Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market: Volume 112B

Introduction: Skill development is crucial in developing economies by enhancing productivity and creating employment opportunities. At the macro level, it also leads to industrial development and economic growth.

Purpose: The research is to identify the types of skills required for increasing the probability of employability of labour. It also aims to define the challenges and opportunities in skill development to drive change.

Need of the Study: Studying opportunities and challenges for skill development in developing economies is essential for achieving sustainable economic growth, reducing poverty, increasing employment opportunities, and promoting global competitiveness.

Research Methodology: Some skills are recognised through research that has been published to determine the skill set needed to increase labour productivity. To draw lessons, some skill development initiatives by various companies are also identified and presented in case studies. Additionally, several government programs are available to assess the possibilities and prospects for skill development in the Indian market.

Practical Implications: The research will be valuable in micro and macro decision making. At the micro level, research is advantageous for a business person to initiate the skill development of its employees by using government schemes. Nations other than India can understand the policy framework for skill development.

Findings: The term ‘skilling’ has become fashionable. Due to the need for skill-based earnings data, only some studies examine the return on skill (ROS) of the labour market. Skill development plays a significant role in bringing change at the micro and macro levels. Hence it is necessary to exploit all opportunities for skill development.

Introduction: The Republic of Moldova’s economy faces risks caused by the war in Ukraine and the economic crisis, proving that citizens’ prosperity is essential for national stability and that financial knowledge influences the standard of living. A minimum financial education provides information, knowledge, and tools to make correct decisions based on informed consent in an increasingly complex financial system. In the financial-banking and academic environment, in-depth research of consumers’ financial education level helps to optimise, streamline, and balance bank–client relations with fairness. This work is the consequence of studying the level of financial education among consumers of financial-banking services, with direct implications for their financial well-being.

Purpose: The main aim of this research is to measure the financial knowledge of consumers of financial-banking services, developing recommendations for measures to improve the situation.

Methodology: To explain the factors of influence, the following research techniques were used: analysis and synthesis of conceptual approaches to financial education; deduction and induction; analysis of the findings of sociological research on the level of financial education of users of financial-banking services; and recommendation synthesis.

Findings: The research validates that enhancing financial education has a positive effect on individuals and the economy, reinstates confidence in financial markets, makes an innovative contribution to accurately assessing consumers’ financial knowledge enabling the implementation of proactive measures.

Implications: This chapter provides insights into consumers’ financial education level, serving as a crucial indicator for institutions and public authorities in formulating and promoting effective educational initiatives to ensure minimal skill gaps.

Purpose. This chapter discusses the challenges and different strategies to increase skill development for the future workforce.

Methodology. Multiple sources on the topic were studied and reviewed in this chapter. The idea of skill and its development is discussed in the literature review.

Findings. Different nations’ governments have promoted human capital development by providing up-skilling and retraining programs to balance supply and demand. Skills gaps need to be brought to the attention of stakeholders, such as governments, businesses, and the educational system. Teachers, employers, and other stakeholders need to develop strategies and action plans to ensure that the skills gaps are appropriately identified and adequately addressed. These initiatives must be developed with input from various stakeholders.

Practical Implications. The research results would inform the curriculum, incorporating skill development processes tailored to various scenarios. These findings would aid business organisations in crafting skill development programs that address identified skill gaps. Challenges in skill development would be taken into account during course development, and relevant teaching–learning materials would be created. Key stakeholders, such as accrediting organisations, employers, and students, should exert more influence on academic institutions to prioritise societal demands for economic development.

Originality/Value. The uniqueness and significance of this chapter lie in its concise summary of the strategies to tackle the hurdles in skill development.

Purpose: Students’ transition from education to employment is influenced by factors like the length and calibre of their education, demography, labour market conditions, and the general state of the economy. Regardless of the economy, education systems should seek to ensure that students have the skills required for the labour market. This will help them better transition from school to work. This study examines the work skills that companies require for entry-level positions in Romania.

Need for Study: Previously, text analysis studies treated the job market only for the IT industry in Romania. To understand the demand-side opportunities and restrictions, assessing the employment opportunities for young people in the Romanian labour market is necessary.

