Two key elements are pushing us toward a workforce crisis. Rapidly advancing technology is bringing fundamental change while workers with the skills required for tomorrow’s businesses are becoming increasingly rare. These factors are widening the skills gap we know and fear.
Although companies expect to adopt these technologies—especially Artificial Intelligence (AI)—there’s a recognised need for workforce development programmes but a lack of urgency to act. Companies that are responding well to these threats are likely to gain a sustainable competitive advantage and win the war for talent.
Few companies are embracing workforce development
The growing skills gap is most noticeable in roles that relate directly to tomorrow’s major technologies, including AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile applications that are the driving force behind heightened customer expectations. India may have to forgo as much as $1.97 trillion in GDP growth promised by investment in intelligent technologies over the next decade if the country fails to bridge the skill gap. If companies don’t act to develop the workforce, we could be heading for a talent crisis. Fewer and fewer people have the skills required in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the one being powered by data, cloud, the IoT and AI. Yet, even knowing these risks, and with few obstacles to making progress in workforce development, only a limited number of companies are implementing new upskilling programmes.
Dr. Jonathan Reichental, chief information officer for the city of Palo Alto, believes we’re in the middle of the shift to the Fourth Industrial Revolution — and we’re not moving fast enough. I agree, and also share his view that we lack sufficient facilities to teach everyone the skills that will soon be in demand. As technology races ahead at an unprecedented speed, education rocks uncomfortably in its wake. We need to throw it a life ring.
Winning the war for talent
Innovative companies have already begun to respond by significantly changing how they handle workforce development. These businesses stand the best chance of attracting and retaining skilled talent, and ultimately thriving in the new era. They will offer more opportunities for building up new skills and taking advantage of lifelong learning. And given the way a lot of technology is going—take Salesforce’s free, gamified learning platform, Trailhead, for example —these companies are going to be a lot more fun to work for, too. Early adopters of change will become employers of choice for the sought-after talent that is out there. Those that offer apprenticeships, flexible online courses, and incentives for employees to volunteer in workforce development programmes will also have a huge advantage.
How does a firm make the shift?
For companies to ensure their capabilities are as relevant as possible, they need to pivot away from traditional workforce development practices and instead take responsibility for upskilling employees specifically for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They need to look beyond traditional education platforms such as schools and colleges, and investigate new approaches to retraining and reskilling the existing workforce. They also need to understand the role of new technologies in this context and cultivate these skill-sets within organisations. For example, skills in data analysis, data science, and software development will become more important over time, so we’ll all need to be fluent in the “language of data.”
These vital workforce developments—and, equally, the lack of them—take me back to my tried and trusted mantra once again: “Never stop learning.”
(The writer is senior vice president and country leader, Salesforce)
