Prelims

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

ISBN: 978-1-83753-171-4, eISBN: 978-1-83753-170-7

ISSN: 1569-3759

Publication date: 15 April 2024

Citation

(2024), "Prelims", Thake, A.M., Sood, K., Özen, E. and Grima, S. (Ed.) Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market (Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, Vol. 112B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xix. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1569-37592024000112B012

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024 Anne Marie Thake, Kiran Sood, Ercan Özen and Simon Grima


Half Title Page

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE MANAGEMENT

Series Page

CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Series Editor: Simon Grima

Volume 108A: Managing Risk and Decision Making in Times of Economic Distress
Edited by Simon Grima, Ercan Özen and Inna Romānova
Volume 108B: Managing Risk and Decision Making in Times of Economic Distress
Edited by Simon Grima, Ercan Özen and Inna Romānova
Volume 109A: The New Digital Era: Digitalisation and Emerging Risks and Opportunities
Edited by Simon Grima, Ercan Özen and Hakan Boz
Volume 109B: The New Digital Era: Digitalisation and Emerging Risks and Opportunities
Edited by Simon Grima, Ercan Özen and Hakan Boz
Volume 110A: Smart Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Performance Management in a Global Digitalised Economy
Edited by Pallavi Tyagi, Simon Grima, Kiran Sood, B. Balamurugan, Ercan Özen and Thalassinos Eleftherios
Volume 110B: Smart Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Performance Management in a Global Digitalised Economy
Edited by Pallavi Tyagi, Simon Grima, Kiran Sood, B. Balamurugan, Ercan Özen and Thalassinos Eleftherios
Volume 111A: Smart Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Performance Management in a Global Digitalised Economy
Edited by Pallavi Tyagi, Simon Grima, Kiran Sood, B. Balamurugan, Ercan Özen and Thalassinos Eleftherios
Volume 111B: Digital Transformation, Strategic Resilience, Cyber Security and Risk Management
Edited by Simon Grima, Eleftherios Thalassinos, Gratiela Georgiana Noja, Theodore V. Stamataopoulos, Tatjana Vasiljeva and Tatjana Volkova
Volume 111C: Digital Transformation, Strategic Resilience, Cyber Security and Risk Management
Edited by Kiran Sood, B. Balamurugan and Simon Grima
Volume 112A: Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market
Edited by Anne Marie Thake, Kiran Sood, Ercan Özen and Simon Grima

Title Page

CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS - VOLUME 112B

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE MANAGEMENT: SKILLS GAPS AND SHORTAGES IN THE LABOUR MARKET

EDITED BY

ANNE MARIE THAKE

University of Malta, Malta

KIRAN SOOD

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

Ercan Özen

University of Uşak, Turkey

SIMON GRIMA

University of Malta, Malta

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Editorial matter and selection © 2024 Anne Marie Thake, Kiran Sood, Ercan Özen and Simon Grima.

Individual chapters © 2024 The authors.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83753-171-4 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-170-7 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-172-1 (Epub)

ISSN: 1569-3759 (Series)

Contents

About the Editors vii
About the Contributors ix
Foreword xvii
Preface xix
Chapter 1: Challenges and Opportunities for Skill Development in Developing Economies
Mukul, Sanjay Taneja, Ercan Özen and Neha Bansal 1
Chapter 2: Research on the Financial Education Level of the Banking Consumers in the Republic of Moldova
Larisa Mistrean 23
Chapter 3: Developing Twenty-first Century Skills Among Youth: Opportunities and Challenges in Skill Development Across the Globe
Seema Yadav 47
Chapter 4: The Transition from Higher Education to Employment in Romania: A Deep Understanding of the Job Market Using Text Analysis
Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu, Eduard Mihai Manta and Maria Ruxandra Cojocaru 69
Chapter 5: Skill Shortages and Labour Market Rigidity: An International Outlook
Monica Gupta, Priya Jindal and Mandeep Kaur 87
Chapter 6: Identifying the Skill Gap in the Workplace and their Challenges in Hospitality and Tourism Organisations
Amrik Singh and Shuaibu Chiroma Hassan 101
Chapter 7: Decoding the Challenges and Skill Gaps in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Emerging Economies: A Review and Research Agenda
Akansha Mer and Amarpreet Singh Virdi 115
Chapter 8: Analysing the Advent and Growth of Ed-Tech Industry During and Post-pandemic
Kiran Gehani Hasija and Nupur 135
Chapter 9: Skill Development in Organisations: Conceptual Framework and Operational Strategies
Kumar Shalender and Naman Sharma 153
Chapter 10: ‘Experiential Learning’ A Corporate Change: Opportunities and Challenges on Gaps in Skill Development
Ananth Selvakumar, G. Kumar and K. Santhanalakshmi 159
Chapter 11: An Analysis of Skill Gaps Created by Self-efficacy among Teaching Fraternity
Rohit Markan, Navneet Seth, Vishal Vinayak and Gagandeep S. Salhan 173
Index 183

