Future-proof your organisation through Next-in-Class Learning

There is a new wave globally in building people’s capabilities. Tomorrow’s jobs require skills we

may not even be aware of today. Competitive forces, changing job requirements, emerging

technologies, an ageing workforce, new ways of working and a shorter shelf life of knowledge

will combine to drive the need for re-skilling and up-skilling of the workforce.

Expectations from the business are putting new demands on the learning function and focusing

squarely on meaningful learning outcomes. This accountability is forcing a change in the way

the best organisations develop their people.

In the midst of a demand for more talent and expertise, a wealth of experience and knowledge

is expected to exit organisations. The war for Talent means that workers are recruited from a

shrinking base, and recent employees in the global labour pool must master new capabilities

and knowledge more quickly and effi ciently. Furthermore, the most compelling strategy in the

attraction and retention of critical talent is the confi dence of recruits that they will have access

to cutting-edge opportunities to learn and develop valuable skills.

Value drivers for building people capabilities include: the pace of change, globalisation,

emerging technologies and, most importantly, intensifying complexity in the business

landscape. The speed of business is accelerating, and organisations are on a path of

transformation. Keeping pace with the transformation requires a change in learning strategies.

High-performing learning organisations are challenged today like never before. The notion of “learning” is defi nitely changing with the future workplace. Expectations of business are putting new demands on the learning function. This accountability is forcing a monumental change in the way organisations develop their people.

Transforming learning strategies

Results of the Global Talent Edge 2020 Study: Blueprints for the new normal, April 2011

(Deloitte Consulting LLP). Among employees surveyed in March 2011, only 35% expect

to remain with their current employers. Employees who are looking to leave believe key

corporate talent programmes at their current companies are seriously lacking, as is guidance

on developing career paths. Nearly half of employees surveyed (48%) who plan to leave their

current jobs believe their companies are doing a “fair/poor” job managing and delivering

effective training programmes. These findings are consistent with the Deloitte Best Company

to Work For findings over a number of years.

A view of development more holistic than reliance solely on traditional classroom

development is likely the next wave of learning. Learning is evolving in exciting ways,

as organisations maximise the use of leading-edge techniques, tools and philosophies.

The next wave is all about immersive simulations, reality learning, case studies and other

engaging activities that not only stimulate the learner during the experience but also create

far greater transfer of new skills and capabilities back to the job

Predictions include only 10% planned, formal learning and 90% informal, spontaneous learning

on the job. On-the-job learning is characterised by “any time, any place, any pace, any device”.

Custodians of learning strategies need to embrace the new formula of learning if we are to

equip employees for future roles.

Capitalising on technology

Organisations, learning professionals and learners are seeking ways of harnessing evolving

technology to empower new and strengthened learning design. The social learning revolution

is underway, driven from our desktops, PDAs, tablets, social networks, blogs, videos and

tweets. Although these tools are critical, more important is how to use them to increase

understanding and build capability. Social and collaborative learning have the potential

to transform the workplace into a learning place.

A global learning trend is to make greater use of technology-based and blended learning to

achieve business goals. Learning functions also need to be increasingly agile to market demands

and understand their target audience to maximise meaningful growth. Today’s younger

professionals have grown up in a high-tech world, and they fully expect their development

to take advantage of the possibilities. Technology-enabled classrooms that bring live learning

experiences and active collaboration among participants – and mobile applications that allow

learners to download podcasts whenever and wherever they need them – are radically

changing the learning landscape.

We have established that it is time for learning professionals to acknowledge and embrace a

dramatically wider set of content, collaboration and activity options as they develop and invent

the next set of learning designs. One may ask how relevant this is to the South African context.

The South African reality / skills shortage

South Africa has over half a million job vacancies at all levels which cannot be filled because

the right skills are not available. This skills shortage has particularly devastating effects on the

country’s youth. At the beginning of 2011, the unemployment rate in this country was at

25.3%, and of the 4.3-million unemployed South Africans, 1.3-million are between the ages

of 15 and 24. If this age is raised to 30, the percentage increases to 42% of young people. In

addition, only one in eight working age adults under the age of 25 in South Africa have a job,

compared to 40% in most emerging economies.

Recent press articles bring to light our country’s reality: new research reveals that a shocking

74% of youth under the age of 24 cannot find employment. The 10th annual Employment

Equity Commission report revealed that Transformation in the workplace has been slow, as

many companies have been failing to hire skilled black youngsters. A study representing all 23

public universities in South Africa acknowledges that there are problems with graduates exiting

tertiary institutions. Specifically, graduates lack basic job skills. Racial disparities further

compound the situation. At the end of 2009, 53.4% of all young blacks between the ages

of 15 and 24 were unemployed, which is three times worse than the unemployment rate of

14.5% of young white South Africans.

It is therefore critical that training and development interventions for graduates take into

consideration these very critical research observations. Bridging the gap between tertiary

education and the workplace requires innovative learning

strategies that will not only add value to the business but also

address the urgency of the skills shortage in South Africa.

In crafting effective learning strategies, we therefore

need to consider our unique South African challenges

and demands. Of critical importance is not to broaden

the gap between the haves and have-nots in our society,

but rather to introduce global trends that are applicable

to our local population.

High-performing learning organisations are challenged today like never before. The notion of “learning” is definitely changing with the future workplace. Expectations of business are putting new demands on the learning function. This accountability is forcing a monumental change in the way organisations develop their people.

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Designed and produced by BICS at Deloitte Consulting, Johannesburg

Conclusion

A perfect storm encompassing the demand for talent in a dwindling global pool, the complexity

of work and an unrelenting period of enormous change, coupled with generational differences

have all propelled a fresh, technology-enabled, just-in-time and high-impact perspective.

It is time for organisations to take a fresh look at their learning strategies. A far more

comprehensive approach to learning is required to truly build talent’s capabilities in

demonstrable, measurable ways. Progressive learning strategies should result in positive

business spin-offs, including the acceleration of people development; building consistent

competencies across geographies; the delivery of more effective, efficient learning to a

diverse, dispersed workforce; attracting the younger generation through offering an

innovative workplace and the facilitation of operational excellence.

Of course, learning strategies need to be integrated with, and supported by, key HR systems

such as performance management processes, robust succession planning models and career

opportunities that support employee growth and development.

Join us as we unpack future global learning trends with world-renowned expert Nick van Dam,

Chief Learning Officer, Global Talent at Deloitte on 14 September 2011. Let us explore further

how future learning trends affect our business learning strategies and how this relates to our

individual South African challenges and demands.

For further information on this event, please contact Ursula Fear, Associate Director,

Deloitte Human Capital, at ufear@deloitte.co.za.