Much is said about “new skills for work”. They are the ones employers look for in everchanging industries and get updated almost at the same rate as our smartphones get updated. That was the metaphor that a colleague at IDB’s Labor Markets Division used when he invited me to think about workers’ skills development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The way we work in the region changed with the pandemic and will continue to transform from trends such as the expansion of the digital economy and flexible work, globalization, the population’s extended longevity, and countries’ transition to greener economies.
These trends can have three different effects on jobs and labor markets. On the one hand, they have the risk of “destroying” occupations; some estimates say that 65% of occupations in the region today are likely to be automated, for example. On the other hand, they can also create new jobs, and eventually, they can transform existing occupations. In all cases, it is necessary to build, update, and develop job skills.
But what are job skills? How can they be broadly defined and classified? And which ones are in demand from the new trends? Let’s take a look.
What are job skills?
In the broadest sense, skills are a set of competencies, capabilities, attributes, talents, and in some cases knowledge, that characterize people. This is IDB’s agreed-on definition.
In the context of the workforce, skills are the set of characteristics that enable people to perform successfully and progress in the labor market. Of course, they are closely related to what employers and companies need in their workforce to carry out productive processes.
They are diverse and are not limited to the skills and knowledge acquired in the early stages of our lives. Let us keep in mind that skills for work are acquired, nurtured, and developed throughout life and that the paradigm of study or training in the first stages of life, and only work in the next, is no longer sustainable.
Today, employers are not only looking for profiles that meet traditional requirements such as having a diploma or academic degree, but also for workers with adaptability and willingness to train continuously and acquire new skills, even using flexible training tools.
Types of skills for a job
Generally speaking, they can be categorized into three groups: cognitive skills, socio-emotional or soft skills, and technical skills.
Cognitive skills
These are skills such as memory and flexible thinking, used to think, read, learn, remember, reason and pay attention. This group may also include academic skills: factual knowledge, concepts, procedures, and strategies related to subjects such as mathematics, reading, and science.
Socioemotional or soft skills
These are the skills that set us apart from robots. They have to do with the qualities, attitudes, beliefs, personality traits, and behaviors a worker has. They are also known as soft skills.
They are the skills that enable workers to relate to others, such as communication, negotiation, problem-solving ability, critical thinking, empathy, leadership for coordinating a work team, teamwork, resilience to change and confidence.
Soft skills are hardly replaceable by machines. Throughout history, what has allowed employment to survive despite the automation of tasks is the creation of new occupations that can only be performed by humans with soft skills.
In an increasingly technological and automated world, these skills are highly valued by employers. They are assessed in job interviews and may weigh more in the final decision than experience in the world of work, degrees and knowledge.
Technical skills
These are specific work skills directly related to an occupation or employment. Their definition therefore depends on the characterization of a job or occupation, the skills profile required for a job, and the tasks performed as part of that job.
Skills with value in the labor market
Companies are increasingly seeking, in addition to work experience and knowledge, a series of qualities that allow workers to respond to the demands of current production processes. Let’s look at some examples of skills and emerging occupations in recent years:
Digital skills
The demand for digital skills in the region is increasing hand in hand with the growth of the digital economy and technological development.
The analysis of data from LinkedIn on labor market behavior in Latin America and the Caribbean during the pandemic confirms this. The penetration of digital skills had a significant boom in recent years, most notably in the fields of information technology, communication and media, entertainment, and education.
Some valuable digital skills in today’s job market are:
- Marketing or digital marketing skills
This job skill involves tasks and practices related to the marketing of products and services for a target audience via the internet and social media. These skills would be valuable in an ecommerce agency, for example.
- Management of web development tools and software
Currently, this job skill is an advantage for those who want to focus their professional career on developing tools for the advancement of technology and the internet.
- Creative digital skills
The demand for computer graphic design, game development and animation skills has had a major boom in recent years.
