Skill requirements and labour polarisation: an association analysis based on Polish online job offers

Abstract

This paper uses the methodological scheme of contingency tables to explore polarisation in the Polish labour market. We use a large database of online job offers published on selected Polish job portals in the period 2017–2019, whereas most of the studies on the polarisation hypothesis are based on employment data. The main advantage of our microdata is the use of information on the required skills of the vacancy. The contingency table allows us to generate clusters of vacancies whose attributes tend to appear jointly. The study reveals that office skills do not offer a particular advantage in an automated labour market, while information and computer technology skills and communication skills seem to have a shield effect in such an environment. In addition, a cluster of transversal skills –self-organisational, technical and interpersonal skills– constitutes an important requirement for most job offers. These skills should be widely developed within the educational system, at different levels.