Insights from five major reports on the skills obsession

It’s hard to find an organisation these days that does not have a hard time finding or keeping good people with the right skills. People quitting, new roles needed and fewer applicants. That’s why, for the last year or two, the learniverse has become somewhat obsessed with skills-related topics; the skills gap, re- and upskilling, skills development, skills-based approaches, etc.

To create a solid foundation for exploring this theme, we took five of the most comprehensive research reports in the field to understand what all of this is based on. We read them for you and looked at them from a training provider perspective. Here’s what we’ve learned.

1. The skills-based approach cannot be ignored.
   Organisations ánd professionals everywhere know that they need to switch from thinking in jobs and functions towards thinking ‘skills’. Training providers have to make the same switch.

2. Work together with employers to create tailored training.
   Not the professionals themselves, nor the managers or the HR departments are on their own capable of making learning work. They are in need of partners and not just deliverers of training.

3. Digital skills are most in demand, but soft skills present the most opportunities.
   Most research says that the current need for digital skills is most pressing, which could be seen by training providers as a quick-win. More likely is that this will result in a race to the bottom by the biggest players that offer learning content. For most training providers soft skills is a smarter bet. Harder to train (at scale), but therefore also more suited for specialists in learning.

4. Take advantage of having a seat at the table.
   Learning, training and talent development has never been higher on the agenda of companies, governments and professionals. It seems that training providers have the tendency to be honest or stay in the background of these discussions. Now is the perfect time to change that.

5. Nobody addresses the quality of learning.
   The vital piece that is missing is this whole story, is expertise on how to make the learning itself more effective. Yes, skills are missing. Yes, skills should be developed. And yes, learning and training is the answer. But then, how to train and how to learn, especially at scale? That’s a challenge training providers can (and should!) solve.

All five reports are from influential organisations and important players in the realm of economy, work and learning. This gives approaches on the topic from L&D, HR, economic and organisational backgrounds. They all build on extensive facts, figures and data. Even though the reports are broad and look at it globally and from a macro level, they do take different stakeholders into account and offer practical recommendations.

Reports specifically for/by training providers are not really available. But the reports are about the ecosystem that training providers are operating in, so using them is the best starting point to find relevant insights.

About the authors/sponsors

Industry reports are rarely independent or completely unbiased. They are being executed by or sponsored by companies that hope or think that their own product, services or agenda will benefit from the outcomes. Does this make the reports useless? No, but it is important to keep this in mind when reading these reports.

Our advice would be:

1. to compare sources, which we’re doing for you here; and

2. use their data and findings for your own benefit, make your own interpretations, and be critical when the simple answers align perfectly with their own product or service.

One minute summary

The report has three parts. The first explains why in the coming five to ten years it will be really hard for many people to find their way to good employment. The fourth industrial revolution, sectoral trends, the green agenda and (of course) the impact of the pandemic all contribute.

Learning and training has to evolve with this, from the education system that needs more employment-focus and professional learning that should be learner-centric instead of course-led. Assessment and accreditation mechanisms have to be adjusted and become more portable. Technology and (learning) data can streamline the match between learning, skills and employment. All this leads to data-driven, learner centric and highly scalable solutions.

The second part introduces four emerging models of how to re- and upskill. Industry certification platforms are most cost-effective and flexible, but learning outcomes are low. Bootcamps are more cost-effective than postgraduate programmes and are accessible, but are hard to differentiate and there’s no job guarantee. Staffing companies are free for learners, guarantee a job and learning highly aligns with employer needs, but lock learners in for a longer time. Employer-funded learning is also free and guarantees a job, but is challenging for employers.

The third part gives practical recommendations for policy makers, educational organisations, employers and founders. They are about less policy, more partnerships, microcredentials, digital roles, learning data, reskilling over upskilling and more

Three insights for training providers

Get onboard with (portable) micro-credentials.
Being qualified these days is so much more than your educational degrees. Modular, accredited qualifications that learners own themselves and can ‘bring with them’ are tangible testaments of experience. They are also much better suited for ever-evolving skills and jobs.

From T-shaped to M-shaped professionals.
Today’s workers develop deep expertised earlier in their careers and will do that several times more during their professional life. This lifelong learning should be facilitated and supported by training providers.

