Strategic reskilling spurs peak competitiveness, breakthrough innovation, and soaring productivity

In 2020, the World Economic Forum warned us that 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. The imperative for businesses, especially within the context of Ireland's evolving economic landscape, is to develop a comprehensive strategy that addresses the need for reskilling, ensuring their workforce are both competent and future-proof.

Bonus content: The WEF’s 2023 jobs report detailed the potential scale of occupational disruption and growth alongside strategies for empowering job transitions from declining to emerging roles. We give a summary of these insights below.

Upskilling or reskilling?

What we’re talking about in this blog is the need to reskill large portions of the workforce, which is not the same thing as upskilling (something we should all do, all the time).

• Upskilling is about complementing someone’s existing skill set – developing a skill that is immediately adjacent to one they already have or deepening a skill they already have.
• Reskilling is developing a whole new skillset – which might not be for the role the employee is in currently but for the role they will have in the future (for example, new software, leadership, other languages, etc.).

Understanding the reskilling imperative

The need for reskilling underscores a broader transformation in the global economy. Technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation are reshaping entire industries, creating new roles while rendering others obsolete. For Irish businesses, this transformation presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is the magnitude of the task – equipping half of the workforce with new skills within a relatively short timeframe requires serious commitment and resources. The opportunity, however, lies in the vast potential to enhance competitiveness, innovation, and productivity.

Six actionable reskilling strategies for Irish businesses

To navigate this transformative period, a strategic framework centred on foresight, flexibility, and collaboration is essential. Here's how you can approach the reskilling imperative:

1. Identify future skills needs

This issue requires companies to be proactive. Start with a deep dive into the prevailing and emerging trends within your industry and markets (your Learning and Development Department is the ideal team to lead this project). The review encompasses technological advancements, regulatory changes, competitive dynamics, and evolving consumer preferences. Analyse the internal and external factors that will shape your business landscape in the future – at a macro and micro level.

Even though we’re talking about future needs and future training, knowing you are invested in this kind of framework will be very appealing to the candidates you meet with right now. More and more they want to know what their progression will look like at your company. Candidates want a sense of what they’ll do today, but they place just as much importance on what they’ll be doing next year and the year after.

2. Conduct a skills gap analysis

Evaluate the current skill sets of your workforce. This examination should go beyond a simple inventory of skills and qualifications and report on the depth of expertise, adaptability, and potential of the workforce to innovate and drive growth. This will involve asking critical questions about the readiness of your teams to embrace new technologies, adapt to new business models, and meet the changing demands of the market. To dig deeper into this area, read our recent blog about hiring strategies based on transferrable skills and aptitudes.

3. Map your skills needs

With a clear understanding of where the industry is headed and a realistic assessment of your workforce's current competencies, the gap becomes apparent. Remember, this gap is not a shortfall but an opportunity; targeted actions can transform potential vulnerabilities into strengths.

Map your current skill sets against those anticipated to be in demand in the future. There are plenty of digital tools and platforms that offer analytics on skill gaps within your organisation, and these are a good way to provide a data-driven foundation for your reskilling strategy. This forward-thinking approach ensures that your organisation isn’t merely reacting to industry shifts but actively shaping its future.

4. Develop a plan for reskilling

Put together your reskilling plan, making sure to allocate budget and resources and set timelines. Explore partnerships and funding opportunities available through government initiatives and industry consortia aimed at workforce development. It may be worth engaging with industry bodies to participate in sector-wide reskilling programmes. Assign a team or individual to focus on understanding and leveraging these external resources to maximise their benefit for your reskilling efforts.

5. Get buy-in across the organisation

It’s vital to engage employees at every level in the organisation, so you have buy-in from them and can make continuous learning part of your work culture. Rather than making employees feel that this is just another responsibility foisted upon them, the key is to make them feel valued and part of the solution.

Having brought everyone along with you, you can create customised learning pathways for different roles within your organisation – certifications, workshops, courses, mentoring, etc. as relevant. Give employees the time and resources to engage in these learning activities and integrate reskilling into personal development plans and performance reviews.

6. Implement a pilot reskilling programme

In some organisations, it will make sense to implement a pilot with a select group of employees before rolling out a full-scale reskilling programme. This is ideally done with a department or team where the skill gaps are most pronounced, allowing you to apply the proposed approach in full. Ensure there is a mechanism in place for monitoring progress and gathering feedback from participants to refine and improve the process. A pilot programme can also be used as a case study if getting the green light from top decision-makers or stakeholders is proving difficult.

