Vocational Education and Training and Knowledge Intensive Business Services: A Promising Relationship in the Digital Era

Abstract

Knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) act as bridges of innovation in the productive fabric. Given this growing importance, the occupational structure and demand of skills in KIBS activities need to be reflected on. This paper examines the occupational structures of KIBS, looks at the role that vocational training profiles can play within them. The focus of this analysis is the case of the Basque Country, to which the mismatch approach was applied. Beyond merely understanding the current role of vocational education workers, this approach makes it possible to explore the potential of VET graduates in KIBS. Three types of mismatches are studied here: vertical mismatch, horizontal mismatch, and skills mismatch. Results show that the relevance of VET workers varies within the different types of KIBS, being particularly important in T-KIBS. This leads to the conclusion that VET graduates can play a key role in digital transformation processes, both in manufacturing and services companies.