Soft skills o hard skills, qué busca el mercado laboral? Análisis de las empresas de Red Impulsa de la Universidad de Cuenca

Abstract

The present research arises from the uncertainty of employability in the current labor environment as companies invest in attracting and retaining their staff. However, there are skills gaps, referring to the lack of workers with the soft and hard skills needed in the labor market. The mismatch between the supply and demand of skills is a cause of low productivity and difficulties in filling vacancies. For this reason, an extensive literature review and a quantitative study with an exploratory approach were conducted through a survey applied to a sample of 91 companies that are part of the Red Impulsa of the Cuenca University to determine whether they value soft or hard skills in their employees, identify the most valued skills at different organizational levels, and determine if job applicants meet current expectations from the employer's perspective. The study reveals that the analyzed companies value hard skills more during the probation period. However, the main reason why companies do not fill their vacancies is the lack of development of the applicants' hard skills, resulting in an inevitable mismatch or gap between what the companies need and what the candidates offer.