CHRIS JONES
CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CITY & GUILDS GROUP
WHO OWNS
THE SKILLS GAP?
Both businesses and individuals have a
responsibility to change their mindsets
and view learning as an ongoing, lifelong
pursuit. City & Guilds Group chief executive
Chris Jones answers some timely questions
around workplace learning.
I
s the UK workforce equipped
to cope with ongoing
technological and demographic
change – plus Brexit?
The sheer speed of change
is catching us all out. In our
recent Learning Next research
with YouGov, we asked 2,300 UK
employees about their appetite to
learn new skills and the support they
are getting from their employers to
do so. Even though the vast majority
(81%) believe the skills they need
to do their job will change over the
next five years, a third said they
did not learn any new workplace
skills last year.
It’s no longer enough simply
to rely on skills you picked up in
education, or when entering the
workplace. Recent labour market
30 //
Future Talent
insights from Deloitte talked about
the concept of your ‘skills shelf-life’
and how this is reducing thanks to
technological change.
From the employer perspective,
we know that skills gaps and
shortages are a real worry, and
Brexit will only compound this.
When we conducted our People
Power research with Censuswide
last year, surveying 1,000 UK
employers about their skills issues,
63% of respondents said they expect
their skills gaps to stay the same or
worsen, leading to higher operating
costs and difficulties in meeting
customer demand.
How can organisations upskill their
employees in a VUCA environment,
and what is HR’s role?
Employers must consider their entire
workforce. All too often, training and
development budgets are aimed at
new entrants, but with more over 65s
remaining in employment than ever
before, older workers have a vital role
to play in improving productivity and
business performance.