Bridging the skills gap in your workforce with online training 

To stand out in today's fast-changing world, a skilled workforce is an invaluable asset to any business's productivity. Because the job market demands highly skilled workers, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find candidates who tick all of the boxes. According to Korn Ferry, this talent shortage could result in $8.5 trillion of unrealized revenue in 2023 alone. It's also estimated that nearly 20% of the workforce will be under-skilled for their jobs as soon as 2030. All of these data clearly indicate that not only does a skill gap in the modern workforce exist, it's gradually increasing.

Deciphering the skill disparity 

The term skill gap is used to describe the difference in the skills required for a job to the skills possessed by an employee in terms of experience and expertise. As employers look for skilled workers, it's becoming more challenging to find the right people suited for open roles.

Main causes of the skill gap 

The reason for the skill gap can be traced back to various factors, but the most critical ones include education, technology, and lack of skill training by employers.

Education: Students are graduating in fields that are in low demand in the job market. Apart from that, graduates lack the key skills required for their respective fields.

Technology: The advancements and emergence of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and automation, mandates workers to update old skills and learn new ones regularly to succeed in today's world.

Lack of skill training: To increase their productivity and reduce the time spent on training, companies want experienced employees rather than entry-level workers.

Filling the gap  

The increasing skill gap makes it harder for businesses to thrive in the ever-evolving industrial landscape. It greatly impacts businesses and individuals by hindering growth, productivity, and profits. According to The Wall Street Journal, the increasing skill requirements in the manufacturing industry alone makes it harder to find the right people to fill those jobs.

Skill gap analysis: This is the initial step in identifying and reducing the skill gap found in the modern workplace. A skill gap analysis requires employers to evaluate their employees and identify what essential skills are lacking in their workforce.

How to do a skill gap analysis  

A skill gap analysis depends on the organizational goals and the skills required for a particular job. It helps to identify the proper skills and organizational requirements that need to be improved for better productivity and sustainability. There are four steps involved in a skill gap analysis; these are described below. 

Articulate business goals: Having clear goals helps companies perform an analysis more easily, and it will also provide a clear picture of the expected result. The goals should be realistic, and the number of employees should be sufficient to achieve them.

Identify the skills: List the skills required for efficient functioning of the organization. Differentiate important as well as not so important skills, so that it will be easier to focus and formulate a strategy while upskilling.

Evaluate the existing workforce: Workforce assessment is an important step because it can provide insights into the skill sets already existing in your workforce. Use internal data from team reviews and reports to measure the skills of your employees.

Take action: After the evaluation, you should have enough data to improve your workforce. There are two options to consider here: 

• Hire new people for the existing roles. 

• Upskill the existing workforce. 

Hire new employees: Hiring new employees with the desired experience, qualifications, and expertise is a time-consuming and expensive process. According to Zippia, it takes an average of 36 to 42 days to fill a position in the United States, with an average cost per hire of $4,700. Apart from that, it takes three to eight months for a new employee to adjust and become fully productive at work.

Upskill the existing workforce: This is one of the most sought-after approaches to close the skill gap and improve efficiency. It includes providing lessons, and assessing and monitoring individual employees' progress. This approach trains existing employees to perform their jobs as flawlessly as possible.

Workforce transformation using online training 

Traditional training methods have been used for a long time, but they have some drawbacks when it comes to upskilling existing employees. Training employees in the middle of their shift is not always feasible. There are many complexities, such as space constraints, increased training costs, limited flexibility, reduced customization, tracking difficulties, and proper evaluation of the employees.

On the other hand, online training plays a crucial role in training employees by providing flexible and accessible learning opportunities. The advantages of online training include cost-effectiveness, improved personalization and interactive features, a collaborative learning environment, and precise tracking and evaluation of employees' progress.

Organizations undergoing workforce transformation can leverage the advantages of online training to upskill their employees to meet the evolving demands of the modern workforce.

The impactful advantages of online training to close the skill gap 

Online training has emerged as a powerful solution to close the skill gap prevailing in the modern-day workforce. With its highlight features and cutting-edge capabilities, online training offers organizations the means to close the skill gap and empower their employees for future success. Here are some of the most impactful advantages that make online training the best option to close the skill gap in the modern workforce.

Easily accessible and cost-effective training: Online training can be accessed by employees irrespective of their location and time zone. Unlike traditional training, which requires employees to be present in the physical work space, online training provides flexible options for learning. It also reduces onsite training costs and improves employee retention and engagement. According to one study by the Brandon-Hall Group, online training requires 40% to 60% less employee time than learning the same content in a traditional onsite training.

Personalized and customized learning: With online training, employers can customize and personalize the training curriculum to match individual employees' needs. This helps save employees' time by focusing on what they really need to improve their skills. Every employee in a company's workforce has different levels of knowledge, and it's important to cater to them with the necessary courses to fill the skill gap. Personalizing and providing a customized learning curriculum will encourage employees to invest their time in the training, which will increase the engagement rate.

Interactive features: Organizations can include interactive features in their training to improve the overall learning experience for their employees. Online training comes with various interactive features, such as quizzes and polls, which elevate the quality of online training and improve learner retention.

Collaborative learning: Using online training platforms, organizations can create a collaborative learning environment that breaks the communication barrier in online training. Employees can discuss learning points with their peers and continue their training without feeling isolated during the training phase. Online training platforms come with features such as discussion forums, which can be used to have meaningful and thought-provoking discussions and interactions.

Monitoring and evaluating: The built-in analytics tools in online training platforms help organizations track their employees' progress. Evaluation tools, such as online tests and quizzes, can be used to assess employees' performance and understanding. These tools can also be used to identify areas of weakness and help formulate an improved course curriculum. Finally, it helps to determine whether an employee has successfully completed the course with proper understanding of the content.

Enhancing credibility with course certifications 

Certification acts as recognition of the learners' successful completion of a course. In employee training, certification acts as a benchmark for their development, and it also serves as motivation for the employees as they go through the training. You can issue certificates to your employees upon successful completion of the course.

Conclusion  

With rapid developments in online platforms, it's becoming easier to create online training programs to upskill your workforce. The widening skill gap in today's industrial landscape is evident, and online training can be the right tool to fill the gap and navigate the demand in the job market. Online employee training platforms, such as TrainerCentral, let you create courses for your employees and provide the necessary tools and features to analyze and evaluate their progress.