4.0:
sical Systems
revolutions, it has often taken decades to build the training
systems needed to develop major new skill sets on a large
scale. Given the upcoming pace and scale of disruption
brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution however,
this luxury of time may simply not be an option.
For example, current technological trends are bringing about
an unprecedented rate of change in the curriculum for many
academic fields, with nearly 50% of subject knowledge
acquired during the first year of a technical degree outdated
by the time students graduate. Further studies also suggest
that the half-life of a learned skill (the amount of time it takes
for a skill to reduce to half its value) continues to rapidly fall to
five years.
Therefore, rather than build rigid and formalised training
programmes, experience suggests we need to be more agile
in our approach to L&D, as the lines between industries and
sectors blur and talent becomes more fluid. For example, a top
coder will be pursued by both banks and technology firms. An
engineer might be snapped up by a logistics firm. But where do
you find them? And how do you train them?
Tomorrow’s competitive company won’t be staffed with dragand-drop
talent. Instead it requires a dynamic mix that allows
flexibility and quick scaling, builds bench depth, provides
career paths and enriches communities. This is The Adecco
Group’s Triple B talent framework: Bring, Buy and Build.
Think of Triple B as a litmus test, a set of questions that help
you determine the right mix, whether you are a company,
government or organisation. First, be clear what you are trying
to achieve. Then define the kind of operations required and
the timeframe.
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