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This paper aims to apply a mixed-methods approach to redefine essential work skill sets, propose components of these skill sets that are necessary for workers in the contexts of emerging market economies (EMEs), examine potential selection tools that should be applied across firms and explain implications for the labour process theory (LPT) of work.

During the first phase of this study, qualitative data was collected from methods, including semi-structured interviews with human resources (HR) experts from the Personnel Management Association of Thailand, top and HR executives and managers of firms across industries in Thailand. Non-participant observations were made during the pre-interview, interview and post-interview stages. Analysis of archival documents and Web-based resources was then conducted. The authors used the qualitative data obtained from the first phase to develop survey instruments for conducting quantitative research during the second phase of this study.

The empirical findings demonstrate that essential work skill sets are “soft skills” that help workers survive and thrive in the business arena in EMEs. These essential work skill sets have implications for the LPT of work in that they play an important role in transferring the power of negotiation from employers to workers in the labour market. Essential work skill sets here can be divided into eight skill domains: (1) ideation and system thinking, (2) information and digital literacy, (3) social skills with appreciation for diversity and inclusion, (4) communication and language, (5) creativity and innovation, (6) emotional quotient (EQ) for self-management and development, (7) growth/outward mindset and (8) cognitive skills for the job role. Within each essential work skill set, there are several skills that workers in the current world of work need to possess (42 skills in total). Additionally, potential selection tools include behavioural observation, behavioural-based interviews, STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Results) interviews, role plays, case studies and simulations, high-pressure interview questions, project assignments, assessment centres, in-depth interview questions and special methods, such as face reading and fingerprint reading. Top and HR managers across industries strongly agree that the eight essential work skill sets and 42 skills are necessary for workers to survive in the business arena in EMEs. They also strongly agree that talent selection tools, especially behavioural-based interviews, are used by their firms to select high-skilled job candidates in the labour market.

Because the eight essential skill sets proposed in this paper are based primarily on the qualitative data obtained from top/HR managers in firms across some industries, generalization to respondents across other industries or across other EMEs may be limited. It is possible that the context of other EMEs may be different from that of Thailand. In this regard, some of the essential work skill sets that are suitable in the case of Thailand may not be suitable in the case of other EMEs. Future studies should thus explore how institutional contexts of other countries/economies shape the definition of essential skill sets and their components, as well as potential selection tools that shall be applied to select high-skilled labour in those contexts.

This paper provides practical implications for top managers and/or HR managers of firms across various industries in EMEs. In particular, managers should internally train and develop their employees/workers to possess the eight essential skill sets: (1) ideation and system thinking, (2) information and digital literacy, (3) social skills with appreciation for diversity and inclusion, (4) communication and language, (5) creativity and innovation, (6) EQ for self-management and development, (7) growth/outward mindset and (8) cognitive skills for the specific job role so that their employees/workers can survive and thrive in the era of the brittleness, anxiety, non-linearity and incomprehensibility of the business world under pandemic conditions. Additionally, top managers and/or HR managers of these firms should apply the potential selection tools proposed in this paper to probe into job candidates’ past experience and behaviours to better predict such candidates’ success at work. In this regard, job candidates/workers should prepare themselves to possess these essential work skill sets so that they can be successful in the business arena and should understand potential selection tools that firms may apply to recruit and select them.

This paper provides social/policy implications for the government and/or relevant public agencies of Thailand and of other EMEs. These governments should encourage firms across industries to invest resources in training and developing their employees/workers to possess those essential work skill sets so that these employees/workers are industry-ready, leading to the alleviation of the problems of skill and mismatch in the labour market.

This paper contributes to the prior literature on human resource management (HRM), the comparative institutional perspective on employment systems based on the varieties of capitalism (VoC) framework and the LPT of work in the following ways: first, this paper fills in the research gap in the field of HRM that calls for studies that explore how the COVID-19 pandemic shapes essential skill sets and skills development among workers within firms (Cooke et al., 2021). Second, this paper provides implications for the LPT of work regarding how essential work skill sets are likely to return the power of negotiation from employers to workers in EMEs during the current situation. Third, the VoC framework tends to focus on only two types of economies, liberal market economies and coordinated market economies. However, this paper examines essential work skill sets and potential screening tools in the context of the underresearched country of Thailand, an EME. In fact, the Thai labour market is quite different from that of other EMEs labour markets, as it is impacted by an aging workforce. This paper contributes to the literature on comparative institutional perspectives on employment systems as it redefines essential work skill sets, proposes various components of these skill sets among workers and examines potential selection tools that are applied across firms located in EMEs.

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate an innovative approach to embedding employability in the design of a university degree scheme using skill sets.

The paper looks at conventional approaches to course design, which begin with the resources already available within the higher education institute. The skill sets approach, however, begins with employers because they are the ultimate arbiters of employability. Employers working with the academic design team define coherent portfolios of skills: definitions which are then used to provide shape and form to the new degree scheme.

