Churn, disruption and a widening skills gap — workplaces are going through a period of unprecedented turbulence. In its latest report on the future of the workplace, the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded that by 2027, 60% of workers will need training, but only half of workers have access to adequate training opportunities today. How employers approach filling this learning gap will be pivotal. Digitization and rapid technological advances have ensured that the traditional way of bridging a skills gap won’t work.
Ensuring employees fulfill the requirements of a pre-defined job role, an approach that defined the past few decades, doesn’t stand a chance against the accelerated pace of change when the aggregated churn rate in the labor market is expected to be 23% in the next five years. This figure takes into account both the disruption of new roles emerging and old jobs being eliminated from the workforce. For employers and employees alike, it’s no longer a question of learning enough to be able to do a particular job; it’s about creating learning pathways that facilitate growth, diversity and adaptability.
Redefining the Skills Gap
At a time when an estimated 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years, bridging the skills gap today means integrating role requirements with the fast-paced nature of technology. For instance, consider a traditionally trained surgeon who now needs to adapt to innovations in robotics or an experienced salesperson who now has access to a wealth of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data to inform their handling of the sales pipeline. Or the tide of managers starting to feel overwhelmed by the growth in their job responsibilities.
These are very real scenarios. There are thousands more to be found in every organization across every industry today, the clearest sign yet that professional skills alone are no longer enough. Employees must evolve their roles in tandem with technological advancements. In other words, learning has become role-based instead of skill-based. An employee might have the requisite training certifications to adequately perform their job, but as their role evolves and new tools are introduced — by their employer or simply by way of general innovation — their relative capabilities are likely to diminish.
A Role-Based Learning Framework to Address the Evolving Skills Gap
A successful new learning framework needs to combine job-specific skills with relevant technological expertise. It’s a blend of “my role plus technology,” ensuring workers are not just proficient in their primary tasks but can leverage technology to maximize their productivity and move with the times. To achieve the new learning goals that will see contemporary workforces upskilled and fit for the future, employers are experimenting with different tactics. Organizations are trying out initiatives like digital apprenticeships, coaching and learning experience platforms that harness AI-driven insights to tailor skills acquisition to the needs of the individual employee. While preferred content and delivery mechanisms may vary, we will likely see businesses take a three-pronged approach to defining their new learning frameworks.
A Role-Based Learning Framework to Address the Evolving Skills Gap
A successful new learning framework needs to combine job-specific skills with relevant technological expertise. It’s a blend of “my role plus technology,” ensuring workers are not just proficient in their primary tasks but can leverage technology to maximize their productivity and move with the times. To achieve the new learning goals that will see contemporary workforces upskilled and fit for the future, employers are experimenting with different tactics. Organizations are trying out initiatives like digital apprenticeships, coaching and learning experience platforms that harness AI-driven insights to tailor skills acquisition to the needs of the individual employee. While preferred content and delivery mechanisms may vary, we will likely see businesses take a three-pronged approach to defining their new learning frameworks.
Plotting Skills Requirements Over Time
As a first step, organizations need to scope out their immediate training needs as well as their longer-term requirements. Skills that we use in the workplace now have a half-life of five years. In the case of technical skills, the half-life shrinks to two and a half years. For employers, skills gap identification must not be a “set and forget” exercise; instead, they need to upskill employees quickly, effectively and in keeping with the needs of the businesses and emerging technologies.
A skills gap analysis will help create the strategic blueprint by which the organizations reskill the workforce right now, as well as prepare it for the future. By continually identifying critical skills, measuring actual skills and matching these with the company’s long-term objectives, organizations can identify the specific roles and skills that will help them achieve their goals.
Anytime, Anywhere Learning
Post-pandemic, workplace conventions and the barriers between private and professional have shifted and blurred. Hybrid work is here to stay, and workers are often distributed across widely differing locations and time zones. A new workforce is emerging which is boundaryless. What’s more, younger generations can leverage the latest technology and applications to apply themselves across various roles and disciplines within an organization. For example, Generation Z are committed to learning and take an active part in shaping their development. Given that Gen Z alone will account for at least a quarter of the workforce by 2025, the boundaryless workforce that values learning anywhere, anytime represents a major shift for organizations. Specifically, it requires them to rethink how they enable access to learning and development in the workplace.
Learning Drives Personal Progression
Remember MOOCs? Massive open online courses (MOOCs) were hailed as a major force of disruption that would change the way we learn forever. In practice, they did not quite live up to the hype. Over a decade since they first launched, these courses have failed to attract mass participation from anything but the most affluent socioeconomic groups and continue to suffer high dropout rates. Their availability alone is not enough.
Personalization is what is missing. LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report identified the primary motivation for employees to learn was “progress toward career goals.” Here, technological advancements can play a pivotal role. For example, AI-driven insights can link training to individual job roles, career preferences and preferred ways of learning. This method moves beyond generic “one-size-fits-all” course recommendations, instead using AI to swiftly guide learners to the most pertinent and useful training for their specific needs. It’s about making learning efficient, relevant and seamlessly integrated into the daily workflow.
“My Role Plus Technology”
As the workforce evolves, businesses must address the changing nature of the contemporary skills gap. More fluid than ever before, driven by the dizzying pace of technical innovation, skills gaps are widening. Traditional methods of upskilling employees at scale are falling short. Aligning skills with predefined job roles is no longer effective. The key lies in reframing the skills gap as a continuous learning journey in which employees can seamlessly integrate the skills needed for their role with technological advances.
