Employee/employer skill perception gap

Now here is an interesting thing. A report by Marcolin and Quintini for the OCED (2023) found that employers and employees really do have a different understanding of skills, and who possesses - or do not possess - those skills. As we can see by the image accompanying this post,  there is a certain degree of skill 'inflation' or 'deflation' where the two parties' views do not quite align. 

How this was discovered was that the OECD created the PIAAC Employer Module employer survey to study employer-required skills, and surveyed five European countries. The survey asked employers about hiring, training, and workplace practices. In addition, the employer survey was connected to a household skills survey so the researchers could compare employer and employee perspectives (Marcolin & Quintini, 2023).  

The results? Employees see themselves as having higher level skills than employers do. The researchers note that staff "rely on their perception to assess their own performance, and this subjective view of the adequacy of their skills is in principle no more or less biased than the manager’s subjective view on whether the company’s skill demands are met, at least compared to what a third external evaluator would state" (Marcolin & Quintini, 2023, p. 17). Employers "could state whether each skill type present in their company was staying the same or changing in importance in the near future[, ... and were able to advise] when there was a particular new skill requirement that was emerging, either a generic or an occupation-specific skill" (p. 17). 

So it is little wonder that employers feel they are unable to hire appropriately skilled staff... despite employees feeling there are enough qualified staff available for hire. Due to innovation and market shifts, employer skill needs continually evolve. And perhaps employees are a bit less aware of the latest skills that employers are seeking: and this may contribute to those skill gaps (Marcolin & Quintini, 2023). 

This research should assist policymakers to better understand the perceived skill asymmetry; and to try to work out how to reduce the gap over time (Marcolin & Quintini, 2023). 

Sam

References:

Marcolin, L., & Quintini, G. (2023, April). Measuring skill gaps in firms: the PIAAC Employer Module [working paper No. 292]. OECD.  https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/measuring-skill-gaps-in-firms-the-piaac-employer-module_903c19c9-en.html