Skill matching and outcomes

Abstract

The Importance of Matches I did not end up where I intended to go. Instead, I ended up where I needed to be. The road I took was sometimes rocky. But-and that is what counts in the end-I had great people that went along with me. Therefore, this chapter is not the introduction. This is me acknowledging the importance of matches. This is me saying thank you, dankjewel, and Dankeschön to the people that helped me find my way through the PhD. First, foremost, and from the bottom of my heart, I want to say heel and incredibly veel dank to my promoters, co-authors, and the best coaches one could wish: Rolf van der Velden and Mark Levels. You made this PhD possible, not only because you took over my supervision. Thank you so much for believing in me and my ideas, for helping me acquire my research topic, for letting me grow, challenging me, for sharing my enthusiasm and curiosity, for long and inspiring walks, for helping me rise and shine, and for simply saying "Let's do it" to things I thought would be impossible. Thank you for your praise as much as for constructive debates. Thank you for pushing me, and for holding me back when I pushed too far. You took very good care of both the science and the scientist. It always was, and still is, a great pleasure working with you-and I am so looking forward to the new projects and papers that are about to come. ix Last but far from least, it is important to me to acknowledge that this PhD and the way I did it would never have been possible without great support from my husband, family, and friends. I want to thank my parents for so much more than I can say. Concerning the PhD, thank you for going with me through all this. For encouraging me to go on when I was about to give up. Thank you for accompanying me on the transition to Maastricht, and for enjoying the city as much as I do. I wish I could thank my grandma for leaving hope when she left. Herzlichen Dank also to my brother Simon for great support during the life events that took place besides the PhD. The same holds for my whole family, my parents in law (for housing and general life support), and for my friends. Particularly, I want to thank my circle of strong women: Friederike, Tanja, Magda, Amal, and Laura for everlasting company through good and bad. Thank you for proactively designing good situations in both life and work, withstanding strain, and for 100 origami diamonds. Special thanks to you, Friederike Bornträger, for more than one great speech, for all the postcards, and for helping me rise while keeping both feet on the ground-in the right pair of shoes. Finally, and from the very depth of my soul, I want to thank the man who always said "yes" to me and my life decisions. He was by my side no matter at which place or in which state of mind I was − my husband Ralf, who was, is, and who will always be my perfect match. xi "When it comes to education and skills, we have to believe in hiring for skills, not just degrees and diplomas, and exploring new paradigms and pathways that don´t all include college educatio...

Skill Mismatch : Measurement, Determinants, and Consequences

“…Second, in focusing on these five skill domains, we provide first-time evidence on wage differences due to mismatches in ICT, science, and reasoning, all of which are of critical importance to working in a modern economy and are assumed to be highly relevant for individuals' labour market success and wages (Bol & Heisig, 2021;Falck et al, 2021;Heineck & Anger, 2010;Light & Rama, 2019). Based on PIAAC data, Fregin et al (2019) have provided initial insights into wage effects resulting from skill mismatches in digital problem-solving skills, showing wage penalties for underskilled workers and wage benefits for overskilled workers in comparison to matched workers with the same occupational requirements. However, the PIAAC measurement of problem-solving in technology-rich environments comes with limitations and the definition is conceptually ambiguous, as it neither provides a clear-cut ICT skill nor a test of problem-solving (OECD, 2012).…”