This post was originally published on this site.
The labor market rebounded slightly in August according to the latest data from the Department of Labor, but talent acquisition remains a challenge in this slowing hiring market. The U.S. economy added 142,000 jobs in August – a marked improvement over July’s downwardly revised total of 89,000 – but still saw the weakest August jobs report since 2017. Meanwhile, the number of job openings fell to 7.67 million in July – the lowest level since January 2021 – according to JOLTS data.
This stagnation in hiring is placing talent acquisition and retention near the top of the list of biggest concerns for business leaders. According to a pulse survey fielded by RGP in June, one in four financial decision makers (26%) say that acquiring and retaining talent is their top concern for the second half of 2024 – second only to the integration of more digital strategies, including AI and automation (30%). Nearly half (45%) of financial decision makers say their organization plans to increase investment in resources to reskill or upskill current employees this year.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that upskilling and reskilling are the path forward. The tight labor market is making it more difficult for employers to fill skills gaps, a challenge that is being accelerated by rapidly changing skill needs. In fact, 58% of employees believe their job skills will significantly change in the next five years due to AI and big data, according to a recent World Economic Forum study.
Growing Investment In Upskilling And Reskilling
Technology companies are stepping up and proving to take this challenge seriously. Recent notable investments include a $75 million fund announced by Google earlier this year to provide grants to organizations for free AI training. Meanwhile, Amazon recently cited the impact of its $1.2 billion skills training and education pledge, noting that those who’ve graduated the program have seen pay increases of up to 40%.
In July, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium—led by Cisco and counting members including Google, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP—released an inaugural report, which found that 92% of jobs are expected to undergo either high or moderate transformation due to advancements in AI. The consortium members have established skills development and training goals that will impact over 95 million individuals globally over the next decade.
Talent Is Seeking More Learning And Development Opportunities
In terms of solutions for keeping up with technology, upskilling will go a long way for employees as well. The Human Progress Report, released by ETS in partnership with Harris Poll in April, found that upskilling and reskilling will become the new standard for people throughout their careers. That’s according to 85% of the 17,000 respondents surveyed.
“We no longer live in a world where you get your degree or training, leave education and learning behind and never look back,” Michelle Froah, global chief marketing and innovation officer at ETS, told Fortune at the time. “Globally, people are feeling the pressure to keep assessing and certifying their skills.”
LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report found that learning improves employees’ sense of connection and adds purpose to their work. The next generation of workers will place even more value on learning and development opportunities. The study found that Gen Z workers are more likely to value learning for career progress than older generations.
In-demand skill sets will continue to evolve as we see further advancements in AI, automation, and the way work is done. These shifts will continue to have a tremendous impact on the employee demand for learning and development benefits. Employers must not only invest in providing the training that their workforce of the future will need, but they must consider the impact upskilling and reskilling will have on skill acquisition and talent retention.