Companies and learners need a partner in skills development.
Learners have a hard time navigating the endless offering of learning content. Managers don’t have the time to help individual employees with their development. HR is not specialised in how best to learn. That’s a training-provider-shaped hole in how to improve skills.

Best insight about improving training

The examples and problems in the report make clear that the challenge in learning isn’t about content, it’s about real world application. Learning and working aren’t two separate things. The problem with a lot of training courses is lack of relevance for the actual job needs. Learning needs context. Solving this is a win-win for both professionals and employers by lowering time to competence.

One minute summary

The report looks to find answers on how to equip people with the skills needed to participate now and in the future. Not only from an economic perspective, but also for wider social advantages; shared prosperity. This problem arises from new sectors that require new skills on the one hand and obsolescence of jobs on the lower end due to automation on the other hand. The pandemic accelerated this polarisation and inequality. Upskilling can offer a solution.

The gross domestic product (GPD) worldwide could be boosted up to $6.5 trillion by 2030 if investments are made in upskilling. Nations with the largest workforces and with biggest skills gaps can gain the most; China, USA and India. Also the UK, Australia, the Benelux and South Africa are high on that list. Sectors like business services, manufacturing, consumer services and energy have the most potential to grow due to upskilling.

A problem lies with how to share the cost of upskilling; there is great potential, but also great cost for learning. A call to action is made for all stakeholders to build a strong ecosystem that focuses on the right skills and have everyone participate. Government should prioritise upskilling and businesses should invest long-term.

Learning providers are too fragmented. They should work more with the business, scale up self-directed learning and nano-degrees, align with national qualifications and connect places to learn.

Three insights for training providers

Open up to all professionals.
The people that need and want to be upskilled are not only those in middle to high-paying jobs, but there is huge potential amongst low-income workers, the unemployed and those in less developed regions. Making your training offering available to them benefits all.

Tech transformed sectors benefit most from upskilling.
These organisations and professionals are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to training and learning. Sectors with fewer jobs that require more skills will benefit least.

The virtuous circle of upskilling.
There’s a positive reinforcement in upskilling that starts with ‘decent work’ or ‘good jobs’. Having that creates incentives to continue learning and in turn, this increases productivity and leads to having a better job.

Best insight about improving training

Although there’s not a lot about improving training, the report does recognise and advocates for stimulating a learning (or growing) mindset. The narrow view of upskilling is that people need to learn a set of skills quickly, but certainly in these rapidly changing times, it is just as (or more) important to develop attitudes and aspirations. That sounds like a call to action for training providers as well; no tick-the-box, but stimulate the learning mindset in your offering as well.

One minute summary

The report presents the results of a returning survey amongst 700 participants from a broad spectrum of organisations about reskilling. The major conclusion is that there’s a clear (increased) urgency of addressing skills gaps.

Skill building is seen as the best way to close those gaps, compared to hiring, contracting or redeployment. This translates into an increase in commitment and (longer term) investment in learning.

The skills that companies prioritise are mainly social and emotional skills (e.g. leadership, adaptability, empathy.) and advanced cognitive skills (e.g. decision making, critical thinking). Basic digital skills are less high up the agenda.

The report also investigated how to be successful at skills transformations. Nine practices are categorised in three successive phases: Scout (planning to identify skills gaps), Shape (finding the right mix of actions) and Shift (ensuring that skills are built). The further along companies are in the phases, the less successful they are with implementing those practices.

Results show that the implementation of all nine practices almost gives a 100% guarantee of success in skills transformations. An important element is mixing learning formats and going beyond digital learning.

Three insights for training providers

Investments in learning are increasing.
More than half of the companies indicate that spending on learning will increase compared to a year before. It shows how susceptible the market is for training providers that offer expert solutions.

Training advanced cognitive skills is the low-hanging fruit.
Somewhat different from other reports, the participating companies themselves indicate that ‘softer’ skills have been prioritised over digital skills. Those are exactly the skills training providers are better equipped to deliver.

Tailored learning journeys (+tech) are in high demand.
Before companies can re- and upskill at scale, they need personalised training for specific roles. Generalised courses can be found anywhere (and for cheap), so companies need training providers that can help with tailor-made training and the accompanying tech.