Collaboration: building partnerships for reskilling

Reskilling the workforce is our collective responsibility, and partnerships between businesses, educational institutions, and government bodies are crucial. These partnerships can take various forms, from apprenticeship schemes to joint research initiatives and shared training programmes. By pooling resources and expertise, stakeholders can create more comprehensive and effective reskilling initiatives.

Looking to those who have navigated similar transformations can provide valuable lessons. For instance, leading Irish tech companies have already begun partnering with universities to offer digital skills bootcamps. These intensive courses are designed to quickly upskill individuals in areas such as coding, data analytics, and cybersecurity – aligning workforce skills with industry needs.

Reskilling adds multidimensional value

Embedding reskilling into your organisational culture will bring value in a variety of ways. Businesses can foster a continuous learning environment by recognising and celebrating achievements in reskilling, encouraging knowledge sharing among employees, and making learning resources readily accessible to all staff.

When you establish learning as a core business value, reflected in everything from recruitment to employee recognition programmes, you benefit through:

• Increased engagement from employees
• Better productivity and performance across the organisation
• An adaptable, flexible, and agile workforce
• An attractive employer brand and improved retention rates

Where we see a lack of progress in reskilling, there are typically issues relating to:

• Cost (retraining will require significant budget)
• Resistance to change from employees (because they have not been brought into the process from the start)
• Lack of planning (organisations setting up schemes without any analysis or preparation)
• Too much focus on the immediate needs of the business (we should be looking at what skills will be needed in 12, 24, or 36 months)

Final thoughts on reskilling

Reskilling is a journey that requires commitment, resources, and a strategic approach. By following these practical steps, Irish businesses can lead their organisations toward a future where their workforce is not just prepared but thriving in the face of change. The time to act is now, with the future of the Irish economy depending on our collective ability to adapt, innovate, and thrive in the face of change.

The WEF’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 reveals important insights into the rapidly evolving global labour market. Here's a succinct summary of its pivotal findings:

1. Global labour market divergence: High-income countries are experiencing tight labour markets, in stark contrast to low- and lower-middle-income countries, where unemployment levels remain above pre-pandemic rates. This divergence extends to individual outcomes, with women and the less educated facing lower employment rates.
2. Wage trends and worker concerns: Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, real wages are on the decline. Moreover, changing worker expectations and concerns regarding work quality are gaining prominence worldwide.
3. Technology as a transformation driver: Technology adoption will play a significant role in business transformation over the next five years. Over 85% of surveyed organisations cite new and frontier technologies as key drivers. This is alongside the broader application of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards.
4. Technology adoption trends: Big data, cloud computing, and AI are among the top technologies companies plan to adopt, reflecting the impact of digitalisation on commerce and trade. These technologies are expected to be net job creators over the next five years.
5. Macroeconomic and technological impacts: Investments in green transition, ESG standards, and localised supply chains should create jobs, albeit with displacement in some sectors. Technology advancement is also seen as a double-edged sword, driving job growth in more than half of the companies surveyed while leading to displacement in others.
6. Structural labour market changes: An anticipated structural labour market churn of 23% over the next five years highlights the dynamic nature of job creation and elimination (again, driven by technology, digitalisation, and sustainability).
7. Skills disruption and training needs: With 44% of workers' skills expected to be disrupted, there's a pressing need for upskilling, particularly in analytical thinking, creative thinking, and technology literacy. However, access to adequate training remains a challenge for half of the workforce.
8. Corporate upskilling strategies: Despite recognising the increasing importance of certain skills, upskilling strategies in organisations don’t always align with these trends. AI and big data, along with leadership and social influence, are being prioritised in corporate training efforts.
9. Talent development and diversity: Companies continue to focus on developing existing workforce capabilities and prioritising diversity and inclusion programmes targeting women, young people, and people with disabilities.
10. Governmental intervention and skills training funding: Industry is advocating for government interventions in skills training funding as a critical measure to bridge talent gaps and better align career aspirations with business needs.

The comprehensive analysis from the World Economic Forum illustrates the multifaceted challenges and opportunities within the global labour market. Technology, skills development, and policy intervention continue to play a critical role in shaping future employment landscapes.