Magazine BEAST #16 2019

12 #Business | Human Capital
We are also noticing that the market is eager to use such
innovative tools and techniques but also note that companies
are lacking knowledge. In fact, 63% of the respondents declared
that the main reason for not deploying AI in Luxembourg is,
precisely, the lack of AI-related knowledge. In addition, 35%
of the respondents expressed that appropriate training is
also missing, according to our latest Data Analytics Survey.
Therefore, new competencies are required so that companies
can fully leverage the power of AI and data, notably.
Also, and as explained previously, adopting a true datadriven
strategy means that data matters should not be left
to a few IT experts but should rather be embedded in the
company’s culture at all levels of the organisation. To do so,
PwC is significantly investing in the upskilling of its workforce:
this is where the firm transformation really starts! Our teams
are also available to help clients get up to speed with a
customised training offering and therefore accompany them
in their changing work environment.
How is upskilling adding more value to the employee
experience? How has training evolved over the years?
TK: First of all, everyone should be invited to live, learn,
work and participate in the digital world. Why? Because most
workers know that automation will transform their jobs, one
way or another, but also because they generally welcome the
use of new technologies. Therefore, their appetite for learning
is strong, as most survey respondents believe it will improve
their job prospects and enable them to achieve proficiency
or become experts in their corresponding fields. Yet, learning
is a lifelong journey and tech makes it less time consuming.
Nowadays, soft skills are becoming more and more important
and will actually last longer than hard skills.
Over the years, PwC was able to develop a learning catalogue
where everyone within the firm can access relevant content:
there is no limit per line of service or management level, which
clearly opens our people’s minds and helps them discover
new things. Moreover, this "Training as a Service" offer adds
significant value and empowers the employees who now are
in the driver’s seat and pick their own content.
As a matter of fact, learning how to learn is actually becoming
the ultimate skill, as it improves people’s employability while
gaining new competencies, and it also means that the
company will benefit from the newly-acquired skills and
remain competitive on the market. It can be described as a
win-win situation for both the employer and the employee – a
personal choice of acquiring more knowledge combined with
the firm’s vision – who are therefore working alongside each
other and towards a common goal.
To sum up, upskilling actually involves "change management"
and therefore requires the companies and their leaders to
have a clear strategic vision, based on trust, and which also
builds on legacy.
How has tech enabled new types of trainings?
What about MOOCs?
Our internal survey shows that people tend to prefer ondemand
digital training, opposed to more traditional training
sessions that take place in a classroom. More and more
MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses – are therefore being
developed as they consist in an accessible multi-screen
platform, allowing people to train at work on their laptop,
during the commute on their phone and even at home
on their personal tablet. More than providing the ATAWAD
(AnyTime, AnyWhere, AnyDevice) concept, MOOCs allow selfpaced
learning.
PwC is contributing to several online courses with multiple
MOOCs available on Coursera, notably dealing with the data
analytics topic. In this respect, we are actively participating in
the development of open communities which are advocating
knowledge sharing, and are promoting collective intelligence.
BEAST MAGAZINE #16
Illustration: PwC Luxembourg