Business

Report: Shifting Needs Drive Growing Desire for Corporate Training

In a recent report, the Association for Talent Development pointed out that more than half of organizations are offering training opportunities for employees, including “upskilling” and “reskilling,” with talent pipeline concerns driving the growing need.

Are you giving your employees the skills they need to move up in the organization—or, at least, to keep pace in the industry?

A recent report from the Association for Talent Development [purchase required] finds that more than half of organizations offer “upskilling” opportunities (an upgrade of the current skill set in their field), “reskilling” opportunities (training intended to prep workers for potential opportunities in new fields), or both.

“These powerful development tactics are enabling 56 percent of organizations to counter precipitating events and ongoing change by taking positive steps to upgrade or build new workforce skills,” the report states.

Still, though, there’s plenty of room to expand: The report notes that a third of organizations surveyed see the need to offer ongoing skills training but have failed to offer something like that at their own organizations.

And the use cases for upskilling or reskilling are more diverse than you might think. Concerns about automation were a driving factor for only a quarter of talent development leaders surveyed. Instead, more fundamental concerns involved turnover and improving the overall talent pipeline.

“Because talent risk equates to business risk, those concerns are well founded,” the report added.

The report mentions specific examples of successful training programs, including those run by McDonald’s and Amazon. Atrium Health, another company whose training programs were cited by the report, noted that the programs allowed for more dynamic responses to changing needs among employees.

“Upskilling and reskilling have to be more fluid now because jobs are changing so quickly,” said Rebecca Schmale, the company’s vice president of learning and organizational development. “We need smart people who can adapt and do whatever comes their way.”

(skynesher/E+/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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