FEATURE : SKILLS AND TRAINING
foundation for effectively executing digital strategies .”
Mitschein said if one takes a look at what makes businesses successful in today ’ s era , it is their ability to continuously disrupt .
“ If you are able to create an innovative , collaborative and engaged workforce you will hereby build a resilient culture that will help to proactively respond to potential disruptions .” environment . More investment is needed in skills development and lifelong learning . Skills development will need to include humancentred skills , leadership skills and technical skills ,” she said .
According to Synthesis Academy ’ s Grant , the first step is to identify talent with leadership potential – while leadership skills can be taught and acquired , the quick wins are often in approaching individuals who
PART OF THE PROCESS OF PROCURING VENDOR SERVICES , SHOULD BE A KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND RESKILLING OR UPSKILLING OF TALENT IN AFRICAN ORGANISATIONS . themselves and being deliberate about the ways in which they reward behaviour .
“ For instance , if we want to foster a culture of learning , learning cannot be something that happens only outside working hours ( when employees are often expected to self-study for certifications or accreditations required by the organisation ). Creating frameworks that acknowledge learning time as working time and protecting that time to enable employees to meaningfully engage with learning material sends a clear message that learning is valued ,” she added .
e4 ’ s Sibiya explained that CIOs need to ensure that their teams and colleagues are comfortable with constant change and need to encourage autonomy by enabling opportunities for continuous learning . “ CIOs also need to enable seamless integrations between IT and business teams ,” she said .
She said it will take time to build and foster this culture , but it ’ s not mission impossible and the impact is enormous . “ I am a firm believer that people are at the heart of Digital Transformation and empowering your workforce on innovation methodologies such as design thinking or business model innovation builds the foundation for an innovation culture and mindsets across your organisation ,” she explained .
At BT , Bernadette Wightman , MD , Banking and Financial Services , said the technology skills shortage is not unique to Africa , but impacts countries around the world . Wightman said technology is evolving at such a rate that it is almost impossible to keep up , meaning that the skills gap is only widening as more innovative solutions are developed .
“ Adding to this reality is an aging workforce that might not always feel comfortable in how best to embrace technological advances and the new way of working today ,” she said .
Sandra Kutukwa , Senior HR Business Partner , e4 , said the approach to talent management should take into account uncertainties and help employers build a predictable talent pipeline .
“ Therefore , to stay at the forefront of talent development , e4 focuses on reskilling their workforces to deal with the new are already showing signs of affinity to leadership behaviours .
The next step , added Grant , is to accelerate their learning opportunities – whether these are through strong coaching relationships , formal training or other programmes , there needs to be a clear commitment to their development .
Mitschein said the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings major disruptions to labour markets and new categories of jobs are emerging , partly or wholly displacing others .
“ Who would have thought five years ago that there will be the role of a chief happiness officer or a chief purpose officer ? The skill sets required in both old and new professions are continuously changing in most industries . The COVID-19 pandemic further highlights the necessity to accelerate digital skill building in an increasingly digital world ,” she said .
Creating a culture of success
Grant said culture is not created top-down , but cannot survive without clear executive input and behavioural incentives .
According to her , successful CIOs build cultures of accountability , respect and innovation by living these behaviours
Wightman said even though reskilling employees may feel overwhelming , it is a critical enabler to create strategic value in a digitally-driven environment .
She pointed out that the reality is that twothirds of children who started school in 2016 will go on to have jobs that do not yet exist which emphasises the need to consistency reskill and upskill in business today .
“ Universities , businesses and industry experts need to work together to ensure that the technology skills needed for the future are being incorporated into education programmes , as a means to improve on closing this gap . Digital skills are critical to the growth and survival of economies , however fixing the digital and technology skills shortage requires effort from both public and private entities ,” she added .
CIO ’ s role
The tech talent squeeze on the African continent means CIOs must build deep leadership benches .
In an environment where IT talent is in short supply , who should be in charge of upskilling , reskilling and training IT talent within an organisation ?
e4 ’ s Kutukwa believes the ideal approach is a partnership between HR and the CIO which
36 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com