Bridging the Skills Gap

The nature of work is evolving due to digitisation and disruptive forces like automation. Globally, economies are experiencing emergence of new sectors and jobs while some become obsolete. Educators and employers intentionally working together can ease the awareness and skills gap and ensure they are preparing youth for employ-ability.

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success. ~ Henry Ford

Academia must undertake their own innovation and adopt appropriate pedagogical approaches to learning. Employers have an important role to play in identifying challenges and subsequently creating, piloting, and refining innovative solutions. Engaging in this process is a valuable part of a wider conversation between employers-talent providers on workforce development. Involvement of stakeholders from both sides is therefore very important as a knowledge multiplier and its practical application.

Successful collaborations acknowledge the need for continual improvement and require a focused effort that must be progressive. These associations are key to driving product and curriculum development, innovation and for accelerating research. They are the cornerstone of creating a sustainable foundation for knowledge, resource, and technology exchange, thus empowering youth by developing career relevant skills and competencies.

Identification of internal barriers to build these alliances is important. Overcoming these obstacles creates thriving ecosystems. Taking a transversal approach, aligning values and going beyond profits to focus on ‘building human capital as a strategic resource’, facilitates capacity building partnerships and cross-sectional engagements.

Industry-academia partnerships is a complementary investment. Both groups must extend their planning horizons to translate ambition into action and act with singular unity and resolve, to prepare workforce for the future.

About the Author: Arpana Sharma is an independent Advisor and provides
Project Consultancy in areas of Business and Education, Industry Relations, 
Student Development and Alumni Engagement. Arpana is a Mentor, Speaker and 
a Fellow of the Institute of Consulting, UK.