How leaders can navigate the skills based feature

As sweeping advancements in technology alter job roles, employers are requiring augmented skills and new proficiencies

How leaders can navigate the skills based feature

As workers are required to constantly learn new skills, organisations must make it a priority to create a culture of learning that empowers them to continuously cultivate new skills, according to research by Cornerstone OnDemand.

The report Navigating the Skills Economy: Why Creating a Culture of Learning is Now a ‘Change or Die’ Moment explores why organisations will have no choice but to prioritise their workforce learning efforts. It also outlines concrete actions that organisational leaders can take now to start navigating the skills-based future. These actions include:

Design a culture of learning. Companies that continually develop their talent will have a leg up on their competitors. A culture of learning is a strategic initiative that starts from the top, embraces modern learning technology, and celebrates and motivates learners as they grow.
Empower employees to take initiative. Companies spend billions on corporate learning each year, but their efforts often have little to no impact due to lack of resources, minimal dedicated employee time and inefficient processes. In order to succeed, they will need to inspire their employees to take control of their learning and career development, and implement it in a way that is a part of their employees’ daily work flow.
Deliver fresh, modern content. Many organisations struggle to keep pace with outdated learning content as new skill requirements emerge. They will need to embrace new technologies to supply their employees with the topics and formats that meet their evolving needs and interests.

Cornerstone has also recently announced it has partnered with Palo Alto-based think tank Institute for the Future to identify the urgent skills people must master today to distinguish themselves and survive the workplace of tomorrow.

As advancements in technology alter job roles in nearly every industry, employers are requiring augmented skills and completely new proficiencies.

Indeed, an estimated 400 to 800 million individuals worldwide could be displaced by automation by 2030, according to McKinsey & Company.

Moreover, instead of relying on employees with broad, traditional degrees, organisations will start hiring those with specific experiences and skills, as well as those with the proclivity to learn new ones quickly and effectively.

Consequently, the world is embarking on an economy that is entirely skills-based.

The report, entitled Future Skills: Get Fit for What’s Next, maps out 15 “superskills” that workers and learners will need to prepare for the emerging skills economy.

For example, the “Amplify Your AI IQ” superskill addresses how workers will need to learn how to understand, communicate with and repair AI technologies.

As a recent report from Gartner states, AI will help create 2.3 million jobs by 2020, unleashing an immediate and urgent need for workers with this superskill.

Adam Miller, founder and CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand, said virtually every industry and every job will be impacted by technological change, and the skills that make us successful today are not the ones that we’ll need in the future.

“We’ve partnered with Institute for the Future to identify the evolving competencies people will need and are working closely with our clients to help them build dynamic learning cultures that will power them through this monumental workforce shift.”