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Closing the skills gap
The phrase 'skills gap' is used frequently in connection with the UK workforce, with skills shortages cited as a contributor to poor productivity and sluggish business growth.
By Simon Jones
The Government is all too aware of the need to enhance workforce skills. In response to the Leitch Review on skills - which outlined steps to help the UK become a world leader in skills by 2020 - it has established a new UK Commission for Employment and Skills and launched the Skills Pledge, a voluntary public commitment from employers to encourage and support their employees to enhance their skills. Both of these steps are designed to help increase the number of adults who improve their skills and achieve qualifications each year.Skills issues are particularly prevalent in the retail
There are some key steps that any organisation can take to help develop existing employees, ensuring it effectively manages and develops talent in line with business objectives. For example:
• Take a step back and look at your organisational goals in the context of the skills that your team will need to reach them, from basic skills to specialist requirements.
Then compare the required skills profile to current levels: this will help you identify strengths and weaknesses and develop plans in place to address any gaps.
• Identify and monitor employee potential within your organisation. It's important to think creatively about what an individual can offer in the longer term, given the right level of training and experience, and to plan how you can help them achieve that potential. This in turn will help retain employees for longer as they won't necessarily feel the need to seek out those development opportunities elsewhere.
• Ensure development plans form a key part of each person's role. Stick to this commitment as your organisation grows so that current employees and potential recruits can see that development is a key part of your offer to them. It's vital to implement structured, accessible training and development programmes at all levels. These should respond to employees' needs but also be made available to staff that may not be so vocal in requesting skills development for themselves.
• Within the context of personal development plans, ensure that each individual has the training and support they will need to help them progress along the path you envisage for them. Training should be viewed as an investment for the role that an individual will move on to do within a business rather than just plugging a skills gap related to their current job. Also, training doesn't necessarily have to mean expensive courses. On-the-job training, mentoring and coaching can be just as effective if implemented correctly.
• Don't confuse ability with experience when seeking to fill vacancies. Talent is the crucial factor, and with the right support employees can develop any specific skills needed for a particular role. Consider how your team members, whatever their role or prior experience, could play their part in providing the skills you are looking for. This is particularly relevant to people returning to the workforce after a break or those who have decided to join an organisation as a result of a career change.
• Put robust succession planning processes into place to minimise the impact of any staff departures. This should involve training and mentoring to ensure that staff are ready to move up the organisation should their managers decide to move on.
• Finally, although I have spoken a great deal about growing talent from within, don't be afraid to look outside the organisation if you just don't have the required skills or potential within your current people.
Of course, there is no 'one size fits all' approach and employers need to consider what works best for their business. However, all organisations rely on a skilled and flexible workforce to be successful, now and in the future, so it's vital that managers invest time and money into developing their people. Not only will this help to combat a shortfall in skills where this impacts on the organisation's performance, it will also provide a significant boost to employee morale and commitment. Skills development is an investment opportunity that no business can afford to miss.
Simon Jones is acting Chief Executive, Investors in People UK
Tagged as: investors in people | skills shortage | retail | employees
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