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Skills intelligence for reskilling and skills-based hiring
The concept of skills has become a focal point for talent leaders and employees alike as digital transformation continues to disrupt and change the concept of working. Traditional job roles and qualifications are being redefined as industries adapt to technological advancements and shifting market demands.
This shifting landscape requires leaders to have a deeper understanding of the roles that skills play within organizations, and how they can be applied across all roles. This is required in real-time.
What are skills, exactly?
Skills are specific abilities or proficiencies that individuals develop through practice and experience. They are often task-oriented and measurable, focusing on the capability to perform particular activities effectively. Skills can be categorized into various types:
- Technical Skills: These are specialized abilities required to perform specific tasks related to a particular job or field. Examples include coding, data analysis, graphic design, and machine operation. Technical skills are often acquired through formal education, training programs, or hands-on experience.
- Human Skills: These are interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities that affect how individuals interact with others and manage their work. Examples include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management. Sometimes called “soft skills,” these are typically developed through life experiences and are crucial for effective collaboration and leadership.
- Functional Skills: These are versatile skills that can be applied across different jobs and industries. Examples include project management and scheduling . Functional skills are valuable because they enable technical skills to be applied to business problems. In addition, functional skills allow individuals to move between roles and sectors more easily.
What’s the difference between skills vs. competencies?
A competency is the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. They are often conflated with skills, but skills are just one of many components that make up competencies.
Competencies are a comprehensive set of attributes that encompass the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes necessary for effective performance in a specific role or context. Unlike skills, which are specific and task-oriented, competencies provide a broader framework for understanding what it takes to excel in a particular line of work.
In addition to skills, competencies can be made up of the following components:
- Knowledge: The theoretical understanding and information necessary to perform a job. For instance, a marketing professional needs knowledge of market research techniques, consumer behavior theories, and digital marketing strategies.
- Behaviors: The observable actions and conduct that contribute to job performance. Effective behaviors might include teamwork, leadership, adaptability, and communication. For example, a leader needs to exhibit behaviors such as decision-making, motivating team members, and managing conflicts.
- Attitudes: The mindset and approach individuals bring to their work. Positive attitudes such as resilience, openness to feedback, and a proactive approach can significantly impact job performance and workplace dynamics.
This distinction is important for hiring and professional development. By understanding the specific competencies needed for a role, organizations can better match candidates to job requirements, resulting in improved performance and job satisfaction.
The evolution of skills in the workplace
Job roles were traditionally defined by rigid qualifications and specific career paths. This approach often limited the candidate pool and overlooked the diverse range of skills that individuals could bring to a role.
However, this narrow view is changing, and industries are beginning to recognize that effective performance isn’t tied solely to previous job titles and career paths but rather, to the underlying skills and competencies that individuals possess.
Case study: Major League Baseball and the talent gender shift
For much of its history, Major League Baseball (MLB) had a narrow mindset, believing that only former MLB players could succeed in talent development roles, limiting the pool of scouts and coaches to men. However, as the industry realized the importance of skills like data analytics, kinesiology, and strategy, it became clear that these abilities aren’t exclusive to men or former players.
The industry found that women entering these roles brought a variety of experiences and skills that enriched the talent development process. This not only boosted diversity but also broadened the scope of talent acquisition, emphasizing skills over traditional experience. It’s a powerful example of how evaluating the criteria for roles can lead to a more inclusive and effective workforce. And it’s just the beginning.
How is digital transformation linked to skills?
As companies adopt new technologies, the need for new skills will rise. This makes it essential for both employees and employers to stay competitive. Digital transformation isn't just about using new tools—it's about rethinking workflows, improving efficiency, and encouraging innovation.
Leaders must prepare a workforce that can adapt to emerging technologies. This shift also creates opportunities for upskilling and reskilling, helping workers stay relevant as artificial intelligence (AI) enhances their roles.
McKinsey reports that by 2030, one in sixteen workers—over 100 million people—may need to change jobs. Even those who stay in their roles will be affected, with 40 percent needing to reskill in the next three years due to AI. These numbers will only grow in the long term.
The quantum view of skills
Here’s why all this matters: At SkyHive, we value concepts like skills, competencies, digital transformation, and reskilling. We provide skills intelligence by processing over 24 terabytes of raw data daily, allowing us to analyze how skills, skill demands, and job architectures change in real time. This helps us break down skills into their smallest parts, called quantum parts.