- Teleworking skills
For several years, before the pandemic, some companies already offered the possibility of ocasional remote work or home office. The arrival of the COVID-19 health crisis made this work modality a common practice and forced many to turn their homes into offices and learn how to use technological tools to work, meet, and produce remotely.
Socio-emotional or soft skills
- Negotiation
This ability is fundamental to conflict resolution and highly valued for teamwork. Workers must know how to argue an idea, concede when necessary, defend their position, and reach a final agreement.
- Creativity
Employers value having employees who can figure out new ways to contribute to the achievement of goals. A creative person ventures into innovation, feeds their curiosity, and generates new ideas.
- Flexibility and openness to learning
In personnel selection processes, more and more profiles are considered that stand out not only for technical knowledge and work experience, but for the willingness to learn, improve, and grow through flexible training tools such as Vocational Technical Education, MOOCs, or boot camps, all educational trends that are booming today.
Do you want to learn about the current trends in post-secondary education in Latin America and the Caribbean? Read this report (only available in Spanish).
- Adaptability
It is the ability to face changes and adapt to the environment as workers. This skill is highly valued in the workplace amid constantly changing landscapes. More and more, workers who can seek solutions, make decisions quickly, and even “multitask” are required in different fields.
- Decision making
Knowing how to respond assertively and promptly in the face of challenges is an essential skill in the workplace. Decision-making entails more than simply choosing between two or more options. It involves identifying and assessing the situation, evaluating different paths for reaching a solution, and ultimately selecting the most appropriate course of action for palpable results in the short and long term.
- Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the main basis of soft skills. It has to do with the ability to manage one’s emotions, as well as those of the team. It fosters good communication and interpersonal relationships within the workplace.
- Resiliency
Workers must be able to overcome obstacles to their productivity and learn from failure. A resilient worker knows how to handle difficult situations, avoid making the same mistakes, face adversity, and make the most of new opportunities along the way.
Skills for green jobs
The demand for skills for green jobs is growing hand in hand with the growth of sustainable activities and the jobs that are being generated or transformed as economies move towards sustainability, and countries make progress towards meeting their environmental objectives.
Skills for green jobs, or “green skills” arise not only in association with the new jobs being generated in sectors such as energy or environmental management but also extend, and are increasingly valuable, to existing occupations, such as plumbing. A plumbing professional who knows how to make and fix water-saving facilities is a worker prepared for the green economy, as explained in this article.
Did you know that labor market policies can be key in the face of extreme climate events and disasters and in efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity? Learn about the powerful intersection between labor market policies and climate change in this IDB policy brief.
What is the state of job skills in Latin America and the Caribbean?
In addition to the trends that impact and transform labor markets, and the training lags caused by the pandemic, the labor force in Latin America and the Caribbean carries a skills gap that needs to be addressed and closed. Before the pandemic, more than half of workers did not have minimum levels of reading comprehension or basic math, and only 16 percent had tertiary training.
The digital skills landscape is not much better, as about 40% of working-age people in Latin America and the Caribbean have no experience with technology or basic digital skills.
This is why investing in human capital development and equipping workers with the skills they need to access quality jobs, and progress within the labor market, is a priority for the IDB. The IDB supports countries in quickly and effectively mapping their human capital needs in alignment with the productive sectors with greater job-generating potential. It also assists in the creation of roadmaps to anticipate skills demand and adjust skills training.
Learn about our Technical Vocational Education and Training initiatives to develop the skills of workers in this report👉Skills for work in Latin America and the Caribbean: Unlocking talent for a sustainable and equitable future.
Workers of the future will need to upskill and reskill to increase their chances of finding quality work and progressing in their careers. However, far beyond workers’ willingness to train, the sustained construction and maintenance of relevant education and formation ecosystems for skills development is a shared responsibility and commitment between governments, the private sector, and key partners for sustainable development such as the IDB.
What job skills are in most demand in your country? Let us know in the comments.
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