About the Editors

Anne Marie Thake, BA (Hons) Public Administration (Melit.), MSc Human Resource Development (Manc.), PhD Social and Policy Sciences (Bath) is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta at Faculty of Economics, Management, and Accountancy. She specialises in human resources, public policy, employability, labour markets, and governance. She has authored/co-authored articles in peer-reviewed international journals with a publication on Graduate Employability Skills. Dr. Thake has made significant contributions in various sectors, including the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, Bank of Valletta, and Deloitte. Her influence extends to her appointments on boards related to human resource policy, education funding, and fellowships. Dr Thake’s international engagements span across Erasmus lectureships in and collaboration with the Universities of Coimbra, Portugal, Irvine, California, USA, and Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Portugal, and the European Parliament - Directorate General for Research in Luxembourg. She was also involved with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre related to the Future of Government 2030+. Recognised as a Salzburg Global Fellow for talent and skills, Dr. Thake received prestigious scholarships, including the 2021 Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars program in Montana. Dr. Thake is part of the EU-SEAS project Tourquooise – creating a joint master educational programme across European universities.

Kiran Sood is a Professor at Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India. She is also an Affiliate Professor at the University of Malta. She received her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in commerce from Panjab University, in 2002 and 2004, respectively. She earned her Master of Philosophy degree in 2008 and Doctor of Philosophy in Commerce with a concentration on Product Portfolio Performance of General Insurance Companies in 2017 from Panjabi University, Patiala, India. Before joining Chitkara University in July 2019, Kiran had served four organisations with a total experience of 19 years. She has published articles in various journals and presented papers at various international conferences. She serves as an Editor for the refereed journals, particularly the International Journal of BioSciences and Technology, the International Journal of Research Culture Society and The Journal of Corporate Governance, Insurance, and Risk Management. Her research mainly focuses on regulations, marketing and finance in insurance, insurance management, economics and management of innovation in insurance. She has edited more than ten books with various international publishers such as Emerald, CRC, Taylors & Francis, AAP, WILEY Scrivener, IET, Rivers Publishers, and IEEE.

Simon Grima is the the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, Associate Professor and the Head of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management which he set up in 2015 and started and coordinates the MA and MSc Insurance and Risk Management degrees together with the B.Com in Insurance at the University of Malta. He is also a Professor at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Business, Management and Economics and a Visiting Professor at UNICATT Milan. He served as the President of the Malta Association of Risk Management (MARM) and President of the Malta Association of Compliance Officers (MACO) between 2013 and 2015 and between 2016 and 2018, respectively. Moreover, he is the Chairman of the Scientific Education Committee of the Public Risk Management Organization (PRIMO) and the Federation of European Risk Managers (FERMA). His research focus is on Governance, Regulations and Internal Controls and has over 30 years of experience varied between financial services, academia, and public entities. He has acted as co-chair and is a member of the scientific program committee on some international conferences and is a chief editor, editor, and review editor of some journals and book series. He has been awarded outstanding reviewer for Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance in the 2017 and 2022 Emerald Literati Awards. He acts as an Independent Director for Financial Services Firms, sits on Risk, Compliance, Procurement, Investment and Audit Committees and carries out duties as a Compliance Officer, Internal Auditor, and Risk Manager.

Ercan Özen received his BSc in Public Finance (1994), MSc in Business-Accounting (1997), and PhD in Business Finance (2008) from University of Afyonkocatepe. Now he is Professor of Finance in the Department of Finance and Banking, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Uşak, Turkey. His current research interests include different aspects of Finance. He served as Co-editor for more than 15 books by eminent international publishing houses, has publications of more than 100 papers, and participated in many international conferences. He is Board Member of 5 International conferences and workshops. Besides, he is Chair of International Applied Social Sciences Congress, Co-editor of 2 international journals (Journal of Corporate Governance, Insurance, and Risk Management (JCGIRM) and Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability (OCS)). He is also a Certificated Accountant, Member of Agean Finance Association and Member of TEMA (Türkiye Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Resources Foundation).

