Investment in experiential learning,
individualized learning and empowering vulnerable workers are the
best paths to narrowing skills gap
TORONTO, Sept. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - The economic promise of
digital technologies is being put at risk by inadequate education
and corporate training systems, according to Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
Unless radically new learning approaches are adopted, the failure
to close the skills gap could result in Canada forgoing as much as CAD$154 billion (US$119
billion) in GDP growth promised by investment in intelligent
technologies over the next ten years.
The report, It's Learning. Just Not As We Know It, published in
collaboration with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance (G20 YEA),
includes ground-breaking analysis that helps organizations assess
their future workforce to prepare skilling strategies. It reveals
how intelligent technologies will change the tasks that make up
work and identifies the new skills that will be required to perform
them. It calls for education and corporate training systems to
commit to three areas of action to develop these new skills more
effectively.
According to the report, on average across the 14 economies
covered, 51 percent of worker time in Canada is subject to potential augmentation as
intelligent technologies enhance people's capabilities.
Thirty-eight percent in Canada
could potentially be automated, but the impact varies between job
roles and geographic markets, pointing to the need for targeted
interventions in order to accelerate opportunities and manage
risk.
In Canada, workers in Science
and Engineering roles have the greatest opportunities to boost
productivity through augmentation. Seventy-four percent of their
work time could be augmented, and Accenture research finds that 22
percent of augmentation could take place in the next ten
years. Appropriate investments in skill building could fulfil
demand for as much as 89,000 additional workers in these roles over
the coming decade.
"Upskilling is critical to not risk Canada's GDP growth in our support for new
technologies augmenting or automating industries," says
Nicholas Bayley, Managing Director
and Canada lead, Accenture
Strategy. "Business leaders need to understand how technology will
redefine work in their sector to commit to improved workplace
training that accurately reflects the future of work."
The rising importance of new skillsets
Complex
reasoning, creativity, socio-emotional intelligence and sensory
perception are the skills that are rising in importance across
almost every single work role, according to the report. The
importance is set to increase further with the adoption of
intelligent technologies.
"Current learning approaches aren't fit for today, let alone
tomorrow. Evidence from neuroscience and behavioural sciences show
us there are better ways to learn," says Armen Ovanessoff, principal director, Accenture
Research. "Many of the most important skills for the future
workplace are best acquired through practice and hands-on
experience. We need an overhaul of skilling approaches that puts
experiential learning techniques front and centre."
Accenture recommends a three-pronged approach to solving the
skills crisis:
- Speed up Experiential Learning: Deploy a range of
techniques, from design thinking in the board room to simulation
training tools for more technical roles; from on-the-job training
initiatives to apprenticeship schemes. In schools, provide active
project-based learning and team-based learning activities. Apply
new technologies like virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence
(AI) to make learning more immersive, engaging and
personalized.
- Shift focus from Institutions to Individuals: Education
and training targets should incentivize each individual to develop
a broader blend of skills, rather than only producing certain
numbers of graduates from specific courses. This blend must include
a focus on complex reasoning, creativity and socio-emotional
intelligence.
- Empower Vulnerable Learners: Older workers, the less
educated, those in physical manual labour roles, and in smaller
businesses are more vulnerable to work dislocation and have less
access to training. Targeted intervention is required to guide
these learners to appropriate training and career pathways. Courses
must be more modular and flexible to adapt around their life
commitments. New funding models must encourage lifelong learning,
such as grants to support personal training plans.
For more information on this analysis, please visit
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/future-workforce/transforming-learning.
Or join the conversation: #FutureWorkforce #G20YEA.
About the research
Accenture used statistical clustering to analyze skills,
abilities and work activities. These were used to develop 10
empirically-derived groupings of roles and occupations that utilize
similar skills, perform similar tasks and that can be expected to
be affected in similar ways by intelligent technologies. The 10
role clusters were used to categorize the workforce composition of
14 G20 countries. To calculate forgone growth premium, Accenture
analyzed how intelligent technologies will impact specific work
tasks and skills needs. Using Data from the Occupational
Information Network (O*NET) of the U.S. Department of Labor and
from the International Labour Organization (ILO), Accenture
calculated total potential time susceptible to automation and
augmentation for different occupations. GDP growth (2018-2028) was
modelled under two supply assumptions in order to measure the GDP
at stake if skilling needs are unmet. Forgone Growth Premium was
presented under two different scenarios about investment in
intelligent technologies. Accenture also conducted in-depth
interviews with business leaders, experts and practitioners from
multiple sectors, and drew on the expertise and experience of
Accenture's own professionals in learning, technology and talent
development. Visit
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/future-workforce/transforming-learning
for the full methodology.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global
professional services company, providing a broad range of services
and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and
operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills
across more than 40 industries and all business functions –
underpinned by the world's largest delivery network – Accenture
works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for
their stakeholders. With 449,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way
the world works and lives. Accenture plans to hire 1,100 people in
Canada in its current fiscal year.
Visit us at www.accenture.com.
SOURCE Accenture