Tech Companies Step in to Ensure New Hires Have Real-World Skills

The Worldwide Tech Talent Shortage is Real and It’s Serious

According to an analysis, as many as 14 G20 countries could lose over one percentage point in their annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate, if they cannot respond effectively to the skills required for the data-driven future of work. This would be tantamount to a drop of up to $11.5 trillion in cumulative growth over the next decade, which is alarming for the world economy.

Many reports suggest that as the world gears up to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), represented by AI (artificial intelligence), robotics, machine learning (ML), and other intelligent technologies, access to a skilled workforce will be crucial. Skilled personnel will not only be an asset but will also be a crucial factor that will set thriving economies and companies apart from the unsuccessful ones.    

The European Commission, in a study, revealed that the European Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector might have 756,000 jobs vacant by the end of 2020 if ICT employers do not adopt a holistic approach to bridging the gap between the skills needed for future roles and the skills they currently possess. In another report, the World Economic Forum predicts that the labor division between humans and machines will create 133 million new roles by 2022. If economies and companies do not address the growing demand for future skills, the skills gap will continue to widen, leading to even greater talent shortages in the coming days.

Why are Organizations Worldwide Facing a Shortage of Talent? 

The traditional education system is not aligned to meet the skills demand for future roles that are emerging within Industry 4.0. The challenge is more critical for roles vulnerable to technological disruptions, especially intelligent automation. The impact of real-world skills shortages is being felt around the world, and business leaders believe that upskilling existing and new employees through experiential learning techniques is central to empowering the vulnerable workforce to gain real-world skills.

“My 4-year computer science course helped me learn theories and fundamentals, but traditional academia did not prepare me for the application of knowledge, using tools deployed in the industry,” says Nicki Smith, 37, senior data analyst for a multinational IT company. “Thanks to my organization’s upskilling program, it made me who I am today,” she adds. 

Today, it is More About Learning Than About Education 

A globally recognized expert in education, and currently a senior research fellow at the Learning Policy Institute, Tony Wagner, brilliantly put it:

To put knowledge to use, students need to adopt innovative learning techniques, such as the blended-learning module, which focuses on hands-on application, rather than delivering knowledge through lectures. Also called “mixed learning,” “hybrid learning” or “flipped classroom”, blended-learning is a successful learning module because it is engaging, hands-on, and immersive, besides offering students to learn at their own pace, anywhere, at any time. 

A 2015 University of Chicago study, used brain scans to assess the impact of experiential learning. The research shows that hands-on applications activate the motor-related and sensory areas of the brain, helping students to learn deeper and faster. Many studies on behavioral sciences and neuroscience also confirm that real-world skills are best gained via blended learning courses, such as the ones offered by top institutes like Simplilearn. 

In association with IBM, Simplilearn, one of the world’s leading certification providers, offers short-term online training courses that enable professionals to upskill and boost their careers.  The partnership between Simplilearn and IBM means that the benefits of a program like CUNY’s Tech-in-Residence are available through Simplilearn to learners everywhere.