Automation is shaping the workplace of the future, and the skills company’s value from employees is changing. In the future, we can expect industry-agnostic skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, communications, and critical thinking to be high in demand.
According to studies by LinkedIn Learning, “hard” tech skills sought by companies reflect the growth of a digital world. Industry-specific skills like cloud computing, UX design, and AI skills are all highly coveted by organizations.
However, the skills gap is growing, and it’s increasingly challenging to find and retain highly-skilled employees. The reality of the skills gap is that 65% of all school learners will graduate into occupations that don’t yet exist, according to data from the World Economic Forum.
Recent studies from the Korn Ferry Institute show that the skills shortage will persist until it peaks in 2030, with more than 85-million jobs going unfilled around the globe.
What’s the Potential Cost of the Skills Gap?
The global skills shortage could end up costing companies as much as $8.452-trillion in lost annual revenues by the time 2030 rolls around. However, it’s encouraging to see some decision-makers in organizations realizing that they are in the center of the storm.
In a survey, 11% of the managers state that their company is not experiencing any form of labor shortage or skills gap. More than 15% of all respondents said that their company is experiencing both issues.
According to the research, the shortage of skills is one of the top three business challenges facing the industry today. As many as 30% of all organizations management teams state that they’re facing a significant skills gap and labor shortage in the future.
Reskilling Your Workforce
By providing employee subsidies for certifications and courses outside of the workplace, and partaking in informal learning environments, organizations are helping upskill their employees to meet the coming skills crisis.
Those organizations that succeed in the coming decade are those that focus on job-shadowing and mentorship programs for key employees.
Companies need to rethink their learning programs, providing an ongoing experience that continually upskills employees. These types of learning initiatives help companies target these challenges head-on, avoiding the coming skills crunch.
Accelerating employee skills development requires the use of embedded learning strategies in company culture. Analyze your methods and formats of upskilling your employees, instead of sending off-site for courses or seminars.
When developing your employee development program, stick to strategies that are easy to access in the context of the role of your employees.
One of the most significant reasons why we’re facing a future skills gap is due to inefficient training methods that don’t give employees enough time to learn the skills they need to enhance productivity in the workplace.
Organizational leaders need to rethink their employee development strategy outside of providing incentives for certification and training programs. Be more progressive in your approach and focus on the three key areas of experience, education, and exposure.
As managers, it’s our responsibility to promote continuous learning that allows employees to evolve.
