There’s no denying that the technology sector, today is a key driver of productivity and is expected to underpin the future success of the economy. While this sector has achieved massive success in the last decades, its phenomenal potential should be matched with a growing and robust talent pipeline- but the shortage of massive skill gap in the current marketplace is unprecedented and recruiting ‘skilled’ talent has become a challenge for more than 80% of the global corporations.
2017 is undoubtedly a job seeker’s market with an all-time high of vacant jobs. While recruitment boost sets up for an immense raise, lack of employable competencies in the candidates are demanding Talent Managers to recruit prospective employee right away and develop necessary skills later, through training and enterprise certifications- a philosophy that every major matured economy across the globe including Europe, Japan, Middle East and the US is embracing in today’s scenario by sponsoring certifications on the basis of core skill-developments of the workforce. Finding perfect candidates for the job is not like finding piston to fit into the engines- More than 75% of the best in-class corporations across geographies and industries have adopted consistent development and learning experience as their key strategy to retain their existing talent pool.
According to the research, out of 53% companies globally cited the shortage of skilled labor as one of their biggest impediment in growth, more than 48% have already integrated in-house strategies and initiatives by providing certifications to their existing workforce in order to bridge the skill gap areas in primary functions of business. Some of the major players in the corporate space are already experimenting their own strategies and models by providing a realistic roadmap to their workforce. At the same time, they are also facing numerous challenges which are demanding talent managers to perform a broader variety of tasks.
Skill building- Last resort for employee retention in the ‘gig’ economy
Undoubtedly, not everything is hunky dory in the corporate world, especially corporate training. More than 20% of employers believe that online or typical classroom training sessions for employees do not add much value- which is one of the major issues of concern for their 2017’s workforce development agenda. The major reasons for this issue are as broad as the sectors that are experiencing this phenomenon- from healthcare to manufacturing, financial services, and even technology- the outlook, aspirations and culture of the existing or present workforce go far beyond the wages that they earn.
The growing ‘gig’ economy, which is expected to reach more than 35% of the workforce in the US by 2020, often overlaps with long and medium term skill development as the world is increasingly gravitating towards short – term contractual employment.
However, the crux of the whole story lies in the actual value addition that the designated employee perceives in the resume- the professional credential loaded with technicalities and expertise on their resume. As talent managers are realizing the value of certifications, they are trying to invest heavily in this resource-enterprise workforce certifications have now become an imperative part of development programs and employee learning across the globe.
IsEnterprise Certification that important and is it really the answer?
More than 65% of global enterprises agree that it is- numbers tell the story. In fact, they believe that credentialing their employees with an enterprise certification is one of the most prominent recognition of their workforce fitment into the companies’ competency solutions and models. According to a recent research based on the PACE (Pressures, Actions, Capabilities, Enablers) framework of competency assessments, over 20% of companies that have already implemented certifications programs in their workplace have also stored enough data to prove that enterprise certifications have provided notable alignment to the business strategies and goals against their competitors
Workforce certifications in the business operations and functions work as a performance booster for employees and a powerful weapon according to the perspective of a talent manager. Not confined to bridging the skill gap, it also reveals how an organization estimates the value of business objectives and employees. With more than 75% of talent managers calling self-paced and sponsored certifications which are implemented into the Enterprise LMS a primary driver of employee retention and engagement, this occurrence has become a mainstream practice now. While less than 25% of the workforce today state compensation as their biggest motivation, around 50% of them state professional development and learning. Talent managers are busy reaping benefits from it, what are you thinking about?