Abstract:

In the post-COVID era, the working conditions are changing (switching to remote and hybrid work), which affects the competency requirements of candidates in the labor market, including young professionals.

Universities preparing young specialists should take into account these changes in requirements. These changes can be especially critical for students of management specialties engaged in highly qualified intellectual work since for them soft skills are often more important than hard skills.

The results of the regular assessment of student competencies, conducted at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University, for students of the 2020-2022 graduating years show, on the one hand, show a decrease in the level of development of habitual soft skills, on the other hand, the assessment of graduates by employers and the percentage of employed graduates of the same graduating period show that the level of employer satisfaction is not reduced. This suggests that the requirements for the competencies of management students should be revised.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the current requirements for the level of knowledge and competencies of undergraduate students in Management. To determine the main requirements that employers put forward for young specialists, and justify the changes taking place in the competence profiles of employers, the authors analyzed literature and publications on the research topic, the competency maps of young professionals in leading employer companies. Within the qualitative survey (15 interviews with key employers of graduates of the "Management" direction of the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University) a "new" competency map (candidate's competence profile) for students of the "Management" direction was developed. A quantitative survey (150 aptitude tests, video interviews on competencies, and competency assessment centers) helped to make a comparison of results for "old" and "new" competencies.

The article will present the results of the conducted research, a new competency map for Management students, as well as the results of a pilot launch of assessment tools applied to the new competency map.

Keywords:

Higher education, managerial competencies, soft skills.