The Chilean labor market is grappling with a structural issue that goes well beyond unemployment figures: a profound skills gap. The rapid transformation of the productive landscape has outpaced traditional training systems, preventing thousands of people from filling available roles.
María José Gutiérrez Correa, executive director of the Enovus Group, warns that the country is caught in a critical paradox. Job vacancies remain unfilled while a significant portion of the active workforce is unable to integrate into the system.
“It’s not just about access to employment; it’s a skills gap,” Gutiérrez notes. According to the expert, the market has shifted with a speed that current educational offerings have failed to match, creating a disconnect between what companies require and what workers have to offer.
The Urgency of Lifelong Learning
The diagnosis points directly to the obsolescence of current training models. Gutiérrez argues that the focus must shift toward continuous learning that is relevant, flexible, and supported by technological tools.
This model must allow workers to balance their studies with their professional responsibilities and personal lives. Otherwise, public policy will continue to miss the mark by attempting to solve unemployment without considering whether people actually have the capacity to perform the roles in demand.
The director of Enovus emphasizes that simply creating jobs is insufficient. The true challenge for the country lies in ensuring that the workforce possesses the necessary competencies to fill those roles effectively.
The employability gap has become the bottleneck of the local economy. Unless training adapts to new technological and productive needs, the mismatch between labor supply and demand will remain a permanent barrier to job growth.
