Occupational shifts are rapidly accelerating, especially given the brunt of the pandemic and the endless possibilities created by generative AI. According to researchers at McKinsey, the estimates around talent churn are as high as 50 percent more than in the previous three-year period, with most people leaving food services, in-person sales, and office support for different industries. Some disruptions were short-term, such as a drop in flight attendants as travel stalled. Others, such as cashiers and food servers, suffered permanent changes.
Generative AI
Generative AI adds further complexity to this trend by eliminating some jobs and requiring new skills for others. New job opportunities, including AI system developers, AI trainers, and AI solution consultants, require skill sets that are not readily available. It triggers government involvement in business as questions arise regarding ethics and regulatory requirements. And because it is so new, measuring its potential economic growth through new business models remains untested.
Certain sectors are more impacted than others. The impending shift to a net-zero economy will require reskilling employees in “high-carbon” industries such as oil, gas, and automotive to low-carbon industries like electric vehicle manufacturing and renewable energy. “Green” technologies encompass a wide range of areas, from solar and wind and agriculture to carbon sequestration, representing a significant number of new jobs.
Added to these seismic shifts is an aging population requiring new and expanded healthcare services. Time to reskill and upskill in healthcare can be lengthy (and costly), based on certification and licensing requirements and the worker’s prior experience.
In all of these instances, the ability to adapt to changing requirements is predicated on two critical components: first, identifying the workforce’s existing skills and potential gaps and, second, training and development plans that align with the organization’s growth strategies and commitment to internal mobility.
Employees are more inclined to stay with their employer when personal and professional goals are met. The opportunity for skill development and career advancement can motivate valued employees to remain with the organization instead of looking elsewhere. Working for a savvy employer that stays in lockstep with industry trends and offers the corresponding skills training will generate higher levels of job satisfaction through more fulfilling work experiences.
Creating an appealing company culture
Creating a company culture where employees feel valued and respected starts with a baseline to ascertain the current skills inventory. Having a common language of skills across the organization—starting with talent acquisition and including compensation and performance management—helps standardize how skills are matched to jobs, tasks, projects, and even mentoring assignments. With this information available, learning and development programs can be designed around skills, not just jobs, paving the way for more meaningful and connected learning.
As recently stated, organizations are looking for ways to not only aggregate and recommend learning content but also connect skills to business objectives. Purposefully and scalably recommending learning so employees can build the skills they and their company need, rather than spending learning benefits on skills that don’t align, will be imperative in 2024.
It’s also important to remember that not all learning occurs in the classroom. Informal learning – outside of structured and formal settings – can take place in a number of contexts and represent further opportunities to acquire new skills. Josh Bersin, global industry analyst, observes that creating an employee experience that enables learning in the flow of work can fuel innovation. It can be through experiential experimentation, learning a new language online, or knowledge sharing in an employee resource group. Informal learning can complement formal training and development initiatives plus demonstrate other valuable skills such as motivation, team building, and goal setting.
In addition to the escalating need for new and enhanced skills to support present and future objectives, organizations are challenged by creating more agile and inclusive workplaces. Changes in consumer behavior, such as social media and the sharing economy, reliance on data for decision-making, heightened focus on wellbeing, and remote and hybrid work models, are exerting further stress on employers. Demographic shifts also directly impact the skills balance, compelling skills transfer before knowledge exits the workforce.
The skills conversation cannot be one-sided, for failing to consider the problem and solution holistically will result in losing valuable time and momentum. Connected learning is the key to unlocking effective skills-based workplaces, and prioritizing it ensures employee engagement and ongoing adaptability as technology and market conditions shift.
