In-demand skills
PEOPLE | UPSKILLING
In-demand skills
While digital and technical skills are especially in demand , other business skills are also needed as organisations transform .
Udemy Business has seen a 49 % increase in hours spent on technical skills courses , and a 39 % increase in consumption of business skills , with some of the top skills in business pertaining to communication , management , and leadership , Greg Brown , President of Udemy Business tells Business Chief .
It ’ s a similar story at Udacity where customers are looking to “ balance deep , practitioner-level technical skills development with fundamental digital literacy , data analysis and communication skill-building tactics that benefit broader sections of the employee population by helping to create a common digital language across the organisation ,” explains Sarah Reynolds , Chief Marketing Officer at Udacity .
Among the top 10 in-demand skills at Udacity – professional communication , data presentation , Python , business intelligence & analytics , and probability and statistics .
Business Chief . “ This means that workforces must also keep up and commit to life-long learning to ensure that they have up-todate skill sets that are required for their role and sector .
“ Creating this culture of continuous digital learning for the broader organisation , a culture that engages expert practitioners , citizen learners , and leaders , is critical to ensuring the successful adoption and execution of digital transformation initiatives .
“ Moreover , rather than hiring a batch of fresh staff members with each digital transformation project , investing in regular upskilling allows organisations to hold on to talented employees and benefit from the expertise gained from their years at the company .”
Greg agrees and says organisations must understand the difference between a training vs . learning mindset , and ask themselves – how do we build out a learning strategy ? How do we construct a learning culture ?
“ Culture is not a one-off initiative but instead an ever-evolving commitment that is deeply and intrinsically linked with an organisation ’ s operational system . Upskilling and reskilling programs are not one-size-fitsall , they should be customised to the needs of each workforce .”
According to Harvard Business Review , this is why a majority of corporate training programs today are deemed ineffective , as they have flaws in timing , content and purpose .
Personalisation and flexibility matter Research from Training Industry finds that personalised learning not only helps identify and close skills gaps , but that it can also increase employee motivation and work performance . Which is why it ’ s so important for organisations to look beyond a one-sizefits-all approach – to achieve high employee engagement and effectiveness .
48 January 2023