This master's thesis examines the importance of employee competencies and the support for their development in selected Slovenian pharmaceutical organizations. The purpose of the research is to contribute to a better understanding of the importance of competencies and the support for their development in Slovenian pharmaceutical organizations. The objective of the research is to determine how employees assess the importance of specific competencies, to what extent organizations support their development, and whether a gap exists between perceived importance and support. Special attention is also given to comparisons between organizations and to assessing alignment with international guidelines.
The study was conducted using a questionnaire survey among employees from three pharmaceutical organizations, with a total of 104 respondents included in the analysis. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gap analysis, t-tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Competencies were grouped into five categories to ensure better clarity and interpretation of the results.
The findings indicate that employees perceive competencies as highly important, particularly those related to quality, regulatory compliance, and technical expertise. However, the level of support for competency development is lower, resulting in statistically significant gaps for most competency groups. The largest gaps were identified in social, cognitive, and personal development competencies. The inter-organizational comparison revealed that organizations differ mainly in the level of support provided, while the perception of importance remains relatively consistent.
A comparison with international guidelines showed that organizations do not fully meet the expected level of support for competency development defined by contemporary regulatory and professional frameworks. The thesis contributes to a better understanding of competency gaps and provides a basis for improving human resource management practices in pharmaceutical organizations. The sample is characterized by a higher proportion of younger employees and employees with shorter service experience, as well as a higher proportion of participants employed in support functions. As a result, the sample is not fully representative of the entire population of employees in pharmaceutical organizations.
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