The paper finds that employers can identify skill sets that relate to long‐term employability as opposed to short‐term employment. These definitions can usefully inform the design of a degree scheme.

The approach of this paper may benefit the design of degree schemes that aim to educate a graduate to fulfil an identifiable role in industry. This approach is based on defining the continuing intellectual and critical thinking skills that enable a graduate to fulfil a role, rather than the immediate task‐related skills that enable a graduate to fulfil a job. The involvement of employers in formulating a portfolio of graduate skills can be applied to the design of other schemes.

This paper presents a new approach to making employability the priority when developing a new degree scheme.

The research project assessed information literacy skill changes in college students at two points in time, as entering first-year students in 2012 and as seniors in their senior seminar capstone courses in the 2015–2016 academic year. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) individual test was the selected instrument. Version 1 of the test was used for first-year students and Version 2 was used for seniors. All testing was done in person in computer labs with a librarian or library staff member present to proctor the test. This resulted in obtaining 330 student results as first years and 307 as seniors, with 161 exact matches for both administrations of the test. Exact matching of student scores to demographic details pulled from the college’s student information systems were used in the analysis.

The analysis shows that overall first-year students tested below the 70 percent proficiency benchmark in all eight skill sets, but by the time they were seniors they scored above 70 percent in three skill sets. Male students and students of color performed lower than their counterparts, but these groups did demonstrate significant improvement in four skill sets by the time they were seniors. Students in the Honors program, those who took longer to complete the test as seniors, those with higher GPAs, those in Humanities majors, and those who had upper level course exposures to librarian information literacy instruction had higher performance on the test. There were no statistically significant results for students who were first generation, Pell Grant eligible, or were in-state or out-of-state residents.

There are few published studies that utilized the SAILS test for longitudinal institution-wide assessment. The majority of institutions that utilized the individual version of SAILS did so to determine change within a selected course, or set of courses, in the same semester and very few are published.

This study addresses recent changes in the career development climate in the USA in which individuals have ultimate responsibility for managing their own careers. We examined empirically the relationship between a relevant set of skills relating to self‐knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, environmental knowledge and effective career management. Data were gathered from 446 students and graduates who had completed a 28‐week, two‐semester managerial skills course within the past five years. The correlation and regression results provide strong support for the hypothesized relationships. The findings reveal that reported acquisition and utilization of skills relating to self‐knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, and environmental knowledge are associated with personal learning, goal setting, career strategies, and career decision making. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

Leaders are challenged with the efficient and effective management of their own and their employees’ disputes. These are often managed inadequately using “fight”, “flight”, or management intervention. This paper aims to present the findings of a study into an effective alternative, “one‐to‐one dispute resolution”. The method involves two employees resolving their dispute through face‐to‐face communication and without direct intervention by management.

Using the Critical Incident Technique, incidents of one‐to‐one dispute resolution (n =249) were reported by 88 employees. The contents were analysed, and skill‐related findings were validated using a questionnaire (n =106).

The findings are presented in a descriptive model of the skilful process of one‐to‐one dispute resolution. The model is built on eight skill‐sets that were central to the dispute resolution process.

How and when to effectively coach employees in the use of one‐to‐one dispute resolution, and the resulting personal and organisational outcomes, need to be examined. In addition, research into the practical application of the model, and in specific organisational contexts, is required.

The study highlights the potential for more employees (including both the leaders and the led) to effectively “face” their own disputes without using “fight” or “flight”. It challenges those leaders, who often act as third‐party interveners, instead to coach their employees in the one‐to‐one resolution of disputes, while modelling the method themselves.

Employees are offered a research‐based model of dispute resolution that differs from problematic models in the dispute resolution literature and skills‐training programs. A workable alternative to the methods of fight, flight and intervention is provided.

The impetus for this paper was the recognition, based on recent surveys and our own experiences, that organizations face special challenges when designing and validating selection procedures for information technology (IT) workers. The history of the IT industry, the nature of IT work, and characteristics of IT workers converge to make the selection of IT workers uniquely challenging. In this paper, we identify these challenges and suggest means of addressing them. We show the advantages offered by the modern view of validation that endorses a wide spectrum of probative information relevant to establishing the job relatedness and business necessity of IT selection procedures. Finally, we identify the implications of these issues for industrial/organizational psychologists, human resource managers, and managers of IT workers.

Previous research on negotiation skills has focused mostly on the negotiation itself and tactics used when bargaining, while little research has examined the process by which people become effective negotiators. The purpose of this paper is to develop an initial model from an intra-organizational perspective to outline the factors that contribute to the development of negotiation skills and behaviors by employees.

This conceptual paper relies on prior research and existing theory to focus on the types of developmental and learning experiences and processes that lead to the acquisition of three specific types of key negotiation skills and behaviors.

Distributive, integrative, and adaptable negotiation skills are developed most effectively via different learning and development activities, respectively. Additionally, unique individual difference and situational variables could contribute to particular negotiation behaviors, either directly or via an interaction with developmental experiences.

