Launch a Talent Enablement Program
Organizations need to create a comprehensive Talent Enablement program to
meet the unique demands imposed by the cloud. The program must focus on
the roles that are most directly affected by
cloud transformations, with skill develop-
ment initiatives targeted at each specific
role.
More so, the learning services need to be
constantly available and provide the least
amount of impact to the business. The days
of being out of the office for days or weeks on
end to attend training classes is no longer
feasible. Various learning modalities, such as
virtual instructor-led training (VILT), pod-
casts, webinars and progressive learning
management systems (LMSs), are necessary
to meet the needs of the learners and the
business.
Move Beyond Certifications
Organizations
need to create a
comprehensive
Talent Enablement
program to meet
the unique
demands imposed
by the cloud.
If you work in tech, you have probably achieved, or at least looked into, pro-
grams that offer certifications on a particular technology. These are table
stakes in the cloud game. They give people much needed guidance about the
general capabilities of a platform like AWS, GCP or Azure, or the specific uses
of a point solution offered by a third-party cloud provider.
But a Talent Enablement strategy needs to go beyond certifications. Just
because you get trained on AWS does not necessarily expose you to tools for
scripting, monitoring, abstraction and provisioning that you might need to
manage tasks in a cloud environment. It does not prepare you to manage a
project or to understand how other tools fit in with the AWS platform.
In our discussions with companies pursuing cloud projects, leaders point to a
series of missing knowledge domains they say are holding back their momen-
tum. Some are general, like having a baseline knowledge of cloud and under-
standing team roles and responsibilities. Others are more specific, such as:
knowledge of governance and controls for basic hygiene; financial manage-
ment of cloud platform spend; operations of cloud services calendars and
scheduling; or application assessment for cloud suitability.
These skills are generally not covered in certification courses. But they can be
taught inside organizations, targeting specific skill development plans to spe-
cific roles.
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