Magazine BEAST #16 2019

10 #Business | Human Capital
UPSKILLING:
PREPARING THE
WORKFORCE FOR
A DIGITAL FUTURE
BY
ALEXANDRE
KEILMANN
In today’s digital world, our work environment is constantly
evolving, and so are our skills. To understand some of the current
challenges faced by employers but also by employees, BEAST
met with Christian Scharff (Partner, People & Organisation, PwC
Luxembourg) and Thierry Kremser (Partner, Data & Analytics Leader,
PwC Luxembourg). The HR and data experts tell us more about
upskilling, in a context where talents are more than ever eager to
learn and develop, thanks notably to the use of new technologies.
What does "upskilling" actually consist of? Why has it become
so important for both the company and its employees lately?
Christian Scharff: Our competencies in dealing with jobs are
becoming obsolete faster and faster. This is due to the pace of new
technology introduction but also to the transformation of business
models and working methods. As a consequence, an individual
willing to stay employable has no other choice than to "re-train".
The new word that is currently used is "upskilling" and it is basically
addressed to all the employees who need to remain competitive on
the labour market.
In such a context, people need to equip themselves with new skills
to fully embrace the digital world. It is also important to note that
not all of the new roles are digital-related. What we can observe is
that each transformed – or augmented – job actually requires a mix
of "soft" skills (agility, problem solving, client relationship, etc.), "hard"
skills (new legal or compliance frameworks, new methodologies, new
tools to use, etc.), and "digital" skills (data management, new software,
etc.). In learning programmes, the latter is usually outnumbered by
the first and the second.
How would you convince HR experts to invest in upskilling right
now? How should they communicate this workforce change
to the employees without actually scaring them?
CS: We are living in interesting times. We can see multiple phenomena
happening at the same time: the working population is ageing, birth
rates are on the downturn in developed countries, students are
not choosing STEM disciplines anymore and many of them are not
willing to work for corporates anymore, preferring to be freelancers
instead. We also have a growing percentage of youth (aged 18 to
30) being NEETs (not in Employment, Education or Training). This
means that they are not even preparing for the labour market.
For instance, in Luxembourg, we have merely 7-8% of
NEETs, but it goes up to 18% in France and over 30% in
Turkey!
The combination of all these elements means that
finding new workers will be tougher and tougher: it is
already challenging today and will be even more difficult
in the years to come.
Therefore, we have to consider our current workforce
as a "treasure" that needs to be nurtured. We need to
invest in our people to remain relevant for the future of
work. If done on a regular basis, this effort is perfectly
manageable. Should employers not consider this option,
they might end up with people having insufficient
skills for the new or augmented jobs, and face severe
difficulties to source new talent. Indeed, who would
want to join a company that is not taking care of its
employees’ skills? In the age of social media, employer
branding takes on a greater importance and it has
become key to invest in this area.
On the other hand, this also translates into employers
communicating about future change in a proactive
manner: people will feel involved, with a better
understanding of the business strategy and its
consequent impacts. The current environment also
requires trust to be a constant and the embedded value
when employers communicate with employees about the
need for change. Also, a commitment to upskilling and
a clear statement to accompany workers when going
down this road is key. Sure, it might be challenging in the
beginning, however, first adopters will set the scene for
other employees to engage in an upskilling programme.
BEAST MAGAZINE #16