Unfortunately, companies seem to be in dire need of skilled people to successfully execute their projects. As the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) (2016), the world’s largest HR professional association with approximately 285,000 members from over 165 countries, found in a large-scale member survey, there is a shortage of critical, application-oriented skills* in the job market. According to SHRM (2023, p. 23), only 16 percent of HR professionals reported seeing no applied skills deficiencies in applicants between February 2015 and January 2016. The most common complaint is the lack of (methodical) skills to think critically (analytically) and to develop solutions to problems, i.e., to cope with core tasks (see Exhibit).
In addition, the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company (2021) reports that 87 percent of companies say they already have or will have a skills gap by 2025. Higher education analyst and service provider QS Quacquarelli Symonds (2023, pp. 11–17) compared the importance employers place on various graduate skills with their satisfaction and identified a skills gap in the following areas, listed in descending order:
The fact that so many projects fail to deliver the expected success can be explained by a widespread lack of the necessary skills. What is the cause of this shortage and how can it be effectively addressed?
Graduates of a university or vocational training program do not automatically seem to have the skills needed for successful project management. For the study of business administration, Gloger (2016) generally finds that the knowledge imparted does not meet the (future) requirements of professional practice. It cannot be assumed that methods for developing solutions to problems and skills for successful project management are currently taught in business administration (and other subjects) to the required extent. This is most likely the reason for the low success rate of projects in practice, as mentioned above. Therefore, additional education or training is needed to ensure successful project management.
* While basic skills (e.g., reading, writing, arithmetic, basic computer skills) form the basis for (further) learning, application-oriented skills enable the successful application of existing knowledge in the workplace and are therefore crucial.
References
Gloger A (2016) Betriebswirtschaftsleere: Wem nützt BWL noch? [Business Administration: Who Still Benefits?]. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Buch, Frankfurt am Main, Germany).
McKinsey & Company (2021) Mind the [skills] gap. Accessed February 03, 2025, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/sustainable-inclusive-growth/charts/mind-the-skills-gap.
QS Quacquarelli Symonds (2023) The skills gap: What employers want from business school graduates. Report, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, London, United Kingdom.
Society for Human Resource Management (2016) The new talent landscape: Recruiting difficulty and skills shortages. Report, Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, VA.
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