Methodology: A text mining approach from 842 unstructured data of the existing job positions in October 2022 for fresh graduates or students is used in this chapter. The study uses data from LinkedIn job descriptions in the Romanian job market. The methodology involved is focused on text retrieval, text-pre-processing, word cloud analysis, network analysis, and topic modelling.

Findings: The empirical findings revealed that the most common words in job descriptions are experience, team, work, skills, development, knowledge, support, data, business, and software. The correlation network revealed that the most correlated pairs of words are gender–sexual–race–religion–origin–diversity–age–identity–orientation–colour–equal–marital.

Practical Implications: This study looked at the job market and used text analytics to extract a space of skill and qualification dimensions from job announcements relevant to the Romanian employment market instead of depending on subjective knowledge.

Introduction: Organisations all over the world are experiencing skill gaps. One of the key factors contributing to the shortage of competent workers is the inability to find candidates that fit the profile. Most of the time, the market does not offer what organisations require.

Purpose: This research focuses on skill shortages and labour market rigidity in the information technology (IT) sector. It discusses the impact of labour shortage and strategies to overcome these challenges.

Need of the Study: The study is required to reduce the skill shortage in the IT sector and inflexibility in the labour market.

Methodology: The data are collected from secondary sources, that is, books, journals and other internet sources.

Findings: The labour market volatility is impacted by several external factors leading to rigidity and talent shortages. Different forecasts within the IT industry, manufacturing, media and telecommunications indicate large-scale labour shortages. The growing influence of digitalisation further creates challenges for organisations during the hiring process as the identified skill gaps for IT professionals are also identified.

Practical Implications: Labour market rigidity affects the labour market. Shifts in labour supply and demand do not always impact wages. Methods are suggested on how to reduce the rigidity in the labour market and, in turn, decrease the skill gaps.

Introduction: Skills are vital for the survival of an organisation to meet its objectives through producing goods and services. Due to their importance, they are among the sought-after aspects of employment. However, organisations need more skilled employees to bridge the gaps due to disruptions, shifts in consumer demands and needs, and transformations in the global world.

Purpose of the Study: This study aims to identify various skill gap in talent, competencies, and experience emerging in the hospitality sector. It will also present some challenges to the hospitality sector that faces due to the skill gap identified.

Industrial and Academic Justification of the Study: The study examines the needs and challenges from academic and industry perspectives. Hence, it provides significance for academics and industry to apply the findings to address skill gap.

Research Gap: Previous research has focused on different aspects of skills in other countries. This study will look at the issue globally and the recent trends emerging from disruptions and shifts in consumer behaviour.

Results and Findings: Though the study is ongoing, the findings show that specific skill gap exist, particularly in emerging technologies, digitisation, data, robotics, and various job openings from different countries’ perspectives, hospitality, and the tourism industry.

Practical Implications: The findings have implications for the tourism and hospitality industry as a whole, as well as individual organisations. The tourism and hospitality industry should apply these suggestions, such as operational skills, digital skills, and interpersonal skills in various sections of tourism and hospitality organisations

Introduction: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the economic development of economies by generating job opportunities. Considering their significance, understanding the challenges and skills required in these enterprises becomes essential and timely.

Purpose: This study aims to discuss the limitations and skill gaps faced by SMEs in emerging economies, such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Ghana, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, UAE, Iran, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Zambia, Romania, and Vietnam.

Methodology: The study adopts a systematic review and meta-synthesis approach, utilising a literature review to comprehensively analyse, synthesise, and map the existing literature by identifying overarching themes.

Findings: The study examines the challenges SMEs encounter in emerging economies, including resource scarcity, limited access to credit, inadequate infrastructure, low technology adoption, restricted global market access, and ineffective marketing strategies. There is a notable shortage of skilled labour and development initiatives within SMEs in India even though the country has a sizeable pool of qualified workers. There is a pressing need for additional technical and managerial skills to remain competitive in the market. The findings of this study will assist HR managers in addressing skill shortages among employees in SMEs operating within emerging economies

Purpose: The research determines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected India’s burgeoning education technology sector and how the new normal responded to this advancement worldwide.

Need for Study: India’s education sector saw a boom in Ed-Tech funding during the pandemic. The Indian Education industry adopted technology as a partner and succeeded in being called as the Ed-Tech capital of the world. The country has a strategic edge in online education that, if explored and researched upon, can be deployed for market growth at a global level.

