Posted by To remain relevant and progressive, companies need employees with stellar skill, readiness and the right technology. This is where upskilling comes into play as one of the most significant disciplines for training and development practitioners. Most employers are still struggling with finding the right candidates with the right talent pool, especially in the digital age.
Technological advancement in automation will lead to an increase in unemployment as job opportunities are taken over by machines. Necessary action needs to be taken to upskill human skills and proficiencies. Employers need to take the initiative by investing in their workforce on developing talents for the digital economy. As digital evolution is gradually picking up the pace, a single development could potentially diminish certain skill set in the labour force affecting millions of highly skilled employees.
Approximately 70% of Malaysian workers are not covered by any structured training funds or programmes where most employees are employed in small and medium enterprises(SMEs). To cultivate a learning culture in private sectors, the Human Resources Development Fund(HRDF) developed a profiling instrument called MYFuture Diagnostic Tool. Designed to identify training gaps that are still prevalent within an SME. Proper profiling tools are implemented before executing any training programmes. Currently, there are over 1,200 local SMEs that utilise MYFuture Diagnostic Tool since its inception on 2016.
How to future-proof your workforce
Companies will advance towards new challenges, shifts and dynamics that lead to redefining the world industry. Employers that are capable of attracting and retaining highly skilled employees will remain to be relevant in the digital age. That being said, it would be a daunting task in preparing every transformative circumstance. There are several strategies that organisations can integrate right now to ensure that talents remain competitive, progressive and sustainable.
1. Nurturing tomorrow’s leaders today
The departure of the ageing workforce is inevitable. To ensure your business stands now is the perfect time in identifying potential leaders among young talents. Talent mobility is the key to developing a culture in appealing young workers that strive for career advancement. As people climb up into various levels of the organisation, skills are earned through working experience.
New ideas are conceive based on their knowledge and experience where they continue to carry the business towards a profitable direction. That is the key success of talent mobility brings forth. Below are the key pointers:
a. Establish clear goals for the young talents with a transparent and published career path.
b. Determine how milestones are set up and delivered. Managers can oversee the process by casting talent to projects that will help them develop their experiences, knowledge and responsibilities. Training and coaching are provided to ensure that employees have the needed resources for their career course.
c. Foster independence to ensure the worker’s morale and participation will not diminish. It can be prevented by encouraging talents to make decisions and explore new perspectives of themselves.
Related: Q4 Recruitment Cycle 2018
2.Immersive learning experience
A full immersion in learning new skills or courses is the best way to pick up new knowledge. Provide your employees with the opportunity to attend a conference or an in-house coaching to dive in a new field of expertise. Mentorship is one of the best approaches for people to learn new skills and ideas in-depth to guide employees who are eager to learn. Another approach is to provide employees with the flexibility and resources to immerse on their own ways.
3. Practice makes perfect
Armed with the new knowledge that your employees have learned. Assign projects for them to apply their new skills. There may be mistakes and failures that followed suit, but the learning experience can help bolster their knowledge further. Progressive practices will help workers to fully refine their skills before taking on new positions in the company.
Cross-training can provide your workers with a different approach to learning and development. Applicable for managers and employees alike, both sides will be able to get a taste of each other work. Overall, it is essential for employees so they will feel more valued and in turn grow loyal to the company.
4.Utilising behaviour insights to inspire change.
Employee participation in orientation on new business skill sets, developing new behaviours and mindsets will help them to transition towards their new roles for the future. It provides a roadmap for people to visualise and the benefits while being open towards shifting out from their comfort zone. Allowing employees to voice their own career aspirations will help in gaining their behaviour insights as well.
Ng You Jing Content Marketer at Jobstore Reach me at youjing@jobstore.com