Best insight about improving training

One of the important results the reports presents is that learning needs to go beyond digital and by applying a mix of learning formats. This is backed up by a 70% increased rate of success for those who use more than eight formats. Highest contributions to that success are digital learning, workshops, assignments, peer learning teams and expert coaching. You could call that the proven success of blended learning.

One minute summary

The report presents the results and interpretations of the research Fosway conducted to find out how well organisations identify, harness and develop the skills of their people. It starts with how the pandemic fueled the increased importance of skills.

Drivers for this were business drivers and people strategy drivers and finding the balance between them. A value-centred view of employees seems like the way to go, with re- and upskilling being an important element.

Significant skills gaps are present in 65% of organisations and 90% indicating their skills approach is immature and making it hard to retain their best people. Organisations that do have a matured approach to skill development know the skills people have, nurture skills and connect people to harness their skills or grow them by learning.

Less than half of organisations think they understand the skills profiles of their employees. Knowing and agreeing on those skills is seen as complicated and therefore, the focus on skills does not yet translate into effectiveness.

Challenges to get re- and upskilling right are creating awareness among leaders and managers, changing the negative mindsets about training, having a culture that rewards learning, identifying the right skills and making the technology work. Technology, like performance and succession management, are underused and the measuring of the impact of skills is hardly done.

The report concludes with nine ways to make skills successful. It’s based on a growing awareness and urgency, but throughout the whole value chain of skills, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Three insights for training providers

Skills training and effectiveness are disconnected.
In these early days of skill-based approaches, there is a lack of evidence or measurable impact of training new skills. Training providers could be the ones that can present (or prove) how exactly their training helps the organisation perform better.

Learning is not yet a mindset and culture.
You don’t have to convince learning professionals how beneficial a growth or learning mindset is, but managers and leaders are definitely not there yet. Training providers can be great advocates of creating a culture of learning, which helps them too.

Learning and training as an alternative to hiring.
Lots of organisations still focus on hiring, but struggle to find the right people. Internal mobility and retaining talent offers solutions, and that requires skills development. Sounds like something training providers can use in their sales pitch.

Best insight about improving training

A remarkable result from their research was that most organisations have digital learning solutions (87%), but only a small percentage (36%) actually uses them to optimise skills growth. That could be an indicator of lack of relevance and context. Learning becomes more effective and engaging when it clearly connects with how it improves performance in the workplace.

One minute summary

The report is an extended version of the yearly Global Skills Index and takes the data from the Coursera platform and its millions of users to better understand the skills trends and how they relate to the economy.

The pandemic economy has accelerated the creation of a complex landscape that threatens to leave millions of workers ill-prepared for the digital future. This stems from a polarised labour market; massive losses in some sectors and huge growth in others. The result is reduced economic opportunity, especially for women and those with limited access to the internet and learning.

Looking at the learner data shows that investing in skills has a positive effect on innovation, labour participation, wealth equality and economic output. This, in turn, helps the digital transformation and can have ripple effects on other challenges, like climate change.

There’s a need for continuous upskilling and reskilling, but success is related to upbringing and environment. This need is reflected by the (reducing) shelf life of skills, mainly around technology and data skills.

On the other hand, research shows that top skills for entry-level jobs are attainable with hours of (online) learning, not years. The majority of learners spend less than three hours per week on their course, which shows how accessible career improvements are.

The remaining part of the report extensively reports on worldwide regional skills trends in business, technology and data science. And it zooms in on the future skills categories; the top jobs, top fields of study and skills profiles.

Three insights for training providers

Jobs have changed for good.
The pandemic caused massive work losses and many of those jobs won’t come back. For training providers, this means taking a good look at your offering and how future-proof it is.

Innovative through private-public solutions.
The huge impact the skills gap has on a country(‘s economy) means that governments will have to act, but they need the help of learning professionals and organisations. Team up and pay attention to relevant policy.

Show the accessibility of impactful learning.
Learning new skills that can fuel career upgrades can be done by almost anyone. Show your potential learners that technological possibilities and improved online learning design means acquiring useful and much-needed skills is a matter of hours, not years.

Best insight about improving training

This does not seem to be in the scope of the report. It does show how impactful online learning is and can be. The overall insight for training that can be taken from the report is that learning becomes so much more relevant when it is clearly aligned with skills that are needed, not jobs. It’s this skills-based approach that ultimately makes learning and training valuable, even essential.