You are here
- Home
- Publications and reports
- Data insights
- CEOs, senior officials, and legislators: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
CEOs, senior officials, and legislators: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
Summary
Workers in this occupation account for around less than 1 per cent of all employment in the EU. Their main tasks involve the formulation of policies and plans that guide the overall activities of enterprises, governments, and other organisations. Jobs within this group include, among others, managing directors, legislators, and senior officials.
Key facts
- Around 1.5 million people were employed as CEOs, senior officials, and legislators in 2022, which accounts for 0.8 per cent of the total EU employment.
- Between 2012 and 2022, overall employment of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators remained stable.
- Between 2019 and 2020, during which the EU experienced economic lockdowns,136 thousand CEOs, senior officials, and legislator jobs were lost. But by the end of the pandemic, there were 20 thousand jobs above the pre-Covid 19 level.
- Almost half (47 per cent in 2021) of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are employed in public administration and defence, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing sectors.
- Two-thirds of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (66 per cent) have attained a qualification level of ISCED 5 or above in 2021, corresponding to at least short-cycle tertiary education. The qualification level of the occupation is not expected to change much until 2035.
- The employment of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators is projected to increase by just two per cent between 2022 and 2035.
- Mostly technological change - including Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools, will drive changes in the required skills of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators.
Employment and job demand
Employment trends for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators were similar to all manager jobs in the past decade. Larger employment drops, such as the one during the Covid-19 pandemic, were compensated by faster recovery in the growth years.
Figure 1: Year-to-year employment change for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (2013-2022)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation (ISCO-08 two-digit level) [LFSA_EGAI2D__custom_7778289]. Own calculations.
Most CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are engaged as managing directors and chief executives.
Less than a quarter of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are engaged as legislators and senior officials. They participate in formulating government policy, budgets, laws, and regulations.
Over time the share of managing directors and chief executives in total occupation’s employment grew slightly.
Figure 2: Employment in CEOs, senior officials, and legislator jobs (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
The majority of OJAs for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are for managing directors and chief executives roles. As they concern mainly jobs in private enterprises, they are usually better covered than public sector ones, and in addition, they tend to have higher job turnover.
For more details on skills demand and job openings for this occupation, please access the Cedefop’s Skills OVATE tool.
Figure 3: Online job advertisements for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (2022, in %)
Source: Skills in Online Job Advertisements indicator based on Cedefop’s Skills OVATE. Own calculations. Note: Online job advertisements are by definition not equivalent to job vacancies. See Beręsewicz (2021) or Napierala et al. (2022).
Almost half of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are roughly equally distributed across the public administration and defence, wholesale and retail, and manufacturing sectors. Over time, employment of these roles in professional and scientific activities, and arts and entertainment is rising, while in trade and manufacturing, it is declining.
Figure 4: The top sectors employing CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
The share of CEOs, senior officials and legislators is usually between 0.4 and 2 per cent of total employment (Figure 5) in a country.
Figure 5: CEOs, senior officials, and legislators as a share of country employment (2021, in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of the small sample size.
LFS data for MT are not available.
The workforce is comprised mainly of men (73 per cent in 2021).
Considerably more CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are older compared with the average across all occupations; the share of older people in these jobs also rises in time.
Figure 6: CEOs, senior officials, and legislators by age (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Contract and hiring trends are less widespread amongst CEOs, senior officials, and legislators compared with overall employment. Given the nature of their jobs, they tend to have longer tenures at a job and are less likely to have part-time or employment contracts.
Figure 7: Contract and hiring trends for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Skill needs and future trends
CEOs, senior officials, and legislators not only need high levels of digital skills but also need to maintain and develop their knowledge more than other occupations. Given that they manage other people and sustain overall supervision, their interpersonal and innovative skills are also very important. Workers in this occupation report high job satisfaction but at the same time higher risk of losing their jobs.
Figure 8: Skills, training needs and job perception of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (in %)
Source: European Skills and Jobs Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Unless stated otherwise, it is a share of people reporting that a task/skill is part of their job.
