Adjustments needed to tackle skills mismatch globally, says President

A mismatch between the skills that employers need now and in the future, and those that job seekers learn in school, poses more than an economic problem.

- Tay Hong Yi

Left to fester, this mismatch could also dim confidence in education and social support systems in the long run when people feel that their efforts and expense have been for nothing, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Jan 22.

It occurs when people cannot find jobs despite completing tertiary education, and is something both advanced and developing countries experience, he said in wide-ranging opening remarks for a panel discussion on closing the jobs gap, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which ends on Jan 24.

Moderated by Ms Jamie Heller, editor-in-chief of news outlet Business Insider, the panellists included Ms Veronica Nilsson, general secretary of the trade union advisory committee to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as Mr Denis Machuel, chief executive of human resources services firm Adecco Group.

Mr Ryan Roslansky, chief executive of professional networking platform LinkedIn, and Mr Gilbert Houngbo, director-general of the International Labour Organisation, were also involved in the panel discussion, which was attended by policymakers, activists and business leaders.

"We get a problem of a whole generation feeling the system has failed them," President Tharman said, underscoring the scale of the challenge.