consumer needs, it is already very advanced and probably cannot be even more so. There is a high level of these skills on the market today.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.012

(R2): Risk assessment – such competencies are needed, but more so risk awareness… Risk awareness should not stop the company from making decisions.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.004

(R1): Considering where young people seek education, my impression is that some professions are significantly more technical than humanistic, and it is clear that here the leaders are IT specialists and programmers, and I see that this is the widest group that is doing quite well. (R2): People with technological skills are well paid, and presumably, this will not change in the future. (R6): Technological competences have a different weight than cognitive and social ones. Graduates from higher education institutions often lack these technological competences and acquire them while working in business – social and cognitive skills help in acquiring technological competences.
(R3): Technology surrounds us, and whether we like it or not, the demand for technical skills will increase. It’s not about technology, but what you can do with it. (R7): Technological and cognitive skills are generally important, but without social skills, they are not useful for organizations at all.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.015

(R1): I am afraid that the younger generation understands ethics differently; I mean, professional ethics and ethics in general. We lack honesty, and empathy; young people are very egocentric. (R3): Ethics – everyone declares that there will be improvement, but unfortunately there is none. The market rewards unethical behavior, while on the other hand, if employees act unethically towards the employer, they get fired. This is such an inconsistency...
(R9): There is an intensive technological progress, which ethics cannot keep up with, hence its importance and role in the future will be indisputable.
(R2): Following ethical principles is crucial and will continue to grow. Today, we are confronted with a new generation, who follow no ethics after being employed, only money counts and when they get a better offer, they do not even come to talk, but simply make a notice…. I can see the other side – a company that should build relationships with employees in an ethical way.

j.minib-2024-0006.apptab.001

Respondent Characteristics
(R1) Female, 30 years of professional experience, self-employed, 10 years in the real estate market, services, co-owner of a company (franchising), employing 12 people, last year hired 1 individual after graduation, Wielkopolskie Voivodship (Poland).
(R2) Male, 16 years of professional experience, 11 years in the manufacturing industry, currently the President of the Management Board of a company (food and materials science) employing 40 people, last year the company employed 11–12 persons, including 4 directly after graduation, Lubelskie Voivodship (Poland).
(R3) Male, 16 years of professional experience, 12 years in a managerial position, 7 years as owner of a company (development of technology for the wood and food industry) that employs 30 people, hires on average 4–5 new employees annually, last year all of them were higher education graduates, Pomorskie Voivodship (Poland).
(R4) Male, 50 years of professional experience, 20 years in a managerial position, Vice-President of the Management Board (sports industry) in a small organization, hires on average 3 new employees annually, including graduates of higher education institutions, Mazowieckie Voivodship (Poland).
(R5) Female, 24 years of professional experience in the banking industry, working for a large company with the headquarters in Warsaw and numerous branches, hires many new employees annually (lack of data due to the dispersion of branches), including graduates of higher education institutions, headquarters in Mazowieckie Voivodship but also branches in other provinces throughout Poland.
(R6) Male, 25 years of experience on the market, including 12 years in a managerial position, automotive industry, large company, hires an average of 30–40 individuals annually, including approximately 15 university graduates, Wielkopolskie Voivodship (Poland).
(R7) Male, 35 years of professional experience, for 15 years in a managerial position at a large company in the energy and fuel industry, hires several dozen individuals a year, including many graduates of higher education institutions (lack of precise data due to large fragmentation throughout the country), Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Poland).
(R8) Male, 24 years of professional experience, managerial position, a large company in the hospitality industry, with headquarters in Germany, active throughout Europe, many people hired annually, including graduates of higher education institutions.
(R9) Male, 26 years of experience on the market, President of the Management Board in a small enterprise, training and education industry, hires on average 4 individuals annually, including 3 graduates of higher education institutions, Wielkopolskie Voivodship (Poland).
(R10) Female, 22 years of professional experience, co-owner in a micro-enterprise in the event industry, seasonally hires many students and graduates, Wielkopolskie Voivodship (Poland).
(R11) Female, 27 years of professional experience, in a managerial position at a large company in the clothing industry, hires over 20 persons annually, including many students and graduates of higher education institutions, Wielkopolskie Voivodship (Poland).

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.003

(R2): generally speaking, all competences are important and it is difficult to identify which are more important or less important. (R4): in general – all of them, the most important is an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving, logic in combining events.
(R3): all competences are significant, but their relevance emerges from the context. In the recruitment process, cognitive skills emerge, whereas technical and social skills are less important. The company’s organizational culture – in relation to, for example, social skills – is able to shape them effectively. But later it turns out that social and interpersonal skills are key…. many times have I had to let go of a high-class expert having advanced technical and technological skills, because they could not get along with the team.

j.minib-2024-0006.tab.014

(R1): I wish people’s communication skills were at a higher level. (R5): Everyone wants to be creative, not hardworking. Goals are achieved by diligence, not by creativity. (R8): The problems of the young generation are mainly communication problems – they cannot compose an e-mail to internal or external clients.
(R11): I think it is the ability to cooperate with multicultural contributions. Teams are international, even while working in one city, we shouldn’t look at where these people come from, but what competences they have… Effective cooperation in stationary teams will not be critical, because today we often work on-line, we get hired and get fired, we work with one another remotely.
(R2): The ability to work in stationary teams is decreasing. We have developed tools that allow us to work remotely with equal effectiveness. If you work remotely, you have greater access to competences.
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