The paper proposes a model for future testing in which results can provide support for tailored/customized training and development of employee negotiation skills. Providing the correct people with the correct tools in the correct manner is always desirable by practitioners.

This proposed holistic model provides new insights, structure, and suggestions for more research on factors that lead to negotiation skill development and exhibition of effective negotiation behaviors. This paper goes beyond description of negotiation tactics and addresses the various negotiation contexts and the unique skills needed for each. Most importantly, the paper addresses how those skills are uniquely and most effectively developed.

In the international graduate job market, education–job mismatches are affecting recruitment, and consequently efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to identify a widening gap in “global operating skills”, then put forward a structure for addressing the education–job mismatch, based on data gathered from higher education teachers and graduate recruiters. Framed as a case examining the contemporary context in Russia, the objective is to identify a cross-cultural management (CCM) skills set for graduates who are pursuing a career in an international environment. The study therefore has implications for managers and educators who work in this sector.

The study identifies a number of factors that need to be taken into account for developing CCM competence among graduate job seekers. Set in the specific case of a Russian higher education institutions and one of its international partners, stakeholder theory is used for theoretical underpinning and data collection. A qualitative-oriented mixed-methods approach was designed to: explore the education–job mismatch by using documentary sources and direct observations; collect data in a three-step sequence (focus groups, interviews and interactive seminar).

The key findings revealed the extent of the education–job mismatch. Specifically: a lack of transferable CCM skills, mismatch between the provision of CCM skills development in higher education and the needs of recruiters, and curriculum shortfall in terms of CCM skills. Furthermore, areas such as cross-cultural communication and cross-cultural awareness require urgent attention; new approaches are needed to enhance the knowledge transfer of CCM skills to students, in order to better equip them to work in an increasingly international workplace.

The enquiry provides a snapshot of knowledge transfer regarding CCM skills based on a particular case, from the perspective of teachers and recruiters. While care was taken to respect the language and cultural norms, the interview guide captured only a narrow dimension of the subject area. The modest size of the sample does not allow any generalisations when interpreting the data. The findings should not be applied to other national contexts, disciplines or sectors.

The authors put forward actions for enhancing the implementation of an international education programme (IEP), emphasising the importance of co-creating with stakeholders. The distinguishing features of an IEP are identified and a framework for explaining the opportunities generated by such a programme is developed. Failing to address the “skills gap” may trigger long-term ramifications for both business and society.

Academics and students claim to be dissatisfied with the current delivery of CCM skills. The identification of an education–job mismatch implies that CCM skills are not being effectively transmitted within higher education. This study sets out to identify and explain the current situation of CCM skills development in contemporary society. The genesis of this study stems from the topical debate surrounding reconceptualising higher education to reflect a more international-oriented approach.

Research into CCM is frequently undertaken from an Anglo-centric perspective, or sets out to compare an “Anglo” environment with a non-Anglo setting. Few CCM studies are set in the context of a contemporary Post-Soviet society.

The purpose of this paper is to identify, prioritise, and contrast the needs in terms of the development of vocational skills in final year undergraduate accounting students from two distinct countries. The study aims to survey and analyse the views of Malaysian and UK students.

A questionnaire was used to gather the data. Quantitative analysis was then used as the basis of a comparative study. The data for this study were collected via questionnaires completed by Malaysian exchange students on their arrival at UK university and the students of that UK university.

The results indicate that both sets of students accept the need to develop vocational skills in order to perform competently as an accountant. There is however clear differences in the views of the Malaysian and UK students concerning the specific skills that they perceive as being priorities to be developed. The students also hold differing views of the major barriers to the development of vocational skills in higher education.

Previous studies have established the need to prioritise vocational skills development. Studies have also established the views of employers and students. This study contrasts the views of students from two contrasting contexts. The study establishes that students from differing countries perceive differing priorities in terms of vocational skills not only between students but also between students and the currently stated views of employers and professional bodies internationally.

Effective educational methods are critical for successfully training future supply chain talent. The paper proposes a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model to evaluate and select the best educational method for tomorrow's supply chain leaders integrating skill development priorities in an uncertain environment.

The Grounded theory scheme is used to identify SC leaders' skillsets criteria and educational method alternatives. Fuzzy step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis sets the priority and determines the weight of 17 criteria. Eight decision-makers evaluate 13 alternatives using fuzzy linguistic terms. Fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution ranks and shows the most effective educational method. Sensitivity analysis presents the applicability of this study.

Its implementation in a university-industry collaboration case in Brazil, Mentored learning from industry experts is the best educational method. The skill development priorities are data analytics ability, end-to-end supply chain vision and problem-solving. Technical skills are the most important criteria that influence the selection of the optimal option and educational methods related to learning from others rank in the top teaching pool, including multidisciplinary cross-cultural training.

This paper is among the first to evaluate educational methods with skill development priorities integration for supply chain students using fuzzy SWARA–fuzzy TOPSIS. It provides actionable insights: a decision-making procedure for educational method selection, a broad skills profile for supply chain professional success and educational methods that professors can bring to in classroom/virtual environment.