Public health competencies: what does the next generation of professionals deem important?

To adequately address many complex societal challenges, the public health workforce needs to learn new competencies. It is of particular interest to know what young people consider important in this regard, as they represent the future generation of public health professionals. Public health students and early career professionals in Europe were asked by means of an online questionnaire which of the competencies included in the 2020 WHO-ASPHER Competency Framework for the Public Health Workforce in the European Region they deemed most important for their future careers, and how well prepared they felt to execute these competencies in practice. In total, 127 respondents were included from 25 countries. They ranked Promoting health, Science and practice, and Leadership and systems thinking as the most important competency areas for their future careers. The first two were also the competencies for which the respondents felt best prepared, while they felt less prepared for Leadership and systems thinking. Other competencies that they felt less prepared for were Law, policies, and ethics; Governance and resource management; and One health and health security. This study shows a mismatch between what young professionals deem most important and what they feel best prepared for. The respondents did not feel well prepared for several competencies that are vital for a well-equipped future public health workforce. Public health in Europe would benefit from a unified public health curriculum that implies a list of mandatory competencies and a closer collaboration between academia with students and young professionals and the public health sector.