What Can You Do About Skills Gap Right Now!
By now, you should understand why you need to close the skills gap. Whether as an individual or an employer, there is a need to close the skills gap to ensure success. No matter how creative or talented you are, getting the skills to remain relevant in the workforce is important.
How can I close the skills gap?
As individuals, let's look at ways you can personally close the skills gap and acquire skills that are well sort after by employers;
· Self-assessment: the first step to closing the skills gap is to examine your previous skills. Is your skill still relevant? You must consider if the skills are still mentioned in your desired job posting. Also, think if you need to upgrade your skills to meet the present job demand.
· Determine the skills in high demand: research and know the skills that employers are looking for in different industries. You must understand the skills needed in the workforce and consider how you can acquire the skills of your interest.
· Develop soft skills: soft skills are often considered less important than hard skills, which makes most people ignore acquiring soft skills. However, soft skills are interpersonal skills that enable people to work and collaborate together. Soft skills will make you more valuable to employers in the workforce.
· Acquire required skills: once you have known your shortages. Take the step to gain the required skills. If you are currently working in your skills field, you can up-skill through your employer or figure it out on your own. With recent technologies, there are several skills you can acquire online such as digital marketing, web development, data processing, etc.
· Sell yourself: once you have acquired a new skill, it is time to rewrite your CV and let employers know you have the skills needed for the job. Also, include any soft skills acquired, as this will be a plus.
Whatever level of your career you're in, you probably have a list of qualities you can use to set yourself apart from other applicants. The challenge is figuring out which ones employers truly want to see and figuring out how to integrate them into your CV successfully.
What skills are in demand?
I mentioned researching skills in high demand earlier. There are skills employers are relentlessly looking for, and acquiring skills in these categories will help you close the skills gap. So, let's go over the skills worth acquiring now: We will categorize these into hard and soft skills.
Hard Skills
Hard skills are the learned abilities needed to perform a specific task. These quantifiable skills are simple to describe and access for employers. They can be acquired through focused training because they are teachable. And specific hard skills will be necessary for some jobs.
Hard skills are usually acquired on the job. Option employers are no longer supporting. In addition to this, hard skills can be acquired through formal learning, apprenticeships, certifications program, online courses, or short-term training sessions.
Here are examples of Top high demand hard skills:
Basic coding
Digital Marketing
Cloud computing
UX design
Blockchain
Project management
Artificial intelligence
SQL (Structured Query Language)
Analytical reasoning,
Engineering
Hardware
Budgeting, etc.
Soft Skills
On the other hand, soft talents are characteristics and personality qualities that influence collaboration and productivity. Despite being diverse, they are just as crucial for the workforce as hard skills. Let's go over some examples of high-demand soft skills:
Creativity: In almost every industry, having the capacity to think creatively and link information together is a valuable skill.
Collaboration: The foundation of many organizations is working successfully and efficiently with others to produce results. Collaboration is a vital skill that can take many different forms.
Adaptability: Those with the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances in the workplace will always be in demand.
Emotional intelligence: Understanding and addressing emotions—both your own and those of the people you work with—are the main components of this soft skill.
Persuasion: The skill to persuade others to pursue your ideas is always helpful in situations like negotiations or administration.
Discover High-Paying Skills
The skills I will be sharing here are hot-selling skills that can earn you a high income. Having any one of these skills will make you valuable to employers in the respective sector.
Coding and software: Tech industries are known for paying high salaries to skilled workers.
Networking development: is a core skill that will remain relevant for a long time, and the industry pays well.
Soft skills: as discussed earlier, these skills are an added value to any worker who has them. Employers also pay employees with these skills well.
Cloud computing: this skill is in high demand, which makes employers ready to pay high salaries.
UI designing: product designers, mobile apps, and software applications are also high-demand skills and attract high pay.
Analysts: data analysts, technical analysts, and business analysts are skills companies cannot do without. Getting a skill in these industries will definitely attract high pay.
Other high-paying skills include data science, videography, data science, digital marketing, blockchain, copyrighting, cyber security, foreign languages, management consulting, fitness coaching, content creating, trading, and so on.
There are many future projected jobs to grow in demand. These are jobs that change someone future and move them out of a difficult situation.
Read our free booklet about the future jobs in demand.
Apprenticeship, could it be the way out?
If you are wondering about the easy way out to get the skills needed, then consider an apprenticeship. Apprenticeship is a system where workers are trained on the job to become skilled at a particular profession while earning money, providing useful labor, and taking every necessary class simultaneously. This means you will learn a skill and make money while at it. After completing an apprenticeship program, a person will become a skilled professional in the relevant industry, which enables employers to build a tremendously skilled workforce and also allows individuals to gain high-paying skills.
The benefits of an apprenticeship for apprentices include:
A route to a dynamic career in high-paying industries like Transportation, information technology, communication, skilled trades (Plumbing, carpentry, construction, etc.), advanced manufacturing, energy, and so on.
You are earning wages as you train. Plus, the fact that salaries increase as once as you have mastered the skills.
A substitute for a pricey college degree and potential college credits earned through classroom or workplace instruction.
A means of changing occupations or moving forward in one's current sector while maintaining financial security.
Apprenticeship benefits are not limited to apprentices alone but to employers also and, luckily, help both parties to close the skills gap. Here are the benefits of apprenticeship for employers;
The capacity to broaden the workforce by bringing in fresh talent to the business and developing a well-trained, competent staff that is productive from the outset.
The ability to teach staff using the precise tools, guidelines, and practices that apply to the company, as well as an improvement in employee performance and a reduction in inaccuracy and accident rates.
Improved employee retention, opportunities for growth, and the ability to fill difficult job openings.
Apprenticeship is a good model that will serve as a win-win for both employers and employees, especially regarding the skills gap. Apprentices have access to gain the skill they need, while employers get to train employees they need for efficiency and productivity.
Countries that embrace apprenticeship programs are known for success and incredible economic growth. For instance, companies in Germany are known to be well-skilled, which is one of the leading causes of their flourishing economy. They embraced a model known as dual training, i.e. they divided the movement into two parts: vocational school classroom and on-site training. I like the idea because the practice they receive at work reinforces the theories they study in class. Additionally, they pick up responsibilities and work habits, and with any luck, they also pick up the company's culture.
A model like this will help produce skilled professionals in their field who are already aware of everything it entails to work in their fields. Both employees' and employers' work will be easy, and productivity will be high. This practice is widespread in Europe, and their economy is doing well courtesy of this resourceful model.
Take Away
The universal apprenticeship program is a great program designed to address the skills gap issue while replacing retirees and addressing skills gap issues. We desire a workforce with no mismatch of skills or under-skilled workers. Apprenticeship is the way out to close the skills gap for good. What better way can it be achieved than through a standard apprenticeship program which is the goal of the universal apprenticeship program.