The decreasing shelf life of technical skills necessitates a more dynamic and responsive approach to learning and development. Here’s how this organisation is doing it.
As the professional world evolves at breakneck speed, the longevity of skills is shrinking, says Arun Pradhan, General Manager of Learning at ANZ.
“For example, coding for machine learning is a skills growth area today,” he says. “But, if you’re learning in that space, it’s likely that what you’re learning is going to be disrupted, or at least needing major upskilling, within about 18 months to two years.”
This reality calls for a fundamental shift in how organisations approach learning and development, he says.
“It’s about setting up the mechanisms to identify the skills that are required, and the processes to upskill and reskill rapidly as required.”
Ahead of his appearance at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition later this month, Pradhan outlines four key shifts that need to occur in learning and development programs to ensure they remain effective and agile to future skills needs.
1. Build an internal opportunity marketplace
Traditional approaches to career development often leave employees siloed in their roles, limiting their potential for growth and mobility within the organisation.
According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report, just one-third of organisations have internal mobility programs in place, and only one in five employees has strong confidence in their ability to make an internal move.
With emerging technologies causing new roles to crop up and others to become obsolete, it’s imperative to cultivate an appetite among employees to upskill outside their usual remit.
To achieve this, Pradhan suggests placing more emphasis on the capabilities employees possess and those they want to develop regardless of whether they are part of that employee’s job description.
“I think that job roles will persist as a means to organise work, but now we’re getting a deeper skills-based view of what’s behind each role,” he says.
“We’re developing the frameworks and investigating the technology that will allow us to look at a role and see that it’s 40 per cent adjacent to that role over there, even though it doesn’t look like it. And we’re trying to provide a faster way for people to match up those skills.”
Traditional approach: Developing skills based on prescriptive job roles, limiting opportunities for mobility.
Enhanced approach: Develop frameworks to identify and facilitate possible lateral moves based on skill overlaps, encourage cross-functional development and provide visibility into potential career paths within the organisation.
“The opportunity to immediately and constantly apply learning provides a reality check, learning reinforcement and a feedback loop to accelerate learning.” – Arun Pradhan, General Manager of Learning at ANZ
2. Embrace short skill lifespans
Embracing a strategy which recognises and adapts to the transience of technical skills will help L&D professionals remain agile and switched on to the evolving skills landscape, says Pradhan.
By continuously monitoring tech and industry trends, and collaborating with ANZ’s workforce planning team to map future skills needs, Pradhan’s team is able to evolve its L&D strategy in real time.
“The trick is making sure we’ve got the right teams in place, the right processes and the right technology, to pick up what’s next. Then we can lean into that disproportionately to make a bigger impact faster,” he says.
“The process is [firstly] understanding what organisational capabilities will be required [in the future]. And then, from those organisational capabilities, you’ve got to break it down into what that means for systems, what that means for tooling, and what that means for people capabilities.”
Traditional approach: Investing heavily in technical skills without frequent re-evaluation.
Enhanced approach: Regularly review and update training to ensure it aligns with current and projected industry trends and technological advancements.
3. Real-time application of skills
While strategic workforce planning requires HR to consider skills needs years ahead of time, Pradhan stresses the importance of considering the right timing to weave these skills into your L&D program.
“We need to consider an overlay of how early we can initiate upskilling before those skills become relevant,” he says.
“Learning is most effective at the point of need. The opportunity to immediately and constantly apply learning provides a reality check, learning reinforcement and a feedback loop to accelerate learning.”
At ANZ, upskilling is delivered in digestible instalments that employees can immediately apply to real situations and business challenges, helping them take an active role in their own learning and ensure their learnings remain relevant to current business trends and challenges.
“If you can apply or retrieve what you’re learning [in real time], that’s going to embed it more into your long-term memory,” he says. “[If you] just passively read or watch content for a day or half a day, there’s high illusions of competence, but you’re actually not learning as effectively.”
ANZ will soon enhance its hands-on learning initiatives with the rollout of a new Academy for foundational skills around data, digital and human skills.
“The ANZ Academy has team-based learning at its core, so people can apply what they learn immediately in their work with their peers. It’s getting away from having a learning bubble over here and a work bubble over there, which forces busy people to make their own connections.”
Traditional approach: Separating learning and development from daily work, often delivering it in the form of isolated training sessions.
Enhanced approach: Integrate learning programs with daily work tasks, allowing employees to apply new skills immediately and reinforcing learning through practical application. Incorporate team-based learning sessions and projects to build collective expertise and enhance collaboration.
“I often talk about technical skills as being like ice, constantly melting. You need them, but they quickly slip through your fingers. Whereas human skills are like diamonds – they last forever.” – Arun Pradhan, General Manager of Learning at ANZ
4. Balance technical and human skills
The ever-decreasing shelf-life of technical skills has had an interesting knock-on effect, says Pradhan: the elevation – and rebranding – of so-called ‘soft’ skills.
According to LinkedIn’s research, 91 per cent of global learning and development professionals agree that skills traditionally thought of as soft, such as communication, problem-solving and critical thinking, are becoming increasingly important.
In recognition of this, Pradhan prefers to refer to these skills as ‘permanent skills’.
“I often talk about technical skills as being like ice, constantly melting. You need them, but they quickly slip through your fingers,” he says. “Whereas human skills are like diamonds – they last forever. People can future-proof by developing deep permanent or human skills and combining them with technical skills to deliver the most impact.”
Traditional approach: Overemphasis on technical skills, with human skills (or permanent skills) given less priority.
Enhanced approach: Incorporate training for essential human skills such as communication, adaptability and collaboration, and coach employees to strategically combine them with technical skills.
Making learning energising
When implementing these new approaches, it’s crucial to consider the impact of change on employees who are accustomed to learning and working within traditional frameworks.
Research shows the pace of transformation in areas like technology and work design has left many employees experiencing ‘change fatigue’. This can make it much more difficult to foster an agile learning mindset.
To avoid this, employers can reframe L&D as an energiser rather than an arduous task.
“One of the things we’re trying to do [to achieve this] is develop a more proactive learning culture where people intentionally pick up skills in their work,” says Pradhan. “It’s about getting the most out of your working day, not just by delivering value, but also by developing new skills and opening new career opportunities as a result.”
One of the most effective ways HR can contribute to this culture is leading by example. The increasing importance of permanent, human capabilities endows HR practitioners with a unique ability to become the champions of a thriving learning culture.
“[You should] use every opportunity to build a new skill. Be that curious person who collects skills from work, parenting, hobbies or anywhere else, and is creatively combining those skills to deliver your unique value proposition,” says Pradhan.
Arun Pradhan will be speaking on future-proofing your organisation with learning agility at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition in August. Sign up today to hear from Arun and other experts, including Seth Godin, Ravin Jesuthasen and more.