About the Contributors

Neha Bansal is Research Scholar at University School of Business, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab. She has been a high achiever throughout her educational career. She has authored research articles in various national and international journals. Her interested areas are Finance, Risk and Insurance.

Maria Ruxandra Cojocaru is a Student at Bucharest University Of Economic Studies, currently following the Master of Applied Statistics and Data Science. She graduated from the three-year Bachelor Program of Economic Cybernetics and is well accustomed to data science topics, such as Statistics, Probability Theory, Econometry, Time Series, Data Mining and Analysis Techniques, together with supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms. In her bachelor thesis she studied the evolution of Brent oil time series from the perspective of Arfima long memory modelling. Programming is another area of interest, covering languages such as Python, R, SQL, C, C++ and MATLAB.

Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu is Full Professor in the Department of Statistics and Econometrics of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies and Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Scientific Research in Labour and Social Protection, with over 14 years of experience in socio-economic research and labour market analysis. Adriana has a PhD from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Salerno (Italy).

She has over 14 years of experience in the analysis of informal economy issues, coordinating or being a member of the research team of over 50 national and international projects. The main areas of interest include labour market analysis, sustainable development, regional development, analysis and evaluation of public policies and programs, human resources management, etc.

Adriana Davidescu has coordinated as Director numerous national research projects in the field of informality, holding in 2017 the position of Senior Expert of the European Commission in the project aimed at implementing the mission, objectives and activities of the European Platform to strengthen cooperation in tackling Undeclared Work.

Monica Gupta has done BCom from MCM DAV College, Punjab University, Chandigarh, MBA (Finance & HR) and PhD in Management (Business Administration) in Entrepreneurship and Small Business. Her total experience is 10 years in the field of education and research. She has published papers in various national and international journals and research papers presented at various conferences. She has an interest in teaching various subjects like Global Finance, Organisation Behaviour, General Management and many more. She has filed nine patents and has SCOPUS indexed publications. She is currently working as Assistant Professor and Coordinator for BBA Prof. Courses at Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India.

Kiran Gehani Hasija is a PhD, UGC-NET awardee and MBA Gold Medallist. She is primarily interested in research concerning leadership styles, marketing management and related HR issues. She is a fond content writer and believes in self learning. Her research articles have been published in various SCOPUS, C-Category (ABDC) Journals and international e-books. Currently serving NMIMS Indore at School of Law being Faculty of Management with academic teaching experience of 10+ years.

Shuaibu Chiroma Hassan is working as Senior Lecturer at Isa Kaita College of education, Dutsinma, Katsina State, Nigeria. He is graduate of University of Bedfordshire (MSc International Tourism and Hospitality Management, Higher National Diploma in Catering and Hotel Management from Kaduna Polytechnic, National Diploma in Catering and Hotel Management from Katsina Polytechnic). I have a Postgraduate Diploma in education from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, with Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria. He has published some book chapters with Routledge, authored some papers in conferences and journals hospitality and tourism and co-authored a book on nutrition. ORCID ID No. 0000 0002 8779 9462.

Priya Jindal is currently working as an Associate Professor at Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India, and holds a Master’s degree in commerce and economics. She earned her Doctorate in Management. She has contributed more than 16 years in teaching. She supervised four PhD research scholars and two MPhil candidates. There are numerous research papers to her credit in leading journals among them 10 research paper has been published in Scopus Indexed Journal. Her areas of research included Banking, Finance and insurance. She has filed more than 18 patents and one copyright. She is the Editor of two books published under IGI Global and one of the books gets indexed in Scopus.

Mandeep Kaur is currently serving in Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana, Ambala, India as Head of Department, College of Business Studies. She has 10 years of working experience as an Academician. She has published 10 research papers in various Scopus Indexed Journal also published two books and one patent. She is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Technology ISSN 2582-7359, peer-reviewed journal with an impact factor of 6.28, RICERCA, and International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation ISSN 2583-083x, peer-reviewed journal with an impact factor of 7.52.

