Collective Approach and Best Practices to Develop Skills for the Post-COVID Era

Introduction

Around the globe, societies are in lockdown, and citizens are asked to respect social distance and stay at home. People, as social beings, can be impacted by negative feelings and depression, among other things (Cacioppo and Hawkley, 2009). However, they can also be impacted by positive types of behavior, namely new skills, new knowledge and care of where they live (Donthu and Gustafsson, 2020). People who feel lonely tend to use social media more and, in some cases, even prefer social media over physical interaction (Nowland, Necka and Cacioppo, 2018).

The Covid 19 outbreak brought enormous financial pressure, the travel industry is deeply affected, 80% of hotel rooms are empty (Asmelash and Cooper, 2020), airlines saw their workforce reduced by 90%, and tourism destinations seems to have no profits in 2020 (Donthu and Gustafsson, 2020). All sectors were affected and there are an endless number of questions we could ask ourselves in association to this relatively sudden close-down. One of them is linked to the way how companies and even countries are using the current situation to enhance their competitive situation. Large number of businesses is under pressure, but some others businesses are booming, especially those related with digital and Internet-based businesses, among which those associated to online entertainment, food delivery, online shopping, online education, and solutions for remote work. Some other sectors are those linked to medication and health care, as well as herbs and vitamins (Rapoza, 2020)

Nevertheless, the Covid 19 outbreak has shown us that markets are dynamic (Donthu and Gustafsson, 2020) and can move rapidly. They are network of actors (i.e., firms, customers, public organizations) acting in accordance with a set of norms. These systems are sometimes referred to as dynamic ecosystems that exist to generate value (Vargo and Lusch, 2011). Consumers learn to adapt quickly and take an improvised approach to overcome constraints that have been imposed by governments. The world is changing and the Covid 19 is becoming the accelerator for one of the most drastic workplace transformations in recent years (Carnevale and Hatak, 2020).

The future is uncertain and entrepreneurship is a means of transitioning from surviving to thriving (Bullough and Renko, 2013; Devece, Peris-Ortiz and Rueda-Armengot, 2016; Obschonka, 2016). There are different types of entrepreneurs among which opportunity-focused entrepreneurs and necessity entrepreneurs (Maddyness, 2020). The current Covid 19 challenge has the potential to create a space for universities worldwide to fulfill their mission of teaching entrepreneurship (Maritz, Perenyi, de Waal and Buck, 2020). And this means that Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are not only responsible for developing graduates with employability (or graduate) attributes that enable both lifelong and life wide learning, but also provide a full range of possible student development from Entrepreneurship Education (EE) (Barnett, 2017). HEI possess deep reservoirs of knowledge from which entrepreneurs can draw. They have policies, incentives and centres designed to develop and encourage entrepreneurship amongst staff and students, and to improve their external connections. Their education and training enhance the managerial and entrepreneurial skills needed to build rapid responses in business and government and the capabilities for the agile yet resilient organizations that will be needed in the future. Faced with the challenges of Covid 19, HEI have to provide good educational experience for students and ensure their research capabilities remain well-founded. Through their engagement, teaching and research, HEI must redouble their efforts to work alongside corporations, governments and NGOs as they search for new business models and policies to assist “the Great Reset” (World Economic Forum, 2020).