Labor market skills, Systematic Review of published studies from 2016 until the end of 2020

Abstract

This study analyzed several studies (no = 38) that met the inclusion criteria defined in the methodology, to identify the skills most in-demand in the labor market. The study focused on studies published from 2016 until the end of 2020; because this timing is related to the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, its impact on the future of the labor market, its connection to technology, and the change that took place on many jobs and skills. According to the research questions and the systematic review of the literature, the results showed a special repeated interest in technical skills in second place and personal human skills in the first place. The results also showed a presence of more skills than others did. Skills of problem solving, communication, flexibility and adaptation, creative thinking, and technical skills, in general, were most in demand. The research concluded that due to the lack of local empirical research that relied on primary data collection, there is an urgent need for local research focusing on the Saudi context.