Employment without talent, or talent without a compass?

One million people with the willingness and ability to work cannot find a job, while at the same time 62% of companies report difficulties filling positions due to skills gaps. This paradox reveals the "educated unemployment" in which a professional degree is no longer an automatic passport to employment. The problem is the mismatch between the existing professionals, the degrees being offered, and the technical, technological, and analytical competencies that are required. Today's economy operates as a network, labor markets are global, and education transcends borders. This is evidenced by the Future of Jobs report (2025), which notes that employers (63%) identify skills gaps as the main obstacle to business transformation by 2030. Technological change is reshaping labor demand and altering the value of competencies, which raises an important question about the type of training that is most valued in the labor market. The OECD (2026) analyzed which competencies and training modalities generate the greatest benefits in the labor market. Formal education remains relevant, but its impact has declined over the past decade. The great novelty is that short-duration courses, whether in-person or online, are contributing to better pay. Global employability is redesigning the convergence between international experience and so-called micro-credentials, which have ceased to be a complement to formal education and now stand as a facilitator of employability. This happens because they validate specific technical skills and, most importantly, facilitate the portability of that learning across countries. The key lies in a combination that advances within a labor market that requires a foundational professional education, together with international experiences that promote adaptability and language skills. Added to this are specific certifications covering cutting-edge technical skills such as artificial intelligence, the energy transition, and cybersecurity. UNESCO, the OECD, and the European Union are driving the regulatory framework needed for the international recognition of these certifications across countries, with a view to developing professionals with global profiles. Spain, France, Australia, Singapore, and some Latin American countries are integrating micro-credentials as a modular complement to the degrees they offer. It is evident that employability increases as graduates' profiles improve in the global market. In Chile, we are witnessing rising unemployment among those who have completed higher education. This is a call to attention—not to incorporate employability as an accreditation criterion, but rather to establish flexibility, innovation, and internationalization as relevant attributes in public higher education policy when defining professional degrees and, even more so, short-duration certifications. The regulatory framework cannot be a straitjacket that limits the dynamics of updating driven by changes in the labor market. We must move beyond the exclusive discussion of funding and compliance with standards toward a proposal that incorporates flexible and articulated learning pathways within a Qualifications Framework still pending completion. Let us advance in measuring university quality based on the agility of curricular response and on employability grounded in real, global competencies. Unemployment stemming from the disconnect between academic offerings and labor market demands carries a high cost and becomes a front-line family and social problem. By Ana Luz Durán, academic, Universidad San Sebastián. NEWSLETTEROpinionSaturday, AMTense ideas, opposing views, and clear analysis: elements to uncover the issues that divide opinions and will shape the agenda. By signing up, you are accepting the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.