Research Methodology: The researcher prioritised rigorous original quantitative and qualitative methods of investigation on technology applications in educational contexts during COVID-19 pandemic and drew its conclusions after conducting a comprehensive literature review and collecting and analysing the data from numerous journals and published expert articles on the sector.

Findings: The study found that despite the global pandemic, the Ed-Tech industry was an expanding marketplace for start-ups in India. After the pandemic, the market expanded rapidly, and by 2025, it is expected to have quadrupled in size, expenditure, and investment. It is expected that the global e-learning business, which the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has bolstered, will grow to over 400 billion US dollars by 2026.

Practical Implications: The study sets forth the various Ed-Tech categories, outlining their user bases, growth projections, and the innovative technologies employed in developing these products. The research’s long-term investment projections are envisioned to aid consultants in positioning themselves for profitable operations in the era of digital Ed-Tech disruption worldwide.

Purpose: This research aims to provide a conceptual framework that will help organisations address the skill shortages and gaps in their current business model. The study also aims to fulfil the literature gap by offering three strategies that can help firms across industries in the international arena to upskill and reskill their talent pool.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Using real-world cases and statistics, the research offers a conceptual framework along with the three strategies, that is, revisiting skills requirements, continuous training and development, and partnership across ecosystems for addressing the critical challenge of skill gap and shortage that is prevailing across industries today.

Findings: The findings of the research show that by involving employers, employees, and policymakers, an effective conceptual framework can be made that will help organisations to serve their target customers more effectively and efficiently. The study also results in the formation of three strategies to help the company address the talent shortage and gap in their organisation.

Research Limitations/Implications: The research has wide implications for a variety of stakeholders and especially for the companies, employees, and policymakers. This will prove instrumental in handling the shortcoming of the talents prevailing in today’s business environment.

Originality/Value: The study is unique in offering a framework and giving three operational strategies: revisiting skills requirements, continuous training and development, and partnership across ecosystems for building and managing the talent pool in the company.

Purpose: Nikoletta Taylor and Close, (2022) asserts that a skill gap analysis can be used to determine the lacking skill and carry out recruitment based on that gap. It goes without saying that for a student, that would be their first employment, and with internships, there is no way to experience all aspects of the working world.

Need for This Study: When it comes to the recruiter’s expectations and the applicant’s skills, specifically among students, a gap still exists, leading to a need for practical exposure for applicants.

Study Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative study was adopted. A questionnaire was prepared with constructs and variables from the review and a total of 403 responses was collected from reputed institutions in Tamil Nadu.

Findings: This study reveals that skill development is needed; it is found that experiential learning through the gamification process is a suitable learning strategy. The experiential learning factors supporting skill development are self-efficacy, outcome expectation, interest, choice actions, and performance, followed by review, feedback, and continuous improvement.

Originality/Value: Learning all these factors through the gamification process would give students practical exposure to real-time scenarios of the corporate world. The proposed model gives students experience through gamification and learning activities.

Introduction: The effectiveness of management faculty members depends on several factors, including self-efficacy. Albert Bandura coined the term ‘self-efficacy’, defined as ‘the capacity to do things as per one’s ability’ – the self-belief that one ‘can-do’ something.

Purpose: The study aims to discuss the effects of high and low degrees of self-efficacy. Faculty members with high-order competencies achieve higher positions, whereas those with low self-efficacy will generally have less self-belief in achieving success, translating into not progressing either at all or as quickly. There exists a need to study the levels of self-efficacy among faculty members to determine issues that create skill gaps and lead to both high and low efficacy. For better general performance, all faculty members should have high degrees of self-efficacy as it leads to high enthusiasm, increased commitment, and a capacity to dilute and address a range of challenges.

Methodology: This chapter falls under the category of a review paper. As different papers/studies have been reviewed and compared in this study, it does not need to conform to any particular methodology.

Findings: Various findings and practical implications shall be discussed in this chapter regarding self-efficacy among management faculty members. To improve youth’s future abilities by 2030, teachers ought to have higher levels of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is imperative in accomplishing objectives, achieving results, and accomplishing educational difficulties in instructing understudies (Tumkaya, 2020).