The success of upskilling and reskilling strategies depends on employees wanting to learn new skills. And when organisations are going through large scale change, they need all employees to want to develop new skills. Assuming that this is what your employees will do could be problematic. Why? Because there are various reasons why employees may not be motivated to learn new skills. Understanding the blockers will help learning teams to design successful skills strategies, and open up potential for their colleagues. In this month’s round-up of curated content, we take a look at how to support employees to learn new skills.
The in-demand skills – The Most In-Demand Jobs Right Now
Analysing job postings on LinkedIn is a useful way to see which jobs are in demand and which ones are on the wane. Current in demand jobs reflect the return to workplaces as a result of vaccination programmes. The most in demand job currently is receptionist (welcome back!), followed by tax specialist, pharmacy technician and marketing strategist.
The largest number of job posts in March 2021 were for software developers and sales people, showing that organisations are looking to ramp up their digital offerings. If ever you needed proof that digital skills are in demand then this monthly update on jobs from LinkedIn is it. Keep an eye on the LinkedIn Talent Blog to stay abreast of changes in the jobs market.
How to help employees learn new skills amid a crisis
Most companies understand the need to upskill their workforce. The pandemic accelerated change for many organisations, and completely changed operating models for others. Plus automation is increasingly impacting on job roles. There are many reasons to develop new skills.
However, for upskilling to work, employees need to be motivated to learn. That motivation is there for most people, but sometimes mindset, time, and perceived value of new skills may get in the way.These reasons will be familiar to L&D and HR teams. So, what’s the solution? This article sets out three simple steps to help.
One that stands out is helping colleagues with how to learn. With so many ways to learn, there are options and opportunities for all employees. But they might need help and support in understanding the ways of learning that best suit their needs. Overcoming this challenge will help individuals build that enthusiasm for learning that will drive your upskilling agenda.
Employee accountability for learning – How to change the behaviour of your people: The end becomes the beginning and How Novartis promotes learning curiosity to drive business value
Two pharmaceutical companies, who are both in the headlines for their speed in innovation around a Covid vaccine, are currently exploring what motivates employees to learn and how the organisation can support continuous learning. These are key elements to learning new skills, which is why we have included them in this month’s round-up.
Working with behavioural scientists, the L&D team at AstraZeneca embarked on a Learning Trial to understand what makes a learning habit. This article shares insights from the trial. A key element in helping support a learning habit is the environment, according to Brian Murphy, Global Head of Learning & Enterprise Capabilities at AstraZeneca. He says, “The L&D teams of the future must be environmental shapers, scaffolders of great learning and performance environments to help create the conditions for individuals and teams to ‘land’ their new every day learning approaches.”
The trial shows that organisations cannot simply expect employees to learn for themselves. The L&D team has a key role in understanding what blocks learning and creating better learning environments.
Responsibility does not stop with individuals and L&D, however. The learning team at Novartis has been championing curiosity across the organisation. A key part of the success of raising the profile of curiosity and learning has been the role of the CEO, who champions the importance of continuous learning and who is also a keen learner himself. Employees are encouraged to spend time learning and to work on projects that will help them develop new skills.
What are the skills needed to create a culture of lifelong learning?
To build adaptability and resilience as an organisation requires all employees to learn and develop. Thinking about this as a skills issue is an interesting way to think about developing a culture of lifelong learning. This article looks at the ‘skills to build skills’, which are thinking critically, interacting with others and staying relevant. These three skills are the foundation skills for building adaptability in the workforce. And it is adaptability that will help individuals develop their skills in line with the changing needs of the organisation.
We’ve sourced this month’s content by using our own curation tool at Anders Pink to surface recent and relevant content on upskilling and reskilling. You can use it for over 150 topics out of the box, or create custom feeds on any topic, from any public source, and integrate it with any platform or tool.
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