The “Skills for Growth” series, taking place as part of the Accenture – Forum Europe Policy Innovation project, gathers senior representatives from business alongside policymakers and other stakeholders of no more than 20 participants, for roundtable discussions held under the Chatham House rule, on solutions to improve the development and deployment of skills in key areas of the European economy.
The first edition will focus on how organisations can best tackle the digital skills gap for sustainable long-term growth and an inclusive future workforce. This interactive format will enable all participants to be active as part of the discussion. A pre-event briefing will be supplied.
Business leaders perceive the digital skills gap as a major challenge in 2022. Anticipating and preparing for the impact of digital on the workforce is imperative. Well beyond today’s tech talent shortages, digital innovations will continue to rapidly alter the demand for skills in the future.
While the pandemic has caused a degree of disruption to the ongoing digital transformation of business and industry, this rapid digitalization continues. To remain competitive, it is essential for organizations to build a digital savvy and enabled workforces, establishing cultures of lifelong learning and upskilling, and focusing on key future digital capabilities and skills. But what does this mean in practice?
Forwarding-thinking business leaders know that staying still is not an option and the need to pinpoint skills gaps and bolster targeted learning programs is clear; however, incremental changes to education and corporate learning programs is not sufficient. As exemplified in Accenture’s award-winning digital upskilling initiative with Henkel, effective digital re- and up-skilling strategies must include key elements:
Digital Capabilities Assessment: using industry standard capability frameworks to provide a clear picture of the digital skills that would be required soon.
Tailored Digital Upskilling: learning programs tailored to an organization’s specific functions and existing business processes.
Digital Talent Experience: A new talent-management process which enables a fresh way to assess employees’ existing roles and their ambitions
Digital Talent Sourcing: The creation of a “recruiter toolbox” for digital roles within the new HR system. The toolbox established a clearer connection between the digital, functional, and technical skills required for a certain role.
AI has also proven to be successful to unlock hidden talent in the workforce to map skills in demand and match workers to future opportunities. Circumventing the digital skills gap cannot be solely achieved through an organization’s commitments, but through collaborative action with government and other stakeholders that can put in place effective policies and appropriate funding schemes.
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