Publication: Demand for Skills: Main Results of the Azerbaijan STEP Employer Survey
Loading...
Published
2015-01-12
ISSN
Date
2015-08-19
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This note summarizes the main findings of the STEP Employer Skills Survey carried out in Azerbaijan in 2013. The note argues that there is a skills shortage in Azerbaijan. Azeri employers claim that it is difficult to find workers with required skills. The shortage is particularly pronounced in the case of modern, innovative firms, which tend to required more advanced skills. The education system does not meet the needs of the majority of employers. In particular, it does not equip young workers with the practical skills that are required in the workplace, and with knowledge that is up-to-date. The note finds that employers seek not only technical, job-specific skills but also cognitive skills (such as literacy, numeracy and problem solving) and adequate socio-behavioural skills (such as communication, teamwork, leadership and ability to work independently). Conscientiousness stands out as a personality trait that is critical for employability. Unfortunately, many young job applicants lack the skills demanded by employers. The key employability skills that young workers are most frequently lacking include job-specific technical skills, problem solving skills, communication, teamwork and leadership skills. Hence, the skills gap refers not only to technical skills but also to higher-order cognitive skills and socio-behavioural skills. By their nature, these results show subjective perceptions of employers. And these perceptions reflect not only the objective conditions, but also employers’ expectations regarding worker skills that may be excessive. Nonetheless the results signal a skill problem in Azerbaijan, and employers’ criticism of the quality and relevance of education should not be too easily disregarded. The survey’s results strongly suggest that the quality of education needs to be improved, and the education system needs to be more responsive to labor market needs in order to support growth and modernization of the Azerbaijan’s economy.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Rutkowski, Jan J.. 2015. Demand for Skills: Main Results of the Azerbaijan STEP Employer Survey. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22508 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Skills Employers Seek(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-12-19)The note presents the results of the STEP employer skills survey. The survey was implemented in early 2013 using a stratified sample of 354 firms. The firms were stratified by activity and firm size, with a booster sample of large firms. Post-stratification weights were used to make the results representative of firm size. The structure of the sample by activity, size and some other characteristics is presented in annex one. The small sample size implies that the estimates are subject to a wide margin of error. This problem is mitigated by the fact it is qualitative rather than quantitative results that are of primary interest. One should bear in mind that the survey’s results represent subjective perceptions, and as such should be taken with a grain of salt (for example, the employers may express exaggerated views). There are some additional limitations resulting from the survey’s design. It uses a pre-determined list of skills, which may or may not correspond with the skills that employers themselves are concerned about. Moreover, the skills are generic in nature, and not occupation specific. Skills are divided into groups (see below), and it is not possible to compare the importance of specific skills between groups (only within groups). Finally, the survey looks at skills of only two types of workers, highly skilled college graduates, and less skilled high school graduates (see below). These two groups are very heterogeneous, with a substantial variation in the skill set demanded from workers within a group. The upshot is that the survey’s results are very general in nature and as such are meant to highlight the importance of the skills gap problem, rather than to examine skill gaps specific to different types of workers and occupations. Put differently, the results are intended to inform the public debate on skills and education policy, rather than to identify specific skills-related problems. The note is structured as follows. Section one provides background information on the skill structure of employment, and presents evidence on a skills shortage in Armenia. Section two is central. It examines the demand for skills and the skills gap. It identifies skills that determine the employers hiring decisions, and skills that young job applicant most frequently lack. Section three focuses on firm organized training as a way of coping with a skills shortage. Section four concludes and discusses policy implications of the analysis.Publication Workforce Skills in the Eyes of the Employers(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-11-29)The objective of this note is to present the results of the recently completed employer skills survey, and to discuss their policy implications. The analysis finds that there is a skills shortage in Georgia despite high unemployment. It is difficult for employers, especially in the modern sector, to find workers with the required skills. Employers demand not only ‘hard’ technical skills, but also ‘soft’ social and behavioural skills (such as openness to experience) as well as higher-order cognitive skills (such as problem solving and creative thinking). And these are the skills that young Georgians often lack. Box one summarizes the main results of the analysis and shows the core employability skills that young workers lack most often. The note is organized as follows. Section one looks at the supply of and demand for skills, and shows that, despite high unemployment, there is a skills shortage. Section two examines the demand for skills more closely. It identifies skills that determine the employers hiring decisions, and skills that young job applicant most frequently lack. Section three focuses on firm organized training as a way of coping with a skills shortage. Section four concludes and discusses policy implications of the analysis.Publication Matching Aspirations : Skills for Implementing Cambodia's Growth Strategy(World Bank, Phnom Penh, 2012-03)Over the past decade, Cambodia improved the skills of its workforce at a slower rate than other countries in East Asia. And, although Cambodia's firms do not perceive skills as their main business constraint, skills shortages may negatively affect the process of both industrial and agricultural upgrading and economic diversification. Employers point to a structural imbalance in skills supply, including a relative shortage of vocational training graduates compared to university graduates. This report provides valuable insight for Cambodia to develop the skills necessary to match the country's development aspiration. At the same time, it outlines specific actions to create opportunities for access to information in the skills market, to expand household-oriented interventions, to improve school retention, and to strengthen second-chance options - including technical and vocational education and training. This report further proposes how to expand financing for early childhood development effectively, to strengthen institutions, and to promote incentives toward better results among skills providers, including higher education institutions. The analysis in this report represents an important collaborative contribution to Cambodia's growth strategy and human development agenda.Publication Skills for the Labor Market in the Philippines(World Bank, 2010-10-01)This book investigates trends in skills demand and supply over the past two decades for insights into ways to build (and use) the critical skills needed to sustain competitiveness of the Philippine economy. Part one of the book