Basic skills missing? This is how companies have to train today

“They used to be able to do that” – this sentence is now used in many companies when it comes to new trainees. It’s about spelling, the rule of three, the ability to understand longer texts – and the experience that in training today you have to pick up on things that were previously taken for granted. And yes: educational studies such as Pisa or IQB have shown for years that basic skills tend to become weaker on average, while at the same time the differences in performance are increasing. There are still very high-performing young people – but there are also more who start out with shaky foundations.

But now comes the crucial point: we don’t have any replacement youth in the drawer. And companies don’t have a time machine to repair the school system afterwards. Anyone who trains has to work with the young people who are there.

Competencies or skills?

When people talk about “skills” in companies, it often sounds like a shopping list: Excel, English, CNC, SAP, programming, customer communication. That’s understandable – and not wrong either. But from a scientific perspective, the concept of competence is broader. Competencies are not just individual skills, but the ability to meaningfully apply knowledge and skills in concrete situations – including attitude, motivation, reflection and self-control.

Skills are therefore part of competencies. Competencies are the “overall package” that enables people to act. And it is precisely this ability to act that increasingly counts in a working world with transformation, digitalization, a shortage of skilled workers and AI. Because if tasks, tools and processes are constantly changing, then it is not enough to have certain knowledge. You have to transfer it, combine it, develop it further – and sometimes even learn it from scratch.

What young people bring with them

It’s true: many young people grew up with digital media. They navigate apps, platforms and social networks as if it were a second native language. This is often interpreted in companies as “they’re digital” – but it’s worth taking a closer look here.

Everyday digital skills are not the same as digital work skills. Anyone who can use Tiktok cannot automatically structure tables, interpret data or use digital tools productively in a team. At the same time, many young people bring with them skills that were previously less visible: a high sensitivity to diversity, often a greater expectation of feedback and meaning, and a strong awareness of psychological stress and limits. This can be annoying – or you can see it as a resource.

The real problem is often not that young people “can’t do anything”. Rather, they are more heterogeneous than ever before: some start extremely fit, others with clear gaps. And this leads to a paradoxical situation in training: companies should simultaneously become faster, more digital and more flexible – and at the same time must stabilize the fundamentals.

Less perfection, more potential

Many companies today say: “We’re not looking for the perfect trainee – we’re looking for someone with potential.” That sounds likeable. In practice, however, it is challenging because potential is harder to recognize than a certificate.

What businesses actually need is a combination of three things:

• Basic skills (reading, writing, arithmetic – and increasingly basic digital skills)

• Interdisciplinary skills (team spirit, reliability, communication, problem solving)

• Willingness to learn and change (i.e. the ability to develop further)

And this is exactly where it gets exciting: When we talk about “skills of the future”, it’s not just about the latest digital tools. It’s about a core skill that comes up again and again in studies: self-organized learning. Anyone who can do this can familiarize themselves with new technologies, deal with new processes and remain able to act even in crises.

Competencies are becoming more dynamic

In science it is quite clear: competencies are not static characteristics. They arise from the interaction between the person, the learning environment and the requirements. And because requirements change quickly, skills are increasingly seen as something that needs to be developed throughout life.

Similar clusters keep appearing in many future models:

• analytical thinking and problem solving

• digital skills (data understanding, tool skills, basic IT understanding)

• Creativity and innovative ability

• social skills (communication, cooperation, conflict resolution)

• Self-control (ability to learn, resilience, reflection)

The crucial thing is that these skills are not “nice to have”. They are becoming part of the professional core in more and more professions.

Which professions require special skills profiles?

Of course, the same profile does not apply to all professions. But the direction is clear: competency requirements are becoming more hybrid. Digital requirements are growing in technical professions, for example through networked systems, sensors, data and AI support. Data skills are becoming more important in commercial professions: those who control processes must understand key figures and operate digital systems. In the areas of care, health, education and services, social skills remain central – but supplemented by documentation, digital applications and complex coordination. New professions and new job profiles arise primarily at interfaces: these include, for example, sustainability, energy, digital business models, IT security and AI-supported processes.

For dual training this means: the classic separation of “technical skills in the company, general education in school” is working less and less. The requirements intertwine.

What can companies do?

“Young people can’t do anything anymore” – such a sentence is understandable, but it leads in the wrong direction. Because if basic skills are missing, it’s not a problem that can be solved by shaking your head. It is a problem that needs to be managed – like any other operational risk.

And this is where the crucial change in perspective lies: training today is no longer just about producing skilled workers. It is increasingly also a way of building competence at the elementary level.

That sounds like extra work. It is too. But it is also a competitive advantage. Anyone who manages to stabilize and develop young people often gains employees who have a strong bond with the company. “They didn’t give up on me” is a form of loyalty that cannot be bought.

How companies recognize potential

If companies really want to recruit potential, they need selection processes that can do more than just read grades. For example, short practical tasks that are job-related and realistic are helpful. Situational questions in the interview also provide information, for example with the question “What would you do if…?” start.

Team tasks make it possible to observe cooperation and communication. Mini tests on basic skills are also an option – not as an exclusion criterion, but as a diagnostic tool.

The point is not to test young people, but to know early on: Where do we need support? Because the biggest problem isn’t that something is missing. The biggest problem is that it only becomes noticeable after six months – when frustration is already high on both sides.

Learning culture instead of passing through

As skills become more dynamic, so must training. Future skills are not created through a workshop on a Friday afternoon, but through everyday life.

What works is often surprisingly down-to-earth:

• clear learning goals and intermediate stages

• real project work instead of “working on”

• Reflection (“What went well? What was difficult? What would you do differently?”)

• Room for mistakes without immediately questioning the training

• Support with the basics, without stigma

Basic training in particular works best when it is not run as tutoring for “the weak” but rather as a standard, according to the motto: “In the first three months we all do a basic program together.” This relieves pressure, normalizes it and prevents those who are already ashamed from dropping out.

Companies must develop their training skills

In a world in which learning levels are becoming more heterogeneous, not only trainees need skills – but also trainers. Many trainers are technically excellent. But they are not automatically trained didactically when it comes to stabilizing learning gaps, promoting motivation or supporting young people in self-organization. Future skills also affect the companies themselves: learning support, coaching, communication, conflict management.

One could put it bluntly: We constantly talk about training readiness. Maybe we should talk about operational readiness more often.

Conclusion: Training is becoming the laboratory of the future

Dual training remains an internationally admired model. But it is under pressure: a shortage of skilled workers, digitalization, new professions, sustainability, AI. At the same time, young people are coming into companies whose conditions are more heterogeneous than before. This is a challenge – but also an opportunity. Because the skills of the future do not arise in a vacuum. They arise where people work, learn, try out and reflect. And that is exactly the place that dual training offers.

The future of work will not only be decided in strategy papers, but also in training workshops, offices, care facilities and warehouses – where young people learn to become capable of taking action. And if companies take this seriously, then the question is no longer whether “the youth” can do enough. But rather whether we as a society – and as a company – are ready to see skills development again as what it always was: a shared project.