Alignment between Higher Education Outcomes and Labor Market Requirements: A Prospective Study of Administrative Jobs

The labor market is undergoing rapid transformation driven by digital transition, the restructuring of economies toward diversification, and the emergence of new organizational and managerial patterns that impose requirements different from those of traditional administrative jobs. Meanwhile, higher education institutions often continue to operate according to outcomes that fail to keep pace with these rapid changes, producing a growing gap between the knowledge and skills graduates acquire and what the administrative labor market actually demands. This study aims to forecast the emerging features of future administrative jobs in light of economic and technological transformations, and to analyze the extent to which higher education outcomes in administrative disciplines align with these evolving requirements, from a behavioral and organizational perspective linking human capital theory with future managerial competency models. The study employs a descriptive-analytical approach, analyzing relevant literature and international reports on the future of work, and comparing them with the reality of academic administrative programs and their educational outcomes, in order to identify the most significant existing and anticipated skills gaps. The study concludes with a set of expected findings, most notably: a clear gap between the behavioral, analytical, and digital skills required for the future and those currently provided by administrative programs, alongside a weak alignment between higher education outcomes and actual labor market needs. The study closes with a set of recommendations directed at academic institutions and educational policymakers.