G. Kumar is currently working as Assistant Professor in the College of Management at SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Kattankulathur. The author is specialised in the area of systems. He also published more than 40 papers in preferred journals including Scopus and chapters in books, and attended many national and international conferences and presented papers. He is presently working on many more papers. He has 7.5 years of industrial experiences, 12.5 years of working experiences in teaching. He is also Expert in handling subjects including Marketing Research, Business Research Methods, E-business, Management Information System, Database management system, Business analytics, Data Science, etc. He is also familiar in structural equation modeling (SEM), Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

Rohit Markan is currently working as Professor at Chandigarh School of Business Jhanjeri, Mohali, Punjab (India) since 2022. He completed his MBA in Marketing and Human Resource Management from Bangalore University in 2000 and got his Doctorate in Management from Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab in 2012. He has more than 22 years of academic experience and has also written around 30 research papers and chapters published in various reputed journals. His areas of research include the training and development, personality development techniques, employability skill enhancement, soft skills among students, design thinking, etc.

Akansha Mer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce and Management, Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, India. She has earned her doctorate on Work Engagement in NPOs from Banasthali Vidyapith. She has 2.5 years of corporate and about a decade of academic work experience. Her research interests include work engagement, adoption of technology by consumers, mindfulness, workplace spirituality, working pattern of non-profit organisations and artificial intelligence in HRM and marketing. She has published research papers with Emerald, Springer, Taylor and Francis (Routledge), Sage, Wiley, Inderscience, etc.

Manta Eduard Mihai is a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Cybernetics and Statistics and has over 5 years of experience in IT, holding various positions in data teams. In the last years, it focused on machine learning and data science. The subject studied in the PhD is the COVID-19 pandemic an accelerator of the implementation of sustainable development concepts, resilience, green and inclusive of the global economy. He has experience working with one of the principal NGOs in the field of education, working on reports that underlie decision making within the organisation. The main areas of interest are machine learning, deep learning, data visualisation, artificial intelligence and statistical modelling. He has expertise in the area of content analysis, analysis bibliometrics, time series, supervised, unsupervised machine learning, working with software data visualisation and data processing.

Larisa Mistrean has 28 years of scientific-didactic and research experience in the economic area. She is an Associate Professor of the ASEM, Investments and Banking Activity Department. Her research focuses in the area of banking, corporate governance and consumer behaviour, has more than 70 papers. She is the Project Director of the Moldovan state research project ‘Behavioral Evolutions of Consumers of Financial-Banking Services in the New Economic Configuration’, and a MC Member in CA 19103, CA21102, CA17125; Editorial Member of the International Journals of Finance and Banking Research; Member of Scientific Committee of the International Scientific Conferences organised in Moldova, Türkiye, Romania.

Mukul is an Assistant Professor in the Commerce Department of Chandigarh University. He has technoscientific expertise in finance-related subjects. Also, he has a solid research background and has presented at many national and international conferences. He has won two best researcher awards at International Platforms. He also has a YouTube channel with the name MUKUL BHATNAGAR with the impression of more than 4,15,000 footprints on which he delivers quality educational videos.

Nupur has two years of expertise in undertaking legal research and applying it to drafting legal content. She works with a lot of passion, dedication, persistence and commitment, and has a keen sense of meeting deadlines. She has good research skills to go along with her oratory skills and harbours an analytical bent of mind with a pragmatic approach to opportunities.

Ercan Özen, received his BSc in Public Finance (1994), MSc in Business-Accounting (1997), PhD in Business Finance (2008) from University of Afyonkocatepe. Now he is Professor of finance in the department of Finance and Banking, Faculty of Applied Sciences, “University of Uşak, Türkiye (Turkey). His current research interests include different aspects of Finance. He served as co-editor for more than 15 books by eminent international publishing houses, and have publications more than 100, participated many international conferences. He is board member of 5 International conferences and workshops. Besides, he is chair of International Applied Social Sciences Congress, Co-editor of 2 international journals (Journal of Corporate Governance, Insurance, and Risk Management (JCGIRM) and Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability (OCS)). He is also a certificated accountant, member of Agean Finance Association and member of TEMA (Türkiye Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Resources Foundation.)

Gagandeep S. Salhan working as Assistant Professor in PCBT School of Management at Pyramid College of Business and Technology. Besides, he is pursuing PhD in Management, from Department of Management, UICM at SBBS University. He earned his MBA in Finance and Marketing in 2011. He has working experience of 6 years in Academics and Research. About publication, he has published nine research papers in various research journals, national and international conferences. His area of interest is banking, finance, marketing and entrepreneurship.

