3 key insights from the Skillable Experience: London panel session

Nearly half of organizations delay projects due to a lack of skills. 44% are struggling to fill vacancies. And the vast majority—80%—are dealing with skills gaps.

Everyone is talking about skills, yet as attendees at our first-ever Skillable Experience event shared, few know where to go next! That’s why we brought together top learning and IT industry analysts, executives and strategists for an interactive panel discussion on the importance of experiences and validation as part of the skills-first transformation taking over many organizations.

We know not everyone could attend, so we pulled the most useful highlights from the likes of 微软 , The LPI (Learning and Performance Institute) and Fosway Group .

1. Don’t be skill-based. Be skill-powered.

We’ve heard HR talk about how important it is to have the right people, with the right skills, on the right jobs. Never has this been more true—and achievable—than today.

"We’ve reached a point where technology can tell us more about the skills we have, the skills outside of our organization and how much they cost to acquire. This is changing the game, but you have to have enough and accurate data points. "There’s a level of transparency that hasn’t been around before. And being able to measure performance through experiences is another crucial piece of intelligence for opportunities presented by skill-powered organizations." – David Perring, Chief Insights Officer & Analyst, Fosway Group

2. Go beyond theoretical learning to build and validate skills.

“In learning, the key thing is not about what you know, but what you can do.” – David Perring, FLPI

Alex O’Donnell, Content Experience Manager, from 微软 completely agrees. That’s why they rolled out interactive learning experiences, powered by Skillable , as part of their live event strategy that give participants a layer of practical skill application above and beyond their theoretical training.

He said, “These events give attendees a safe practice environment that’s nurturing and doesn’t judge a skill—or lack thereof. Instead, it nudges them in the right direction. It creates an authentic, practical environment where learning can happen, be proven and validated.”

AI will be a benefit and hindrance to us—further adding to the complexity, interoperability and our dependency on experiences.

“It’s important people remember that AI is just a technology, like so many that we already use, that can be learned. But it will force the hand of many of us, making behaviors and true capability important as content becomes even more accessible,” said Jon Fletcher , Chief AI Strategist at The LPI (Learning and Performance Institute) .

3. AI makes learning in the flow of work easier.

“AI and copilots are giving us (L&D) the opportunity to shift outside of our role. By embedding learning in the flow of work, we’ll be in the best position to enable employees to perform better, absorb, learn, etc.” – Jon Fletcher

If you’re unsure how to do this, and most of us are, Jon also suggested “cozying up” with whoever is bringing AI into your organization. Gain some “experience” alongside them. (See what we did there?!) Use this relationship to understand the AI roadmap and what their goals are for the org. Before implementing AI, we must have a strategy, support and understanding of the goals and purpose, versus just jumping on the bandwagon.

Did you attend? We'd love for you to share your insights on the panel discussion in the comments.