These quantum parts combine to form the context of work. We can determine if a job requires specific skills, experience, or knowledge. With our AI-powered technology, we offer organizations leading skills intelligence to find, promote, develop, mentor, train, and nurture employees—moving beyond just whether someone has done the job before. For organizations that want to become skills-based organizations or conduct skills-based workforce planning, this intelligence is a must-have.
Returning to our baseball analogy, for example, our technology wouldn’t limit the search for a baseball scout to former players. Instead, it focuses on the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for scouting.
At a conference, we met a police officer who was a former journalist. His transferable skills, like listening, asking questions, and finding information, made his career change logical. We’ve also seen former teachers become paralegals because their skills in lesson planning, grading, research, and comprehension translate well.
Skills vs roles and the shift to skills-based hiring
Hiring practices have traditionally focused on specific roles, emphasizing job titles, past experiences, and formal qualifications. This approach often overlooks the underlying skills candidates possess and limits the candidate pool to those with similar backgrounds.
However, the modern workforce is shifting toward skills-based hiring, which prioritizes abilities and competencies over past job titles and experience alone. Skills-based hiring involves identifying the key skills needed for a job and looking for candidates who show proficiency in those areas. This has several advantages:
- Diversified talent pools: By focusing on skills, leaders can tap into a broader and more diverse range of candidates, including those from non-traditional backgrounds who, despite having the necessary skills, might lack conventional qualifications.
- Better job fits: Skills-based hiring ensures that candidates are selected based on their ability to perform the tasks required by the job. This naturally leads to a better match between the employee and the role.
- Increased innovation: A diverse workforce with a wide range of skills brings different perspectives and ideas together. This can help to foster innovation and creativity throughout the organization.
- Adaptability: Employees hired based on their skills are often more agile and capable of taking on multiple roles. This makes the wider organization more flexible and resilient in the face of change (such as digital transformation.)
Reskilling and upskilling for the future
The rapid pace of technological advancement, digital transformation, and evolving industry requirements necessitates a commitment to reskilling, upskilling, and continuous learning and development throughout organizations. Reskilling and upskilling strategies help to ensure that the workforce remains capable of overcoming future challenges.
- Reskilling: An essential strategy for filling skills gaps and ensuring that employees are equipped with the right skills to contribute to an organization’s long-term goals. It involves training employees to acquire new skills that are needed for different roles. Reskilling is essential when job functions become obsolete.
- Upskilling: This focuses on enhancing an employee’s existing skills to improve their performance in their current role. Upskilling is crucial for keeping up with advancements in technology, processes, and best practices within a given field.
Five strategies for effective reskilling and upskilling
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reskilling and upskilling employees, talent leaders may find that the following strategies will help to provide the basis for a successful reskilling effort.
- Identify skills gaps: Conduct a thorough analysis of current skills within your organization and use them to build a skills inventory or talent inventory. Compare this inventory to the skills you need to achieve long-term goals to identify areas where reskilling or upskilling is necessary.
- Implement technology: Utilize online learning platforms, virtual training sessions, and digital resources to provide employees with access to high-quality, flexible learning opportunities. Technology can also be used to facilitate personalized learning experiences tailored to individual needs.
- Encourage a learning culture: Foster an organizational culture that places value on continuous learning and professional development. Encourage employees to take ownership of their learning journeys and provide incentives for participation in training programs.
- Collaborate with institutions: Partner with technical schools, universities, and other educational institutions to offer specialized training programs and certifications that align with industry needs.
- Establish peer learning: Establish mentorship programs where experienced employees can share their knowledge and skills with colleagues. Encourage peer-to-peer learning to create a collaborative learning environment.
The future of work is an agile workforce
If there’s one thing that the digital age is showing us, it’s that the fundamental concepts of work and what it means to work are being reinvented by increasingly advanced technologies. This is having a huge impact on the way we view and utilize skills and requires organizations to be adaptable to changing requirements and encourage workforce agility through reskilling.
Indeed, by being committed to teaching their employees new skills, employers can foster a mindset of continuous learning and experimentation, leading to innovative solutions and competitive advantages in the market.
