Future-proof digital skills
The ongoing coronavirus crisis has accelerated the digitalization of our society. Innovations such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are forcing companies to take action. After all: it is becoming increasingly important to be able to analyze and interpret data. Employees in various sectors need to become familiar with future-proof, digital skills. In the 'Skills of Tomorrow Report 2021' by digital training provider Growth Tribe, more than 1,500 marketing and data professionals and 25 managers from leading European companies talk about the (digital) changes in the work environment. The research toont that more than 44 percent of professionals do not or insufficiently master these skills. So they run the risk of losing their connection with the labor market.
Digital skills
Due to the increasing robotization and other technological developments, different requirements are being placed on the competencies required of employees. The DDA , the Dutch trade association of Data Centers, recently sounded the alarm about the tight labor market and the lack of employees with a digital background. The organization has developed a special (re)training program to become a Data Center Professional. Several educational institutions are also trying to close the digital gap in the labor market. Utrecht University of Applied Sciences starts this year with a master in Human Centered Artificial Intelligence.
Lifelong Development
The coronavirus crisis underscores the importance of continuous development of employees. Lifelong development (LLO) contributes to many employees' job satisfaction, success in their careers and their sustainable employability . Investigation of the CPB shows that there is a positive association between workers with good digital skills and labor market outcomes. Employees with better digital skills generally have better-paid jobs and a higher hourly wage. Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, poses that happy employees collaborate better, are more productive, more creative and more innovative. With the right digital skills, employees are better prepared for societal developments, which contributes to their job satisfaction.
It is important that employees take control of their careers and continue to invest in developing their knowledge and skills, so they can adapt to changes in the market. Employers who focus on investing in and training their employees increase their employees' sustainable employability. This way they are not hindered by outdated knowledge or skills.
The practice
As an employer you can create conditions so that employees are more likely to want to refresh their knowledge. After all: some employees may need a little push to take charge of their own careers. What can you do as an employer?
1. Digital literacy
Determine how it is with the ICT basic skills of your employees. Think of digital security, media literacy, information skills and computational thinking (logical reasoning so that you can give instructions to the computer).
2. Development time and development budget
Give employees room for training time in combination with the individual budget. Draw up a scheme to work on their own development during working hours.
3. Development conversation
Encourage the employee to take control of their career into their own hands. It is important in this context not only to focus on performance and results, but also on motivation and engagement.
