【新刊のご案内/ Recent publication】 “Mitigating the ‘Skills Gaps’: A Realist-Constructivist Analysis of Work Competencies in the Global South

[Yamada Shoko]

(English follows Japanese)

開発フォーラムの皆さま

 

いつもお世話になっております。名古屋大学改め2026年4月より京都大学の山田肖子です。3月31日付で標題の書籍をSpringer Nature社より刊行いたしました。ハードカバー本も出版されておりますが、グローバルサウスの政策形成、企業人材育成などに関わっている方々にも読んでいただけるよう、オープンアクセスといたしましたので、無償で下記からダウンロードしていただけます。

 

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-95-7968-6

 

仕事において有能であるとはどのようなことか。AIをはじめとする技術革新や経済のグローバル化、またコロナ渦などを経て、人が仕事の場で発揮するべき能力が多様化し、「スキル」の重要性が喧伝されながらもその実態が捉えにくくなっています。本書では、そうした「スキル」の本質に、名古屋大学に拠点を置いてきた当方のチームが10年間かけて開発・実施してきた技能評価の実証データと理論の両面から接近しています。技能評価は、エチオピア、ガーナ、南アフリカ、パキスタンの縫製業労働者に対して研究者のチームの独自の手法を用いて行いました。認知科学、教育学の知見から、調査参加者の能力を認知的能力、非認知的能力（社会情動的スキルや人格特性を含む）、技術的能力に分解して精緻に把握し、それらの能力が体得され、組み合わされて仕事の場で発揮される様子を、個別の就労の文脈の中でとらえつつ、文脈横断的に発現する要素の類型を、一般化可能な推論として提起しています。

 

本の構成は下記の通りです。

 

Introduction: Skills and Knowledge in Today’s World

1. A Theoretical Model for Work-related Competencies

2. Conditions of Competency Development in the Global South

3. Realist-Constructivist Evaluation of Work-Related Competencies—Skills and Knowledge for Youth (SKY) Project Modules

4. Cross-Sectional Analysis of Workforce Competencies at the Intersection of Ecologies and Generative Mechanisms

5. Ethiopia’s National Ecology of Workforce Competency Development

6. Economic Informality and Gendered Perspectives on Skills: Micro-ecological Variations in Pakistan and Ghana

7. Game-Based Training of Noncognitive Abilities – Efficacy and Prospects

8. Conclusion: Competencies at the Intersection of Subjectivity, Social Expectations, Economy, and Education

 

アフリカ、アジアの人材育成、教育の実務及び研究に関わる多くの方々のお役に立つことを願っております。

 

山田肖子 (yamada....@kyoto-u.ac.jp)

 

 

Dear Development Forum Members,

 

Thank you for the academic exchanges and information shared through this association. I am Shoko Yamada, formerly of Nagoya University and now at Kyoto University as of April 2026. On March 31, I published the book mentioned in the subject line through Springer Nature. While a hardcover edition is also available, I have made it open access so that it can be read by those involved in policy-making and human resources development for governments and companies in the Global South. You can download it for free from the link below.

 

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-95-7968-6

 

What does it mean to be competent at work? Amid technological innovations such as AI, economic globalization, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the capabilities people are expected to demonstrate in the workplace have become increasingly diverse. While the importance of “skills” is widely touted, their true nature has become difficult to grasp. In this book, our team approaches the essence of these “skills” from both empirical data and theoretical perspectives, drawing on 10 years of skill assessment research and implementation. The skill assessments were conducted using our team’s proprietary methodology among garment workers in Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, and Pakistan. Drawing on insights from cognitive science and education, we break down the participants’ abilities into cognitive, non-cognitive (including socio-emotional skills and personality traits), and technical competencies to gain a precise understanding of them. While observing how these abilities are acquired, combined, and demonstrated in the workplace within specific employment contexts, we propose generalizable inferences regarding the types of elements that manifest across different contexts.

 

The structure of the book is as follows:

 

Introduction: Skills and Knowledge in Today’s World

1. A Theoretical Model for Work-related Competencies

2. Conditions of Competency Development in the Global South

3. Realist-Constructivist Evaluation of Work-Related Competencies—Skills and Knowledge for Youth (SKY) Project Modules

4. Cross-Sectional Analysis of Workforce Competencies at the Intersection of Ecologies and Generative Mechanisms

5. Ethiopia’s National Ecology of Workforce Competency Development

6. Economic Informality and Gendered Perspectives on Skills: Micro-ecological Variations in Pakistan and Ghana

7. Game-Based Training of Noncognitive Abilities – Efficacy and Prospects

8. Conclusion: Competencies at the Intersection of Subjectivity, Social Expectations, Economy, and Education

 

We hope the volume will contribute to academics and practitioners involved in education and human resources development in Africa and Asia.

 

Shoko Yamada (yamada....@kyoto-u.ac.jp)