Filling the Skills Gap: HR Leaders’ Views on the Role of L&D

As part of EZRA’s research into skills gaps across industries, I recently teamed up with LHH to speak with HR leaders at companies of all sizes across a range of sectors. While this research is still ongoing, the preliminary results were striking. We’re witnessing a sea-change in the way employers view skills in relation to learning and development (L&D).

The first theme I’ve seen emerge is a growing recognition of just how quickly the necessary skills mix is changing across a wide range of roles. While plenty of articles and research papers have already been published about the shifting sands of in-demand skills, the more interesting part is the response by employers, particularly the largest employers that we might assume would be slower to react. This does not appear to be the case at all, with some of the largest companies leading the way in adopting a skills-first approach.

Employers rise to the challenge

We’re finding that large employers have reacted decisively and creatively by shifting from hiring skills to developing them. This reflects acceptance that finding the right skills in competitive labor markets is hard, as well as recognition that the right person for a given role may already be within the company – even if they don’t yet have the qualifications and certifications to prove it. In my discussions with HR leaders, Xerox’s EVP and CHRO Suzan Morno-Wade offered a glimpse of large employers’ thinking when she said that “rigorous, continuous learning on the job is needed in more companies today.” Employers that fail to develop skills internally will instead find themselves fighting with competitors to recruit the candidates with the most in-demand skills, which is likely to be a costly endeavor.

Morno-Wade also went into considerable detail on Xerox’s programs and practices in this area, which showed creative thinking and demonstrated that the company sees this as a long-term commitment, not a quick fix. These include a bespoke high-potential program that allows the company to identify emerging top talent and ensure they acquire the right skills, alongside internship and mentorship programs and outreach work with young people.

Skills-based hiring comes to the fore

The impact of this new approach to skills goes beyond upskilling and reskilling – it can be seen in hiring, too. IBM’s CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux offered significant insight into how the company is adjusting its hiring strategy to be better equipped to meet the challenges posed by changing skills mixes. IBM now bills itself as a skills-first company and has coined the phrase “new-collar” to replace the terms “blue-collar” and “white-collar” in its recruitment processes, reflecting the company’s aim to prioritize the right mix of skills ahead of a candidate’s formal qualifications.

Of course, IBM’s skills-based approach goes beyond the language it uses – the company is committed to practicing what it preaches. That’s why IBM has, for many positions, removed the requirement for a full college degree. As LaMoreaux explained, “If we needed somebody who knows Python, why do we care where they learned it?” – a question that encapsulates the whole point of a skills-based approach.

LaMoreaux’s belief in this approach appears to be shared by the leaders of the future. Each year, the Adecco Group surveys past and current participants in the Group’s CEO for One Month program to gauge their views on the future of work. This year, a record 63% of the survey’s 2,541 respondents agreed that workplace leaders do not need a university degree to do their job well – a leap of nine percentage points compared with 2022 (which was the first year in which the majority of respondents took this view). This suggests that the employers currently adopting a skills-based approach to hiring and L&D are the ones that will best satisfy the expectations of the next generation of talent; it also points to the importance of getting the L&D side of the equation right.

L&D always and everywhere

The corollary to this shift to a skills-based approach is that employers’ L&D offerings have to be of the very highest quality, and responsive to the needs of the business and employees alike. Given the situation that has led to this skills-based approach (i.e., rapidly changing skills mixes across roles), this is potentially a difficult balancing act – getting it wrong risks denying the business the skills it needs to flourish as well as increasing disaffection among the workforce.

Each of the leaders I spoke with gave a detailed account of how they’re striking this balance, and I am very grateful to Accenture for the depth they went into about their approach. The company’s Chief Leadership & HR Officer, Ellyn Shook, emphasized that Accenture’s goal is to democratize its L&D landscape, by supporting its people in identifying their existing skills and providing ample opportunity to learn new, in-demand skills. To achieve this, Accenture needs to know which skills will be in demand going forward.

Shook explained that Accenture uses its sales pipeline and client demand to understand the skills and level of product knowledge, stating: “We can see in real time what skills will be in demand based on our sales pipeline. We can even determine the depth, level, and quantity of skills that we have now and that we will need to match our client demand.”

This demonstrates that the days of L&D being a self-contained island within an organization are over. To succeed on this new terrain, employers need to embed L&D in every process and at every level of the organization. Shook’s colleague Rajiv Chandran, Accenture’s Chief Learning Officer, explained how the company’s integrated skills platform is linked with a scalable, innovative learning platform, which provides people with the right training, in the right format, at the right time.

I urge each of you to strive to put skills and L&D at the heart of your organizations. I can say with some certainty that a skills-first approach will become a condition for success, and sooner than most people expect.