Student Agency as an Enabler in Cultivating Sustainable Competencies for People-Oriented Technical Professions

In this article, we provide theoretical and empirical reflections on the agency of secondary school students acting as an enabler in cultivating sustainable competencies, with the aim of providing new insights regarding how to reduce skill gaps in people-oriented technical professions. For this study, we used a complex mixed methods research design consisting of three sequential phases. In addition to a bibliometric analysis, a survey was carried out in a group of students aged 16–19 years (n = 219). The results indicate that the individual constructs of agency are developed unequally, where self-efficacy and locus of control are the most pronounced, while maintained motivation and anticipatory thinking are less present. Next, self-efficacy, persistence, strategic thinking and self-regulation are found to contribute significantly to successful sustainable transformations through fostering resilience, leadership, interdisciplinary thinking and adaptive problem solving. The future orientation of students might be especially critical toward the end of their study, while students in the early years of the study require scaffolding to make better sense of their effort in learning. Student agency acts as a powerful enabler, preparing future professionals to not only master technical skills but also understand and value the human element that is central to their work. Schools should therefore give priority to fostering the development of personal transformative agency in every student, especially during key transition periods.