Employees who claim they are overqualified for their job still make up the majority of the 46% of resident workers whose skills are mismatched. They often report being less satisfied with their job than those with the right skills.                          Shutterstock

Employees who claim they are overqualified for their job still make up the majority of the 46% of resident workers whose skills are mismatched. They often report being less satisfied with their job than those with the right skills.                          Shutterstock

The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (Liser) has just published a report on the sensitive issue of skills mismatch in the labour market in Luxembourg and neighbouring countries.

The results show that in Luxembourg, in 2015, 46% of resident employees said their skills were not matched to their job. This is a decrease from 52% in 2005. But more worrying is that the share of those who say they are underskilled is growing, even though employees who claim their competences are being under-utilised still make up the majority of those dissatisfied with their skills match.

The Luxembourg figure is comparable with France and Germany (both at 45%), but more than in Belgium (on 40%).

Skills mismatch in the labour market can have a significant impact on workers and society say the report’s authors, Dr Laetitia Hauret and David Marguerit. For example, workers who do not have the right skills for their job are less involved in their work and, on a wider scale, this reduces the productive capacity of an economy.

In Luxembourg, employees whose skills do not match their role report being less satisfied with their job than those with the right skills. On the other hand, there does not seem to be a link between wage levels and feelings of skills mismatch in Luxembourg, unlike in Belgium and France, where being underqualified is negatively linked to the hourly wage level.

The study does acknowledge that in the grand duchy some measures have already been put in place to reduce skills mismatch. These include individual training leave as well as formal programmes such as the Digital skills bridge, Fit 4 Digital Future 2.0, Fit4Commerce and Fit 4 Financial Markets. However, the authors say, “Luxembourg would be well advised to strengthen its public policies in this area, as it is likely that the number of people with skills below job requirements will continue to increase in the coming years.”