investigates trends in demand for skills in the country overall and by sectors, explores its possible determinants, and attempts to identify emerging skills gaps. Part two turns to the analysis of the supply of skills in the country with a focus on the ability of education and training to provide highly skilled labor, keeping workers' skills updated, and providing skills development opportunities for the unskilled. It explores employers' perceptions on the quality of institutions and provides detailed analysis of the main characteristics, outcomes, and challenges in four key (or growing) subsectors of the provision of skills in the country: higher education, postsecondary technical-vocational education, non-formal secondary education, and postemployment training. It concludes with a summary of policy recommendations.Publication Strengthening Skills and Employability in Peru : Final Report(Washington, DC, 2011-05)This report presents the final results and conclusions of a multi-year program developed by a team comprising Bank staff and first-rate Peruvian researchers, which provides policy-relevant analysis of the constraints to labor market entry for low income workers. Expanding employment opportunities and addressing the deficits in skills of large segments of the labor force have become a central concern for policy makers, the business community, academics, and the society at large in Peru. The study of the labor market and skills acquisition is not an empty field in Peru. Many local analysts have undertaken several studies of the education and training systems and the associated labor market returns. However, up to now data limitations have precluded detailed analyses of the constraints of low-income workers, particularly youth, to map their skills into suitable jobs, and to acquire the skills demanded by the labor market. This is, in fact, generally the case throughout Latin America and in many countries in the developing world. It is hoped that this effort and the report can contribute to inform the discussions of the future of social and employment policy among policy makers and the Peruvian society at large.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-03)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) on the Kyrgyz Republic aims to support the country’s development goals amid a changing climate. The CCDR considers two policy scenarios up to 2050: the business-as-usual (BAU) and high-growth scenarios. As it quantifies the likely impacts of climate change on the Kyrgyz economy between now and 2050, the report highlights key government actions to best prepare for and adapt to climate impacts (referred to as “with adaptation” measures), with a particular focus on the time horizon up to 2030. The CCDR also outlines a path to net zero emissions by 2050 (referred to as “with mitigation” measures, “decarbonization,” or, simply, “net zero 2050”), highlighting associated development co-benefits.Publication Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-04)Grounded in new evidence from satellite data, “Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future” presents the first global assessment of freshwater reserves over the past two decades. The findings expose an alarming trend of “continental drying,” a persistent long-term decline in freshwater availability across vast landmasses. Not only are droughts and deluges becoming more unpredictable, but the total amount of freshwater available for use has also significantly declined. Continental drying, driven by global warming, worsening droughts, and unsustainable water and land use, is a silent but accelerating crisis—largely unknown to the public—that reshapes the global water narrative. Continental drying raises profound risks. This report reveals new empirical evidence showing how freshwater depletion leads to major job losses, reduced incomes, wildfires, and biodiversity threats. In the long term, the combined effects of drying and warming could push societies toward a tipping point where damage accelerates rapidly and adaptation becomes increasingly difficult. Against the backdrop of continental drying, global water consumption rose by 25 percent between 2000 and 2019, with about a third of this increase occurring in regions already experiencing drying. Compounding the pressure, a substantial share of water use in drying regions remains inefficient. Continental Drying identifies hot spots where rising demand and declining supply converge and explores where and how water savings can be realized. This report recommends a three-pronged approach to address the crisis: managing demand, augmenting water supply, and improving water allocation. Five cross-cutting levers—strengthening institutions, reforming water tariffs and repurposing subsidies, adopting water accounting, leveraging data and technological innovations, and valuing water in trade—are essential for effective implementation and to attract private investment to finance the approach. Beyond water, addressing trade barriers, investing in education and skills development, and improving access to markets and financial services are critical for strengthening job and livelihood resilience amid a continental drying crisis.Publication Direct and Indirect Impacts of Transport Mobility on Access to Jobs: Evidence from South Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-12)Access to jobs is essential for economic growth. In Africa, unemployment rates are notably high. This paper reexamines the relationship between transport mobility and labor market outcomes, with a particular focus on the direct and indirect effects of transport connectivity. As predicted by theory, wages are influenced by the level of commuting deterrence. Generally, higher earnings are associated with longer commute times and/or higher commuting costs. Local accessibility is also important, especially for individuals with time constraints. Both direct and indirect impacts are found to be significant in South Africa, where job accessibility has been challenging since the end of apartheid. For the direct impact, the wage elasticity associated with commuting costs is significant. Returns on commute are particularly high for women. Local accessibility to socioeconomic facilities, such as shops and health services, is also found to have a significant impact, consistent with the concept of mobility of care. To enhance employment, therefore, it is crucial to connect people not only to job locations but also to various socioeconomic points of interest, such as markets and hospitals, in an integrated manner. This integration will enable individuals to spend more time working and commuting longer distances.Publication Taxes, Spending, and Equity: International Patterns and Lessons for Developing Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-17)Taxes and public spending underpin the basic administration of government and finance the human capital and infrastructure investments needed for economic growth. They can also have a significant and immediate impact on poverty and inequality. The question of how public finance can support longer-term growth objectives while promoting equity has become even more important in recent years, given the high fiscal deficits and debt levels most countries emerged with in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included the increasing cost of debt and the need to restart environmentally sustainable growth while helping households address the learning losses and other social scars caused by the pandemic. This paper examines the global evidence on which households pay which taxes and who benefits from what spending, and critically, the net effect on different households across the income distribution. The aim is to identify the patterns and lessons that emerge for designing progressive fiscal policies. A global dataset of 96 countries is assembled, spanning all regions of the world and all national income levels, grounded in the Commitment to Equity (CEQ) approach to fiscal incidence.