K. Santhanalakshmi is currently an Associate Professor and Head of HR Department in College of Management, SRM Institute of Science and Technology. She has been teaching and legal aspects of business courses to Postgraduate Management and Engineering students for the last 15 years. Her subject expertise is in the area of Legal Aspects, Entrepreneurial Development, Creativity & Innovation, Strategic Management, HRM, Industrial Relations, Business History and Business Ethics. Published more than 22 articles in both national and international levels and 18 articles in national level conference proceedings, also published articles in such high-ended journals like Scopus, ABDC. She obtained copyright in the year of 2020 on designed Management Games in the domains HR, Marketing, Operation and Finance. She is a Convener of AGAM (A Management Gamethon Fest), National level Business Plan Competition and other Funded Projects of DST-NIMAT, EDI, India. Since 2017 receiving government funds on Entrepreneurship Camps, Faculty Development Program, Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Program and Entrepreneurship Development Program. She is a Member of IGNOU Scheme, Indian Science congress and Member of International Economics Development and Research Center.

Ananth Selvakumar is currently pursuing PhD in College of Management at SRM Institute of Science and Technology. The author is specialised in human resource management, has obtained copyrights for developing management games and also published several papers in preferred journals and book chapters. He is currently applying for patent on a game that he has developed and has another three copyright application under process. He is also Expert in handling subjects including entrepreneurial development, HRM, strategic management, etc. He also acted as Chief Guest, Resource Person for various colleges. He is also the Founder of Gexin Design with industry experience of 3 and 2 years of academic experience.

Navneet Seth is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Baba Hira Singh Bhathal Institute of Engg. and Technology, Punjab (India) since 2009. He completed his MBA in Marketing and International Business from Punjabi University in 2008 and got his Doctorate in Management from Desh Bhagat University, Punjab in 2018. He has more than 13 years of academic experience. He has also written around 15 research papers and chapters published in various reputed journals. His areas of research include the insurance sector, blockchain development, social security schemes, etc.

Kumar Shalender is a Post-Doctoral Fellow of Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management and Doctor of Philosophy in Strategic Management. He has more than 14 years experience in domain of Business Policy, Strategic Management and Business Model Development, and a total of 70 publications including presentations in international/national conferences and book chapters to his credit. His current research areas include the field of metaverse, blockchain technology and sustainable development with special focus on sustainable cities and mobility ecosystem in India.

Naman Sharma is an Assistant Professor at Assistant Professor-General Management and Strategy, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (An Autonomous Institution Under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India), Kolkata Campus, India. His area of research includes general management, organisational behaviour human resource management, among others. He has published papers in reputed journals and has many books to his credit.

Amrik Singh is working as Professor and Head in the School of Hotel Management and Tourism at Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India. He has published many quality research papers indexed in Scopus or Web of Science. He has authored 2 edited books and 1 textbook. He also participated and acted as a resource person in various national and international conferences, seminars, research workshops, and industry talks. His area of research interest is hospitality management, HRM, sustainability, higher education and tourism, etc. He is also associated as Editorial and Reviewer of various quality indexed journals.

Sanjay Taneja is a Associate Professor at Department of Management Studies, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. He received his PG degrees in Management (Gold Medalist) (Finance) from Chaudhary Devi University, Sirsa, India in 2012. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Sponsored By ICSSR) in Banking and Finance entitled ‘An Appraisal of Financial Performance of Indian Banking Sector: A Comparative Study of Public, Private and Foreign Banks’ in 2016 From Chaudhary Devi University, Sirsa, India. Before joining Chandigarh University in October 2021, Sanjay had served three organisations with a total experience of 9+ years. He has published various articles in various journals and presented papers at various international conferences. His research mainly focuses on regulations, Banking and Finance in Insurance, Insurance Management, Economics and Management of Innovation in Insurance. She has edited three books with international and national publishers. He has over 30 publications in his account, and his research works have been published in reputed journals, that is, Springer, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Hindawi, and IGI Global, with high impact factor and SCI/SCIE/Scopus/WoS indexing.

Vishal Vinayak is currently working as an Assistant Professor at RIMT University, Punjab (India) since 2020. He completed his MBA in Marketing from Panjab University in 2005 and got his Doctorate in Management from IKG Punjab Technical University, Punjab in 2020. He has more than 12 years of academic experience. He has also written around eight research papers and chapters published in various reputed journals. His areas of research include the service quality, Insurance sector, digital marketing, etc.

