Leading from the front in the skills revolution

5 steps organisations should take when setting up a skills-based talent strategy
Traditionally, work was a place we’d go to, but now it has become more about what we do — from anywhere. It’s all part of a new talent equation of supply and demand based on skills being critical for success.
In the future, jobs will no longer be the corporate unit that everything is organised around. Instead, tasks will be divided between humans and machines, depending on who best suits each task.
We’re already seeing significant shifts in how we put skills to work. The first is a shift in how jobs are defined — from roles within traditional organisational hierarchies to a more dynamic model, where skilled individuals work across multiple project-based settings.
The next is a shift in work between humans and machines, as technology evolves to take over the more transactional tasks, and humans focus their skills on more unique and strategic aspects. This shift becomes less about humans using technology and more about how they interact with it instead. Simply put, technical skills become the “means to compete,” while human interpersonal skills become the “competitive advantage.”
These shifts will lead us to reshape how employees grow, navigate their careers and get paid. When done right, skills can drive organisational agility and unlock the power of people. Skills-based approaches are one way that companies are reinventing flexibility, from pay to skill to skills-based talent matching. This flexibility is pivotal to delivering the productivity and efficiency required by modern businesses, but there’s still some way to go.
Approximately half (47%) of companies report that they are yet to develop an approach to classifying skills at any level of their company, which is a minimal change since 2021.
The skills revolution is now
A shift to a skills-based talent strategy requires support across multiple sectors, from higher education to government and even between industries in the private sector around skills development. It also needs strong support from within a company, across senior leadership, finance and HR teams.
Below are five steps for companies to take when switching to a skills-based talent strategy.
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