11.5 Million Americans May Need Retraining as Skills Gap Widens

According to new new research from my colleagues at IBM’s Institute of Business Value*, it took four days on average for U.S organizations to close a capability gap through training in 2014. In 2018, it took 38 days. In parallel, the half-life of skills is shrinking and behavioral skills are becoming increasingly important.

In 2016, executives we surveyed ranked STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and basic computer/software application skills most highly. In 2018, behavioral skills dominated the top four competencies global executives sought. These include: time management skills and the ability to prioritize as well as willingness to be flexible, agile and adaptable to change.

This shift to behavioral skills is prefaced by the heavy emphasis many companies have placed on digital and technical skills over the past several years. Behavioral skills require different, non-linear training methods which can extend the time needed to close a skills deficit.  

With a constantly tightening labor market, it’s no surprise that only 41 percent of CEOs we surveyed say that they have the people skills and resources required to execute their business strategies. Over 11.5 million workers in the United States may need to be retrained or reskilled as a result of AI and intelligent automation alone in the next three years.

As the U.S. skills gap widens, many businesses we polled seem to be stuck in status quo. They either elect to continue with traditional hiring and training methods, or forego any dedicated training program. Although global executives we surveyed acknowledge the severity of the problem, 50 percent admit they do not have any skills development strategies in place. 

Without a new approach to the broadening skills gap, our businesses will certainly struggle to innovate, grow, deliver value and create new jobs. 

It sounds dire but there’s hope. As my colleagues discovered, modern businesses can establish innovative training and cultures of continuous learning to help bridge the gap.

This means creating personalized educational journeys for employees that are customized to their current experience and skills, job role and career aspirations as understood through data and AI. These journeys can be delivered through peer-to-peer learning or hands-on practice in a classroom or online. For example, at IBM we’ve cultivated a digital learning platform for employees that provides AI analytics based recommendations on courses that align to hot market skills or an employee’s professional interest. Today we have over one million digital certifications granted to IBMers worldwide. Eight in 10 IBMers have what we consider to be skills of the future.

In this scenario, learning content comes from new kinds of sources, partners and highly skilled content providers.

We’ve found as companies deliver these journeys, they are more successful if they use data to let employees know about current skills needs and nurture a culture of continuous learning. Teaching employees how to be lifelong learners and take personal responsibility for their ongoing development within a supportive corporate culture that rewards and recognizes people for skill development is essential for success in today’s labor landscape.

As former First Lady Abigail Adams once said: “Learning is not obtained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”

I encourage you to explore my colleagues "Enterprise Guide to closing the Skills gap" for fresh perspective on building and maintaining your skilled workforce.11