The Role of Academic Institutions, Business, and Government in Providing
Rapidly emerging technologies, such as blockchain, AI/ML, 5G, and the cloud, are ensuring that each and every job requires some degree of digital prowess. In fact, according to World Economic Forum, 9 out of 10 jobs require digital skills. On top of that, COVID19 has dramatically changed the way we live, study, access healthcare, and work, and has made us more reliant on technology. This has exponentially increased the demand for digitally savvy current and prospective talent. And, this trend shows no sign of abating.
A new study from IDC finds that Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners in India will create more than jobs among Salesforce customers in the country, including 569,800 direct and 758,400 indirect jobs by 2026. As businesses focus on establishing their digital HQs to deliver customer and employee success from anywhere, they are also realizing that cloud software is driving massive economic benefits. According to IDC, the demand for cloud services is set to grow 22 percent, from $2.6 billion in 2020 to $8.5 billion in 2026.
Our new digital world hinges on everyone having the skills to participate. Immediate and sustained investment in digital skills is imperative to our global economic recovery from the pandemic and to the resilient, long-term growth that must follow it. A recent Accenture study estimates that by 2028, the G20 countries could miss out on $11.5 trillion of cumulative GDP growth if the growing digital skills gap is not addressed.
As India is the leading source of highly skilled digital talent, India is at the greatest GDP growth risk, at an average of 2.3 percent every year, due to the widening digital skills gap; followed by South Africa and Mexico at 1.8 percent, and China and Brazil at 1.7 percent (Accenture).
The scale of this challenge is too massive for a single company, government, or institution to solve alone; it will require true partnership across all stakeholders to move the needle.
The pandemic has presented us with a unique opportunity to rethink digital education and deliver an exciting evolution of business and society that ensures growth, innovation, and happiness in equal measure. To make this happen, academic institutions and businesses have an important role to play together in cultivating a culture of continual learning and providing digital opportunities for all.
Learning from Anywhere
Even before the pandemic, the impact of digital transformation on our civic spaces and our workplaces had resulted in a major disconnect between education systems and the needs of global economies and societies. Despite academic institutions and programs having encouraged careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM), the disparity in our education system and the needs of the future workforce is growing, rather than closing.
The pandemic may not have created new reasons for academic institutions to change how they do business but it has rapidly accelerated the process. In this post-pandemic world, institutions are adjusting to the new normal and becoming more digitally flexible, offering students more online services, and develop greater career preparation. Particularly in places where large numbers of students work full- or part-time as they learn, there is value to found in providing hybrid learning courses to ensure convenience. Increasingly, access to relevant technologies and development of digital competences will be essential to delivering high-quality education and training, both for life and the workplace.
Preparing the Workforce for the Jobs of the Future
Just like education, the workplace is not going back to the way it was before the pandemic. Our new digital world presents a major opportunity for companies to rethink what their teams should look like. By tailoring training based on what employees need to know, companies can create a flexible working culture that empowers their teams to connect, learn and progress from anywhere.
Now more than ever, people need access to the technologies and skills necessary to land the jobs of the future. Platforms, like Trailhead — Salesforce’s free, online learning platform, allow individuals to go from a low level of technical knowledge to a Salesforce role in as little as six months. Trailhead has already helped 3 million people skill-up for the future — at scale and speed — from anywhere and at their individual pace of learning. Trailhead has seen a more than 40 percent increase in sign-ups, and learner engagement has grown by more than 50 percent since COVID-19 emerged. 3 in 5 members say that the Salesforce Trailblazer Community helped them get a new job or promotion.
Addressing the digital skills gap is vital to increasing competitiveness — both at an individual level, for businesses, and at the level of a country, and it is time for all stakeholders to actively build partnerships to close the widening digital skills gap. By promoting tech careers as a platform for fair progression, executing far-reaching programs that break down barriers to reskilling, and resetting recruitment to focus less on traditional education and more on skills, we can open up digital roles to a wider, more diverse talent pool and deliver a more positive socio-economic impact.
Originally published at https://cxotv.techplusmedia.com on January 17, 2022.