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Employers and other leaders, like most employees, are well aware that these are difficult times for workers. The nature of productivity and the meaning of skilled labor is changing, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence and social media marketing. While it used to be that you could pass simply by being attentive and diligent, there are now a plethora of digital skills that individuals need to have to have a competitive edge. In fact, the 2022 report, How Skills Are Disrupting Jobs: The Transformative Power of Fastest-Growing and In-Demand Skills, highlights skills in AI/machine learning, cloud computing, social media, and product management. It details the greatest needs of employees with It grew faster and faster than ever before that year.
The problem is that a large proportion of the unemployed and underemployed will not be able to qualify for such jobs as the skills gap continues to widen. For example, the same report states that over the past five years, the average employee in the United States has had to replace or upgrade 37% of her skills to perform her job responsibilities. His 2023 research, carried out by my own organization Amazon Web Services (in collaboration with Gallup), found that 68% of UK employers struggle to retain staff with the necessary digital knowledge. I understand. An even more troubling figure is that only 11% of UK workers have the skills needed to get and keep these high-tech jobs.
Small businesses find themselves in a unique position when it comes to this skills gap. While some leaders may be reluctant to keep up with larger, better-resourced competitors, there are benefits to being small and nimble. They can quickly pivot and test new pilot programs that offer more certifications and training to a smaller staff.
Related: Are you in a dead-end job? Here are the telltale signs
How skill improvement generates profits
Today’s workforce is grappling with the effects of the pandemic, even though they were primarily trained in an era before AI and machine learning took over the conversation. How can they catch up? One answer, he says, is “reskilling” (also known as “upskilling”), where employees engage in learning new skills, either on their own or with the help of work-based programs. And, of course, employers who offer high-quality learning and development programs benefit from such investments.
Owners should note that there is no need to spend a huge amount of time on this. Training on specific tasks related to advanced digital skills can be completed in as little as an hour, giving you immediate results. However, to be most effective, such instruction must be results-oriented and approachable. For example, Amazon Web Services offers free training in many areas (including basic generative AI solutions) that are designed to be easily understood by non-technical people.
Providing these opportunities doesn’t just mean more qualified workers. The same Amazon Web Services study shows that companies that engage in this type of training have 168% higher revenue than companies with lower levels of digital skill development. Even better, employees with intermediate digital skills earn 40% more annually than those with basic digital skills, and senior employees earn a whopping 65% more. Masu. His 2023 white paper, with authors representing MIT, Stanford University, and the National Bureau of Economic Research, supports this by showing that the promise of generative AI will most benefit less experienced workers. The goal is to level the playing field, help those with less experience learn skills faster, and reverse productivity inequality.
Related: How to keep employees engaged and productive in the age of AI
Smaller organizations typically have fewer employees. This means that the value of all employees (as a percentage of overall productivity) is much higher in small businesses than in large businesses. Similarly, the benefits of upskilling programs, whether it means having more highly skilled managers or simply disseminating information about the benefits of upskilling, are greater in smaller organizations. Spread faster.
Finally, programs like this can greatly help in recruiting talent. Small businesses almost inevitably have to compete with much larger, better-resourced companies that they can’t match in terms of pay. However, in a PwC study on HR and recruitment, 51% of respondents reported that they would be willing to forgo a higher salary for personal flexibility and training opportunities.
Related: Highly digitally skilled employees contribute $507.9 billion to India’s GDP: AWS report
investment in the future
At first glance, the cost of helping employees acquire the skills they need may seem high, even out of reach for some, but that doesn’t have to be the case. . There are many free resources available to help you train your staff in cloud computing and other areas. For example, Amazon Web Services Skill Builder offers free on-demand labs and hands-on learning for various skill levels.
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