*Always or often
** Share of workers reporting these needs to a great or moderate extent.
Overall, employment for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators is expected to increase slightly over the period 2022 to 2035. Future employment change will however vary by country. Employment in 14 countries grew in the past decade and it is expected to do so in the next decade as well, while the rest are either stable or represent the opposite trend.
Figure 9: Past and expected future employment trends of CEOs, senior officials, and legislators
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Cedefop Skills Forecast.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of the small sample size.
LFS data for MT are not available.
Most job openings are a result of people leaving them for other opportunities, or those leaving the labour market completely (retirements; parental leave, etc.). Between 2022 and 2035, 97 per cent of the overall job openings for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators are deriving from the replacement demand while only 3 per cent of them from new job creation.
Figure 10: Future job openings for CEOs, senior officials, and legislators (000s)
Source: Future job openings indicator based on the Cedefop Skills Forecast. Own calculations.
Looking ahead
The diverse skillsets and competencies of CEOs, officials and legislators should be further diversified to deal with structural transformations (such as the green and digital transitions). Reacting to the challenges brought by fast-paced global developments (such as pandemics or wars) and to the functioning of governments and the business world will also be needed. CEOs, officials, and legislators should enhance the resilience and adaptability to crises of the organisations they represent, while also caring for the image of represented organisations by paying attention to Corporate Social Responsibility.
- CEOs, legislators and officials need to constantly adapt to the evolution of technology and actively contribute to the construction of legal, social and economic frameworks that accommodate this change. They should possess a technical know-how of technology advancement within their respective sector and of its implications for the future of their companies. Exploiting these new technologies to innovate in their fields will be crucial for the survival of their companies. On top of soft skills, adequate knowledge of legislation is a must. European legislation on topics like the data strategy or AI strategy sets the general framework that enables companies to harness the power of technological change. The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act were adopted in 2022 with the aim of harmonising the digital space across the EU and establishing a level playing field to foster innovation, competitiveness, and growth. Legislation like these will shape investment decisions taken in European businesses in the coming years.
- Strategic thinkers will need to understand the interlinking of digitalisation with adjacent themes, like, for instance, the principles of the general data protection regulation. CEOs, officials, and legislators will have to understand the functioning of various digital tools used in their organisations, recognise their limits and pitfalls and potentially propose new regulations on their use. In a recent example, an EU senior official underscored the risks posed by a new generative AI technology (known as ChatGPT) and the urgent need for a solid regulatory framework to ensure trustworthy AI based on high-quality data.
- Digitalisation should be viewed also as a strategy for sustainable business growth and organisational success by CEOs (Digital Europe 2022). The success of sustainable growth in business will in large part depend on the management’s ability to harness the potential of digitalisation (Sestino et al, 2020). Digitalisation is also unfolding in the public sector, with the optimisation of certain governance processes. A recent OECD study (2019) has found that governments with well-implemented digital strategies and frameworks managed the outbreak of COVID-19 more effectively. Hence, smart digitalisation strategies will make the organisations of CEOs, officials and legislators more resilient to multiple crises.
- Another megatrend affecting the future work of CEOs, officials and legislators is the green transition that is simultaneously unfolding with digitalisation, guided by the framework of the European Green Deal (EGD). Initiatives like protecting the environment in the EU, energy transition, and a renovation wave of buildings aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, leaders in all sectors will have to consider the legislative and operational changes that are related to the green transition and the objectives of sustainable development. In a recent survey regarding the readiness of European businesses to integrate the EGD’s objectives, less than 50 per cent of participants were familiar with and prepared for the EGD. Main bottlenecks are related to the lack of a comprehensive strategy to respond to the fundamental business and value-chain transformation (PWC, 2022). It is the task of CEOs, senior official and legislators to design and guide the implementation of such strategies.
