T
TALKING HEADS
Solving the upskilling challenge
F
Carol Stubbings
A radical rethink of
what we call ‘work’ is
required to meet the
upskilling challenge.
ro m b o a rd ro o m s to
newsrooms, barely a day
goes by without a mention
of the skills gap. It’s therefore
of little surprise that it was a key concern
for business leaders worldwide in PwC’s
annual CEO Survey, released last month.
The global mood is reflected in UK
CEOs too, with 79% saying the lack of
available key skills is a threat to their
business, trumped only by cyber threats
(80%). Despite this, just half of business
leaders are actually focused on upskilling.
The problem is set to worsen if we don’t
adopt a radical new strategy to tackle it.
While the skill s challenge is
multifaceted and complex, it’s not
unique. We have already undergone
societal upskilling shifts with the
introduction of computers into the
workplace, and we upskill every day
as we learn how to use the latest apps.
But today’s exponential pace of change
has not gone unnoticed by CEOs;
three-quarters in the UK expressed
c o n c e r n a b o u t t h e s p e e d of
technological change, compared to
only 59% in 2015.
It suggests that businesses and
workers are struggling to keep up with
disruption. Traditional training strategies
“No one can afford
to sit still; everyone
has to improve
their skills and add
value as
jobs change”
don’t cut it at a time of continuous
change and automation. Add to that
broader societal challenges, such as
widening wealth inequality, an ageing
population and a growing digital divide
— and a fundamental rethink is needed
of how we define an occupation.
The first thing businesses must do is
re-evaluate their business model and
how they define a ‘job’, ‘occupation’ and
‘task’. By breaking down occupations
into the sum of their parts, we start
to understand which tasks require
humans and which could be outsourced
to machines.
In passing the routine tasks to
machines, businesses can provide a
higher quality of work to their people,
enhancing employee satisfaction
and improving staff retention. As well
as providing more fulfilling work, a
task-based approach means that
businesses are better able to measure
exact skills gaps and to be more specific
about the type of worker they need.
Sk i l l s i n d e m a nd a re by no
means always digital ones. Human
competencies such as empathy and the
ability to build relationships have an even
greater premium in a world of machines.
But no one can afford to sit still; everyone
has to improve their skills and add value
as jobs change. Businesses are starting
to understand this, but the broader
societal shift from a focus on technical
skills and rote learning to a focus on
competencies will take time.
At PwC, we are on our own
upskilling journey. In October, we
committed US$3bn over the next four
years to upskilling our people, as well
as supporting our clients and wider
society, through our ‘New World. New
Skills’ initiative. Working alongside
governments and other organisations
around the world is the only way
businesses will engender systemic
change and ensure people don’t get
left behind by technology.
The upskilling challenge is massive,
though not unsolvable. However, it will
require a radical rethink of ‘work’ as we
know it.
Carol Stubbings is PwC’s global leader of
people and organisation.
52 // Future Talent