Developing a 21st-Century Workforce Competency Assessment Framework: Psychometric Validation and Comparative Implementation in Singapore and Vietnam

The rapid convergence of artificial intelligence, automation, and digital globalization has fundamentally restructured labor market demands, precipitating an urgent need for robust, standardized mechanisms to evaluate non-cognitive and transdisciplinary 21st-century workforce competencies. While traditional educational and vocational assessment paradigms prioritize domain-specific declarative knowledge, contemporary industrial ecosystems require dynamic capabilities, including critical problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, cross-functional collaboration, adaptive digital fluency, and innovative thinking. This study details the conceptual design, psychometric calibration, and empirical deployment of the *Workforce 21st-Century Competency Inventory* (WCCI-21), a scenario-based Situational Judgment Test (SJT) paired with Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) logic. To evaluate the instrument's cross-cultural validity and operational efficacy, a stratified comparative study was conducted across two contrasting ASEAN economies: Singapore ($n = 620$), representing a mature, service-driven knowledge hub, and Vietnam ($n = 680$), representing an accelerating, manufacturing- and technology-driven developing economy. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) verified a five-dimensional second-order structural model displaying excellent fit ($\chi^2/df = 1.84$, $\text{CFI} = 0.968$, $\text{TLI} = 0.961$, $\text{RMSEA} = 0.038$, $\text{SRMR} = 0.042$). Multigroup CFA demonstrated full metric invariance and partial scalar invariance across both cohorts, indicating the instrument’s robust cross-national applicability. Item Response Theory (IRT) two-parameter logistic (2PL) modeling confirmed high discriminative power ($a$-parameters: $1.15$ to $1.92$) across diverse ability spectra. Comparative results reveal distinct competency profiles: Singaporean cohorts demonstrated statistically superior baseline scores in collaborative consensus-building and digital fluency, supported by institutionalized lifelong learning infrastructures, whereas Vietnamese cohorts exhibited exceptional cognitive agility and situational resourcefulness in informal problem-solving contexts. Structural equation modeling further confirms that WCCI-21 scores significantly predict employee innovative work behavior ($\beta = 0.46, p < 0.001$) and organizational adaptability ($\beta = 0.39, p < 0.001$). The findings provide actionable frameworks for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy architectures, regional qualification harmonization, and strategic enterprise talent management across emerging and developed Asian markets.