A Global Solution to a Global Problem

The future of work continues to be transformed through the ever-increasing acceleration of change, driven in large by the emergence of digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change, remote working, climate change, and by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

We exist in a world where most young school children will emerge to seek employment in jobs that do not yet exist. Societal transformations which previously took a generation or more to reach full effect, are now occurring over a few short years. Moore’s law, the lauded rule of thumb that predicts the doubling of technological growth at least every eighteen months has left society reeling in the slipstream of exponential development.

Traditional approaches to this zeitgeist of transformation have revealed the futility of approaching the challenges inherent within the future of work with the practices of the past. What is required is a complete overhaul in the preparation of the individual to succeed in the workplace.

Paradoxically, the route towards achieving the full potential of an enterprise to both co-exist and excel within the increasingly mutable and technological environment of work will become progressively dependent on the development of individual human capacity. What we have come to describe as Human Skills.

Consequently, this inevitably leads to the conclusion that the development of these Human Skills requires the complementary emphasis on the development of learning systems (in this instance adult learning systems) focused on assisting the individual in developing and maintaining the relevant skills over the lifetime of their working lives.

It is now accepted that Human Skills could make up to 60% of the overall skills toolkit required by an individual to achieve their full potential in the workplace. The other 40% consist of digital skills, and product knowledge. Each accounting for approx. 20%.

We are witnessing the emergence of a growing realisation on the importance of Human Skills in the workplace, and of the need for identification, prioritization and innovation of the most important Human Skills required by industry. This is exemplified by the work which is taking place amongst the institutions and organisation at the cutting edge of skills development globally.

A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), titled ‘Training in Enterprises’, which examined one hundred case studies across Europe, determined that there is a clear gap in the current provision of Human Skills training, while re-emphasising the need for increased Human Skills training (OECD 2021)*.

A 2020 report by the World Economic Forum which sought to identify the ten core skills that industry would require in the workforce by 2025, listed eight which are identified as Human Skills (WEF 2020)*.

One of the largest global recruitment agencies, Reed Recruitment. Have revealed an increased emphasis on the need to identify candidates for key positions who possess highly developed Human Skills.?

In Ireland, the Expert Group of Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) have identified their own list of the twenty-eight key skills required by the workplace of the future. Twenty-three of which are identified as being in the Human Skills category (EGFSN 2021)*.

In my own work with Customer Service Excellence Ireland (CSEI) here and in the UK over the previous six years, I have worked alongside and for a diverse range of companies and organisations. In each instance a survey of future skills needs required was carried out within that organisation. The resulting data is consistent with that emerging from other international bodies - Human Skills (59%); Product Knowledge (22%); and Digital Skills (19%). ???

There is a growing awareness in Ireland that the current emphasis on digital skills and learning within our third-level institutions through smart learning interventions is excellent. But the failure to place sufficient emphasis on Human Skills will result in a negative impact. The balance of both is required. That balance is simply not in place.

George Westerman is a global visionary and leader in this area. Based at MIT, he leads a Global Opportunity Initiative which is looking at Human Skills through a smartly developing matrix. I am delighted to be involved in a research of the importance of these Human Skills but equally in developing modules of learning that fit in with the need to include human skill competencies across all learning and development.

Along with Oran Doherty (left), we are traveling out to Boston in March to visit George Westerman at MIT. Oran has been a staunch advocate of work-based learning programmes such as the popular Retail Apprenticeship and Degree courses now developed in the Irish system. We will visit other US Colleges who are seeking to change the way education works.

Ireland has the ability to be a European leader in the development of Human Skills. By collaborating with the research now emerging and feeding into it, we can design and deliver these all-important skills across levels of education and as importantly, in the workplaces of the future in a Global Opportunity.

The development of Human Skills is in all of our interests

#humanskills #workbasedlearning