- Apart from megatrends, leaders will also need to be ready for fast-developing complex crises. The global pandemic halted or significantly changed business processes, highlighting the need for steadfast crisis management across all sectors. More resilient businesses across economic sectors had similarities in their managerial strategies. These new “doing-business” traits include adapting to changes in consumers’ behaviour, new human resources management strategies (accommodating flexibility), adopting corporate and individual social responsibility, creativity, and the ability to harness digitalisation (Rodrigues et al, 2021). Adaptability has once again been tested with the Russian war on Ukraine, which has exacerbated the energy crisis in the EU (Gazzani & Ferriani, 2022). Therefore, CEOs, senior officials, and legislators need to strengthen their understanding of world trade and supply chain interlinkages and the exposure of their company to them. Detailed risk assessment studies and contingency plans to exit future crises will be important tasks of CEOs. These should involve the development of scenarios andresilience agendas that address burning short-term issues and longer-term challenges (Ahlawat et al, 2022).
- Social democratisation movements and the increased use of social media spread information about illicit practices and other kinds of maleficence on behalf of businesses across the world pretty fast. Examples of this include movements like the Yellow Jackets in France, or the numerous climate movements targeting various companies – such as the recent clashes between activists and the police in the German coal mining village Lützerath (Deutsche Welle, 2023). Discussions on the negative impact of digitalisation on employment relations have reached the legislative phase – see, for instance the proposal for a directive on platform work. CEOs should pay more attention to any negative externalities that may be associated with their business operations and act accordingly to remedy any potential failings. This can be done by striving to better understand customers and their dynamic needs that go beyond purchasing goods or services. Active listening and communication skills are important when negotiating with a diverse array of stakeholders.
- Related to corporate citizenship impact (including impact on environment), there is a need to maintain and continuously refine the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy of organisations. In a recent study, it was estimated that CEO decisions can significantly affect a firm’s CSR behaviours and actions, and in particular that CEOs tend to be responsible for many good CRS practices. Setting up a successful CRS policy is by no means an easy task. CEOs need to have basic knowledge of their organisation’s environmental and social impact and be able to quickly react and harness opportunities for increasing the positive ones and reducing the negative ones. Critical thinking coupled with good practices knowledge is a must. The European Commission’s recent Staff working document on Corporate Social Responsibility, Responsible Business Conduct, and Business and Human Rights provides an overview of EU’s actions to help companies to develop and promote their socially responsible practices.
Leadership positions require a diverse set of skills and competences, as well as experience. Monitoring and directing an organisation -irrespective of its size- is a complex task that requires transversal knowledge of existing social, political, and economic frameworks, consistently updated skills to work with technologies, soft skills, and strategy thinking.
CEOs, officials and legislators usually spend between three to six years in higher education. Business schools are increasingly incorporating courses on sustainability and digitalisation to ensure the graduates’ fit to the labour markets of the future. Therefore, the educational trajectories of future leaders are increasingly expected to be international and interdisciplinary. The recent Erasmus+ INTENSE (INTernational ENntrepreneurship Skills Europe) project built on this need. Its main aims were to promote the internationalisation and the international competitiveness of SMEs, students, and Higher Education Institutions and to advance interactive, transnational teaching methods in the fields of entrepreneurship education and innovation pedagogy. Among other outputs, the project developed a novel 15 ECTS teaching module, including teaching material, on international entrepreneurship, SME internationalisation, project management, interview techniques and on practical skills, such as teamwork and consultancy skills. Another example of initial education targeted at future needs of executives is provided in the box below, in which an executive MBA directed to sustainable operations is presented:
European Executive MBA This 15-month programme takes the students to five European capitals through blended learning – Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen, Dublin, Madrid. The focus of the curriculum changes at every destination, and it covers themes like business’ role in society, sustainable finance, organisational resilience, innovative venturing, sustainable supply chains, and the EU framework for business. By providing a diverse view of the European business landscapes, the MBA will lead to interdisciplinary competences and knowledge that are required in such strategically-oriented positions. Additionally, the programme features a practical track of a knowledge management project, and a sustainability project at a not-for-profit organisation. International programmes like this provide students with plenty of opportunities to network with peers, universities and businesses. Source: Vlerick Business School |
Even though relevant, a tertiary education qualification will not be enough in the competitive world of future decision-making, as new developments will require constant up-skilling and learning. A lifelong learning approach is key to ensuring sustainable development of labour markets in Europe. Micro-credentials are considered a means to that end in Europe. They are certified short-term learning experiences, such as trainings or online courses. Offered in flexible formats, micro-credentials offer opportunities for skills and knowledge development on a specific topic or challenge. CEOs, senior officials and legislators can use such short-run training to enhance their soft skills, attitudes and values, or gain additional technical knowledge (e.g., on digital technologies). For example, the ongoing Erasmus+ Valuable Creativity project has developed a Massive Open Online Course for creativity in companies, which is targeted to CEOs and managers. The course introduces successful case studies on the use of creative methods to bring forward new products, new markets, and new ways of work-organisation.
