Short-live skills + Demanding labor market = Skills gap
It is with this equation that the LinkedIn study is introduced to the public. In other words, we live in a dynamic job market where opportunities are changing - for businesses and people. In artificial intelligence and automation age, companies are struggling to stay at the forefront in an attempt to retain the best talent and fill key positions; individuals struggle to remain relevant as professionals.
This effort on both sides is at the hub of the new role of companies - "developing talent" - which is nothing more than the creation of learning opportunities that enhance the growth and success of their employees.
That's why LinkedIn Learning launched the Workplace Learning Report 2018, which aimed to establish a holistic view of today's workplace training challenges. About 4000 professionals took part in the study - 1200 talent developers, 2200 employees, 400 people managers, and 200 executives were interviewed through the platform.
The following conclusions stand out:
This conclusion is unanimous across the categories of professionals interviewed, from executives to talent developers. The impact of automation increases the demand for flexible, critical-minded workers who can communicate and lead. Therefore, interpersonal skills are indispensable.
Regarding hard skills, using information from more than 500 million members, LinkedIn concluded that the skills companies are finding it most difficult to fulfill are related to:
Cloud and distributed computing;
Statistical analysis and data mining;
Middleware and software integration;
Web architecture and development framework;
User interface design.
The study shows that by 2018, talent developers are prioritizing current over future professional development needs. Despite the relevance, this may have in the short term, executives say it is necessary to go further and broaden the focus by identifying future market trends to prevent the lack of certain internal competencies.
Talent developers are opting for e-learning solutions to develop an increasingly diverse and multi-generational human capital. The LinkedIn Learning study concluded that there has never been such a large dependency associated with these learning platforms, which is justified by worker preferences:
The main reason for the lack of workplace training is the lack of time for employees to invest in their professional development. Executives and people managers interviewed agree that ensuring that this time exists must be at the top of the challenges of talented developers. In addition, today's organizations have to train workers through the platforms they already use.
Talent management implies a synergistic strategy that goes beyond the human resources department and calls for the involvement of the entire organization. As 56% of professionals said they would complete a course if their manager advised it, talent developers' # 2 challenge is to boost their involvement in the developing talent process.
As concluded by the Nova SBE Executive Education Academic Coordinator, José Crespo de Carvalho, who left his reflection on this study on his column in Observador:
"At a glance, we can say that the world, judging by the answers, will be increasingly conducive to the training and development of company employees. In what format, size, frequency, repetition, and others may be a more complex issue. Anyway, where universities will have an important role to play."
This publication is based on the 2018 Workplace Learning Report developed by LinkedIn.