“More than half (51%) of business leaders are worried about future talent shortages, and only 32% are confident their organization has the skills needed for long-term success.”
That’s according to a survey released last month by Workday, a California company that uses AI to manage people and resources.
“This growing uncertainty is exposing the limitations of traditional talent management approaches that focus on job titles, degrees, and previous companies worked for,” Workday noted. “In response, organizations are accelerating a shift to skills-based talent strategies, which prioritize an individual’s capabilities over traditional credentials and provide a more agile, data-driven approach to hiring, developing, and deploying talent.”
As a result, Workday data shows that more than half of companies world-wide are transitioning to a skills-based approach to hiring and training.
They’re not the only ones to notice. Last year a CompTIA analysis of the IT industry showed that for an increasing number of companies, the skills someone has are more important than their age, prior job titles, or whether they went to school.
Research conducted by Calbright College has shown that a skills-based approach to hiring in the public sector will have significant benefits, and studies conducted by IBM and General Motors showed that people hired for their skills performed just as well on the job as employees with PhDs.
Skills-based hiring is a movement, and it’s growing. Calbright is a part of that, offering Californians over age 18 free, career-focused, certificates in key skills that employers are hiring for, like IT Support, Data Analysis, Cybersecurity, CRM Platform Administration, Project Management, and more. Each certificate can be earned in under a year, and Calbright’s programs are online and self-paced so that people with jobs and family responsibilities can access them on their timelines and anywhere in the state.
Calbright programs also focus on durable skills, the kind Workday says will become even more important in the era of AI.
“While technical skill sets are in high demand, today’s research highlights an equally critical need for uniquely human skill sets,” Workday notes. “Social skills like communication and teamwork, and individual skills like resilience and creativity are listed as the most impactful skill gaps in organizations today.”
Other skills Workday list as “critical for success” include “relationship-building, empathy, conflict resolution, and ethical decision making.” All of these are covered in Calbright’s durable skills modules.
The best way to get and succeed at a job in the new era of hiring and AI integration in the workplace is to prepare yourself with the skills employers need. That’s never been more true.