How to cite this publication:
Cedefop (2023). CEOs, senior legislators and officials: skills opportunities and challenges. Skills intelligence data insight.
Further reading
Ahlawat, H., Hatami, H., Martinez, M., Natale, A., Poppensieker, T., & Raggl, A. (2022). ‘A defining moment: How Europe’s CEOs can build resilience to grow in today’s economic maelstrom’,. McKinsey Quarterly, October 12th, 2022
Beręsewicz, M. and Pater, R. (2021). Inferring job vacancies from online job advertisements, Luxembourg: Publications Office, 2021. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2785/96387
Digital Europe (2022). ‘A stronger digital industrial Europe – Digital Transformation as its Focus’
Cedefop (2023a). Going digital means skilling for digital: using big data to track emerging digital skill needs. Luxembourg: Publications Office. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/772175
Cedefop (2023b). Skills in transition: the way to 2035. Luxembourg: Publications Office. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/438491
European Commission (2016). General Data Protection Regulation. REGULATION (EU) 2016/679. April 27th, 2016
European Commission (2019). ‘The European Green Deal’, COM(2019) 640 final
European Commission (2019). Corporate Social Responsibility, Responsible Business Conduct, and Business & Human Rights: Overview of Progress. SWD(2019) 143 final.
European Commission (2020a). ‘A European strategy for data’, COM(2020) 66 final.
European Commission (2020b), ‘White Paper: On Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust’. COM(2020) 65 final.
European Commission (2021). Commission proposals to improve the working conditions of people working through digital labour platforms, Press release, December 9th, 2021.
European Commission (2022). Digital Services Act. REGULATION (EU) 2022/2065, October 19th, 2022.
European Commission (2022). Digital Markets Act. REGULATION (EU) 2022/1925, October 12th, 2022.
Gazzani, A., & Ferriani, F. (2022). ‘The impact of the war in Ukraine on energy prices: Consequences for firms’ financial performance’, Centre for European Policy Research, October 7th, 2022
Napierala, J.; Kvetan, V. and Branka, J. (2022). Assessing the representativeness of online job advertisements. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop working paper, No 17. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/807500
PWC (2022). ‘Are Europe’s businesses ready for the EU Green Deal?’, report, March 2022.
Rodrigues, M., Franco, M., Sousa, N., & Silva, R. (2021). ‘Reviewing COVID-19 Literature on Business Management: What it Portends for Future Research?’. Sustainability, 13, 5995. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115995.
Sestino, M., Aravopoulou, E., Ekinci, Y., Evans, G., Hobbs; M., Labib, A., Laughlin, P., Machtynger, J., & Machtynger, L. (2020). Artificial intelligence (AI) in strategic marketing decision-making: a research agenda. The Bottom Line, 33, 183-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/BL-03-2020-0022.
Data insights details
Table of contents
Page 1
SummaryPage 2
Employment and job demandPage 3
Skill needs and future trendsPage 4
Looking aheadPage 5
Further reading