{"id":98472,"date":"2023-06-29T09:58:16","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T13:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/?post_type=magazine&p=98472"},"modified":"2023-06-29T11:38:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T15:38:46","slug":"bridging-the-digital-skills-gap","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/magazine\/summer-2023\/bridging-the-digital-skills-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Digital Skills Gap"},"author":34,"featured_media":98652,"template":"","tags":[32387,2635,4588],"class_list":["post-98472","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-digital-skills-gap","tag-digital-transformation","tag-tech-skills-gap","global_topic_tax-it-and-technical-training","magazine_issue_tax-summer-2023","magazine_article_type_tax-feature"],"acf":{"sponsored":false,"gated":false,"gated_content_type":"","file_attachment":null,"gated_content":"","form_instruction_header":"To access the full article, please fill out the form below:","pardot_html_embed":"","author_override":true,"author_name":"Danny King","author_image":"","author_bio":"Danny King is the CEO and co-founder of Accredible, a global digital credentialing platform that serves certificates and badges on behalf of MIT, Harvard, Google, Skillsoft and over 1,800 others. Email Danny<\/a>.","excerpt":"The rapid advent and adoption of new technologies in the workplace is creating a significant gap between those workers who are proficient and those who are not.","main_content":"The rapid advent and adoption of new technologies in the workplace is creating a significant gap between those workers who are proficient and those who are not. At the same time, automation is phasing out previously critical positions, forcing workers to adapt to new roles \u2014 and in some cases, entirely new careers.\r\n\r\nAccording to McKinsey & Company, 87% of companies<\/a> say they have skill gaps among their workforce. Such gaps not only impact a company\u2019s productivity but can also lead to low morale and a sense of frustration with one\u2019s position, stunting employees\u2019 long-term career growth.\r\n\r\nThus, upskilling \u2014 the process of developing skills to maintain one\u2019s job \u2014 and reskilling \u2014 the process of developing skills to qualify for a different job \u2014 are vital to ensure employees are properly trained to fulfill the needs of their business. This is especially true where technology is concerned. Whether it\u2019s software or hardware, the tech brought in to improve a company\u2019s functions will be a wasted investment if no one can skillfully operate it. Training should be an integral part of transformation, not a caveat to it.\r\n\r\nHowever, the burden of training cannot fall solely on the employees themselves. Bridging the digital skills gap<\/a> is a cross-industrial, cross-organizational and cross-generational effort. It requires time, ample resources and individual engagement on the part of every learner. Coalescing all those factors can seem daunting, but it\u2019s necessary.\r\n\r\nThe key is to create value for employees. Give them credentials<\/a> for their new skills. Offer pathways<\/a> to raises and promotions. By creating and implementing valuable, credential-driven training programs, companies will foster a true learning incentive and manifest meaningful skill growth.\r\n

Aligning Skills Development With the Digital Transformation<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nAs the workplace evolves, so do the skills needed to function and be productive within it. To give a broad example, before the pandemic, being familiar with Zoom might have simply been a \u201cnice to have,\u201d but not a core competency. Now? It\u2019s vital. This is a digital transformation that happened in the space of months \u2014 albeit precipitated by seismic world events \u2014 but nevertheless a widely felt example of how the skills necessary for a job can change in an instant.\r\n\r\nOn a more granular level, individual roles and niches, especially within the technology industry, are often subject to more incremental transformations. Software developers, for example, are consistently learning new coding languages and PaaS\/IaaS<\/a> platforms. Other companies, as their reliance on enterprise technology grows, are requiring deep specialization in programs like Marketo and Salesforce. These breakneck changes are gouging a wider divide in proficiency, and if workers can\u2019t keep up the pace, their roles could be phased out.\r\n\r\nThere is also a generational component to the digital skills gap. Younger, \u201cdigital native<\/a>\u201d employees may have a leg up on other generations when it comes to adopting new programs and technologies \u2014 with such early and incessant exposure, they simply have the cognitive schemata to figure them out. On the other hand, older and longer-tenured employees may be more familiar with how training takes place at their company, even if they aren\u2019t as familiar with the new technologies management is implementing.\r\n\r\nThe conditional \u201cmay\u201d is critical language here. Everyone\u2019s experience is different. People\u2019s disparate backgrounds and exposures are part of what creates these skill gaps, but they also bring a valuable diversity of perspectives. By thoroughly considering the variations in their employees\u2019 skill competencies, whether through surveys or on-site observation, companies can better design training programs that are truly equitable. From there, the challenge is in creating and sourcing training materials that everyone can firstly understand, and secondly, in which they can see value for themselves as well as the organization.\r\n\r\nHere are a few steps to ensure no learner is left behind:\r\n