How businesses can be the schools of tomorrow

Embracing skill convergence and rethinking competence beyond binary boundaries are necessary as job markets evolve.

In brief:

• Traditional training methods are no longer adequate as industry convergence drives demand for blended skills.

• Companies need to foster job role flexibility and an inclusive environment that accommodates diverse learning preferences. 

• Cocreating versatile training modules with other organizations and a framework to help workers begin their learning and development journey are also crucial.

With job markets evolving rapidly, skills are at risk of becoming obsolete. 

Learning and development have conventionally focused on formal education or traditional training methods, neglecting the importance of continuous and experiential learning. These perspectives can narrow the opportunities for employees to develop skills that are increasingly necessary in dynamic work environments. 

Often, organizations may prioritize immediate, quantifiable outcomes over the long-term personal and professional growth of their employees. This is so even when supporting lifelong learning within the workplace holds immense potential to foster innovation, improve employee engagement and drive organizational success.

As industries converge, so do skills

The first is to move beyond taking a binary view of skills, seeing individuals as either possessing the specific skill or not. 

Today, industries are converging, and interdisciplinary job roles are becoming more prevalent. For instance, a health care professional may need a foundational understanding of data analytics to better interpret patients’ data and provide improved patient care. Coders and software developers may require knowledge on green coding, optimizing codes and algorithms for energy efficiency, given the energy demands associated with technologies like generative AI and data centers. 

Such industry convergence drives demand for blended skills, making it essential to view skills as a spectrum rather than distinct categories. 

Organizations can foster job role flexibility, supporting talent to move across different functions and departments and take on new responsibilities. This approach allows employees to pursue holistic skill growth beyond functional and technical expertise.

Effective learning is collaborative

While addressing learning and development challenges in-house has its advantages, the reality is that at times, outsourcing the design, delivery and management of training programs can be more practical and efficient.

The idea of partnerships between businesses, institutes of higher education and approved learning providers to cocreate training modules is not new. However, a fresh way to look at learning partnerships is for the various stakeholders to develop modules that are versatile and can be easily combined in different ways.

Imagine businesses in the same industry, complementary ones or industries that may appear unconnected banding together to create a shared library of training modules that cover a wide range of skills and competencies. This means that companies, even those that typically view themselves as competitors, could collaborate more closely and reap mutual benefits. When there is scale, there is impact.

These training modules are industry-relevant and reflect current trends and real-world applications because they are designed by organizations themselves.

Employees could also have the freedom to personalize curriculums that suit their interests and career goals and take ownership of their development. At the end of the learning journey, employees could receive a recognized industry certificate that validates their achievements and enhances their professional credentials.