Mr. Arun Verma, is the founder and CEO of TeacherOn.com. It is an online platform where they help students and teachers meet online and offline for over 10,000 subjects, skills and languages around the globe. He is a polymath, developer, educator, thinker, philosopher, and a nerd with a passion for psychology, learning, and education. He has done his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from GNDEC, Ludhiana and MBA from University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK.
Over the past few years, the world is experiencing rapid changes in every sector. New employment avenues have opened and due to this, the demand for tech-savvy new-age skills has also grown. This has also led to a positive shift in terms of working and increased the demand to attain new skills. However, not every employee can adapt to these shifts, and the globe is experiencing a shortage of skilled talent. As per The International Labour organization, the situation is severe. The body anticipates a talent shortage of 29 million will hit the world by the year 2030.
The emerging trends in skill development
Even in India, the scenario is the same and the talent skill gap is significant. According to a survey conducted by Statista, the number of employable personnel in the country is 46.2% as of now in 2022. The major reason for the unemployable talent not being able to secure employment opportunities is the lack of skill-based education and skill development. To solve this issue, skill development is a crucial factor that will help cope with the rapidly changing environment. As skill development is emerging to be the need of the hour, it is the key focus of the organizations. Therefore, these five emerging trends are valuable for the employment and the educational sector.
Microlearning: Differentiate and learn
With a lot of information available on a subject, it is challenging for an individual to absorb it in one go. The concept of microlearning helps in this scenario. In this process, the data is differentiated into small chunks and then approached to learn. The capabilities and functionalities of every brain are different. So, in that case, dissection of the information leads to a proper grasp of the topic. When people absorb tons of knowledge, the brain tends to retain it for a while. But after a particular limit period, the memory experiences a degradation in a natural phenomenon. A learned skill is advantageous only if it is recalled at the needed time. Therefore, to tackle this issue, microlearning involves supplying only the needed data to the individual that is going to be the base of the skill. Thus with microlearning, learners learn the concept rapidly to accelerate the process of skill development. With its innovative approach, this concept is expected to be one of the unique trends in the skill development domain in the times to come.
Upskilling and Reskilling
In the era where technological advancements are at their peak, there is an increased demand for skilled individuals in the industry. The companies are ready to provide an employee-friendly working environment, but at the same time, they wish to promote upskilling and reskilling as well for their employees’ growth. In upskilling, an employee cultivates additional skills or improvises the existing skills that could bring value to the organization. Reskilling requires the person to learn fresh talents for the existing role in a new domain. These concepts have been there since long. However, they are set to gain prominence in the future.
A former study by Gartner HR Research states that in the upcoming years, 58% of the employees need to reskill themselves to complete their job successfully. Upskilling and reskilling are the dire need of the hour in today’s times to attract quality talent and retain the existing workforce. This is the reason why they will be a key element of the skill development strategy. Organizations can facilitate this process by giving opportunities such as On-Job-Training (OJT) and the option for employees to gain e-certifications in the desired skillset via the Hybrid learning model.
Investing in transferable Soft skills development
While joining a company, an individual must have a professional set of skills like hard work, enthusiasm, honesty, and integrity to maintain a position and conduct organizational tasks. Possessing domain knowledge and hard skill is indeed important. Along with it, businesses nowadays, consider soft skills such as leadership, managerial, crisis management, problem-solving, analytical thinking, etc. to be equally important parameters while hiring talent. Therefore, it is a requirement for companies and individuals to invest their finances and time in learning transferable soft skills as a part of their skill development program.
Communication is one of the essential skills that plays a vital role in an organization, from delivering information to staging strategies for risk management. This will be one of the major focus areas in the skill development programs offered by businesses. The ability to communicate and perform in teamwork reduces several operational issues a company faces on a daily basis. Another skill that will garner attention is relationship building which includes forming alliances with peers to influence, close deals, and sustain business affairs.
Inculcating in Entrepreneurship Education
Entrepreneurs are an inevitable part of a country’s economy. During an economic survey by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), 14000 new startups were formed during the fiscal year 2022. With the incremental growth of new startups, demand for skilled labour will surge in the market. Additionally, these entrepreneurs will generate new employment opportunities that will support the thriving economy of India on a global scale. Furthermore, to create such future entrepreneurs, imparting skills in entrepreneurship right now is important and hence this will be one of the focus areas in skill development in the times to come.
For individuals, entrepreneurship education is not only useful to start their own business but also a means to understand how an organization works. This approach changes the vision of the learner, and they can observe the operations of the organization from the perspective of an owner. The phenomenon can be termed cross-skilling, where an entrepreneur learns multiple skills from several domains such as networking, marketing, business planning and financial management.
Gamification in organizations and Institutions
Gamification is set to the next thing in skill development. It leverages the engagement of employees or students to learn better and meet the goals efficiently. In research, Gartner in its recent report states that the learning capacity of individuals increases by 60% when incorporated with gamification. People tend to acquire skills efficiently when provided with a suitable environment. Therefore, gamification should be a part of the skill development program to accelerate the learning process and boost motivation.
In this process, design elements are used as a simulation in which the subject takes part in experiencing strategic processes and makes decisions. Gamification also allows for measuring the progress, and the individual comes to know how far they have come in the process to attain knowledge. Additionally, breaking the cycle into manageable sections allows steady improvements and wider learning opportunities. In addition, the concept supports learning with peers that connect students with other veteran learners who can train and motivate them in attaining a new skill.
Skill development: A priority for businesses
The rapid changes in the technologies have also transformed the need for in-demand skills in the industries. In addition, newer domains are emerging in the market and this is fuelling the demand for talent with the required skills that are capable of driving the organizational growth. Skill development is thus the priority for businesses. And five trends will emerge and will enhance the skill development programs of organizations.
Organizations and educational institutes need to cater to the requirements of the industry for upcoming generations and lay foundations for devising solutions that support rapid skill development. For taking complete advantage of the growing industrial revolution 4.0, India needs to invest in constant upskilling of human resources and stay agile.