After the Great Recession of 2008-2009, leaders in government, business, and community-based organizations recognized that a reset was needed in order to stop adding degree requirements for jobs. Many large corporations soon announced that they would eliminate these requirements in many of their hiring practices. Between 2017 and 2019, employers reduced degree requirements for 46% of middle-skill positions and 31% of high-skill positions. A skills-based approach emphasizes a person’s skills rather than degrees as the most important determinant of job success, which has reduced the amount of job switching among employees. According to Forbes, 94% of entry-level employees say they are more likely to stay if a company invests in their careers. 87% of employees report that they are productive at work in a hybrid work environment right now, yet 85% of managers believe that their employees are not being productive. This is referred to as “productivity paranoia.” The issue is not that employees are not productive but that employees are not stimulated enough at work to learn and develop in their careers.
Over the years, there has been a rise in web-based learning like LinkedIn Learning and Udemy to learn new topics. Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, estimates there are roughly 10 billion years’ worth of work experience is locked up in the heads of the site’s 875 million users. LinkedIn Learning offers 20,500+ courses in Business, Creative, and Technology subjects and has a growing community of 850+ million users in more than 200 countries worldwide. With the rise of LinkedIn Learning, a lot of business professionals have taken it upon themselves to post about their LinkedIn certificates for completing a course. As a result, the societal perception of online learning is beginning to change, but corporations have not yet adapted to this new trend. Many require a Masters degree if they do not already have a degree in business. Rather than asking for degrees, corporations must adjust their view to focus on skills and how to ensure their workforce is ready and can adapt to the ever-changing trends disrupting the marketplace.
The first way to ensure your workforce is ready for the future of work is through the implementation of a learning platform. This will allow employees to learn useful skills, obtain certificates for programs or courses completed, and upskill their professional development goals. For example, MorningBrew offers business accelerators and sprints that allow people to upgrade their skills and interact with industry experts. Providing these types of learning opportunities will allow employees to learn the specific skills that they need to level up in their careers without spending thousands of dollars earning another degree. Introducing a learning platform will offer a variety of courses to participants and can reinforce company values and skills to ensure employees understand their connection to their work and the company. Implementing a learning program has the potential to not only improve the skills of employees, but also increase employee retention. According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn.
The second way to ensure your organization can keep up with trends is implementing a structured experiential learning pathway for young professionals. This can be highly valuable to not only attract top talent, but also retain high potential individuals. These programs should include a combination of in-class, online and mentorship opportunities to help develop technical and leadership skills while building connections with senior leaders. We know that young professionals often struggle with feeling connected to their company culture early on in their career and that learning and development is a top priority. One Gallup poll found that 87% of millennials (and 69% of non-millennials) view development as important in their jobs. Many companies are adopting various forms of learning specialized to their corporation and company culture. For example, Deloitte University is a place for employees to learn from leaders about experiential learning, well-being, and sustainability at Deloitte. Leaders are developed and taught to make an impact that matters for each other, clients, and the communities they serve.
Finally, valuing on-the-job experience and ensuring employees’ success through skills-based performance reviews which focuses on output rather input. Unilever, for example, focuses on upskilling their employees by helping construct a plan in collaboration with employees to help them achieve their career aspirations at the firm. Anish Singh, head of HR for Unilever in Australia and New Zealand said, “We’re beginning to think about each role at Unilever as a collection of skills, rather than simply a job title.” Unilever is taking a proactive approach to talent management. It’s expected that 50% of employees will need reskilling by 2025 and providing your employees the opportunity to enhance their skills now will only help set your company up for success in the years to come.
In this ever-changing world, it is becoming more and more difficult for employees to garner the necessary skills needed through our traditional education systems, our approach to learning must be as dynamic and flexible as the environment we’re living in to be effective. Providing employees with opportunities to learn through courses, projects, boot camps, and on the job training while also providing meaningful work experience will enable them to flourish.