Amarpreet Singh Virdi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Management Studies, Kumaun University Bhimtal Campus, Nainital (Uttarakhand). He has a corporate experience of working with a Software company dealing with share market software based on Oracle database and forms. His research interests include the self-service technologies in banking, green product/marketing, adoption of technology by consumers, working pattern of NGOs, design thinking, Fintech, artificial intelligence in marketing and HR, etc. He has published papers and book chapters with leading publishers like Sage, Inderscience, Wiley & Scrivener, etc.

Seema Yadav, Assistant Professor, having academic qualification of MSc (Chemistry), MEd (RIE), UGC-NET and PhD in Education. Presently she is working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Education in The Bhopal School of Education, Bhopal. She has almost 18 years of teaching experience. Her area of specialisation is educational psychology, environmental education and curriculum development. She has recorded online videos for the E-content cell of her institute. She has presented several research papers and articles in international and national seminars. She is Managing Editor in BSSS Journal of Education and Reviewer in journals of IGI Global.

Foreword

Labour market performance represents a topical subject nowadays due to its notable economic and societal impact. As geopolitical crises, global shocks, technological innovation, and digitalisation disrupt society even more profoundly, concerns are growing about the spillover impacts on skills, jobs, wages, and labour productivity. Therefore, tailored and comprehensive labour market strategies are considered by policy makers, economists and business representatives that render global the keen need to address the nowadays risks, challenges and emerging opportunities.

In this complex framework, the book entitled Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market stands as a notable scientific research output focused to a highly relevant and complex topic, with profound economic, but also social and political consequences. The book brings together diverse strands of thought and robust theoretical and empirical shreds of evidence to provide a coordinated response to contemporary societal and labour market challenges.

The book offers valuable insights into skill development and the types of skills required for increasing the employability of the labour force in a globalised digital economy, with a keen focus on youth and the transition from higher education to employment. Later in the text, the skill shortages and labour market rigidity are viewed from an international perspective. Another interesting perspective presents the skills gaps in the workplace and their challenges in hospitality and tourism organisations, but also in the IT sector. Furthermore, the book inquires into SMEs’ constraints and skill shortages in several emerging economies, since SMEs play an essential role in economic development. On these lines, the specific ways in which experiential learning leads to corporate change are considered next, along with the skill gap that exists between students’ expectations and employers’ expectations and requirements. Finally, the book discusses the effects of self-efficacy among teachers and management faculty members.

I am confident the readers will benefit from an insightful reading experience of this book that stands out through its scientific merit and practical value, the quality of argumentation, and the accuracy of analyses, bringing notable value to the literature in this scientific field.

Prof. Dr. Graţiela Georgiana Noja

Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

West University of Timisoara, Romania

Preface

The digital revolution and automation are accelerating the transformation of the labour market and the skills required in the workplace. These are also affected by changes in the international economy and employment opportunities. These factors present a policy challenge for all nations and economies. Individuals strive to acquire relevant skills and maintain transferable skills in the workplace in order to be employable and maintain employment. This book titled Contemporary Challenges in Social Science Management: Skills Gaps and Shortages in the Labour Market, Vol 112 in Contemporary Studies in Economics and Financial Analysis will delve into issues, such as education, religion, gender, marital status, culture, discrimination, training, regulations, standards, policies, health, taxation, etc. All of which may have a direct and indirect effect on skills gaps and shortages in the labour market.

It begins with skills shortfalls and gaps in labour markets. It explains the theoretical competency framework that is used to fill these gaps and meet the needs in different fields and areas. The factors that cause change around the world will be looked at, and the opportunities and challenges for skill growth will be looked into. The transition from education to employment in knowledge-based sectors in different countries are explored. The book gives a broad European context giving different viewpoints. The book is multidirectional where it can potentially be disseminated to EU institutions.

The subject matter is relevant and pertinent. Policy makers in the field of education, skills, and employment, higher education institutions, employers, research institutions, and professional associations are extremely interested in the topic. This publication serves as a resource for policy makers and business students. Employers with a keen interest in best practices in other nations and any lessons that can be learned in relation to this pertinent area of research would also find this book useful. The book is enriched and bolstered with European case studies of real-world situations that provide a practical and business-oriented dimension.

The book mainly covers:

  • An overview of the evolution of the labour market and workplace skills.

  • Diverse country perspectives on skills shortages and labour market dynamics.

  • Skill shortages and gaps in European businesses.

  • Adaptation to changing skill requirements.

  • European case studies illustrating how employers attempt to reduce skill gaps and address skill shortages.

KIRAN SOOD

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

SIMON GRIMA

University of Malta, Malta