Global employability skills in the 21st century workplace: A semi-systematic literature review

This study conducts a semi-systematic literature review of research pertaining to employability to identify essential employability skills that employers seek in recent graduates. The comprehensive analysis of the existing literature review aims to present a set of global employability skills, identify similarities, variations, or changes in these skills across time, and explore the most relevant existing employability skills for the 21st-century workplace. The review includes 30 years of research articles and government reports published in English and considers 25 studies based on the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR). After removing duplicates, 87 unique skills were identified and listed under three distinct temporal themes (the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s), with problem-solving, communication, teamwork, adaptability, and willingness to learn among the most commonly reported skills over time. The study found a mismatch between employers' expectations and graduates' possessed skills. Therefore, the list of employability skills identified in this study can serve as a valuable tool for addressing this mismatch. The study's findings can also help educators and employers to better align their efforts to prepare students for the modern workplace.