The talent of today counts professional development as a top priority. Recent Glint research shows that people consider learning and development opportunities the number-one factor that defines exceptional work environments. Professionals know that to remain at the top of their game they must keep themselves relevant with continuous upskilling and reskilling.

Equally, businesses worldwide are contending with a broadening skills gap and a deepening labor shortage. This talent shortage is so severe that 87 percent of companies say they either currently have a skills gap or expect one within a few years. On top of that, according to Gartner’s Leadership Vision for 2024: Chief HR Officer, 26 percent of CEOs rank the talent shortage as the top damaging factor to their business outlook. Similarly, research by Deloitte found that 73 percent of business executives expect talent shortages to continue over the next three years.

While business leaders are aware of the growing challenges surrounding skills gaps and talent shortages, skills management too often falls down the priority list. Learning and development programs that businesses do offer often lack solid learning paths and fail to provide people with confidence in their career progression. This leads to a loss of employee engagement, increased attrition, and, ultimately, a deterioration of direction and the ability to meet business goals.

To address this issue, leaders must view professional development programs as a top priority and a key part of business strategy. In turn, HR leaders must make the case for learning and development programs, proving ROI and demonstrating outcomes.

Can’t external recruitment solve the skills gap?

Let’s be clear: Companies will not successfully solve the global talent shortage purely through external recruitment. In many cases, the skills needed by modern workforces are not yet widely available, and people have to adapt in real time to changing professional demands.

That means today’s talent is building experience and skills as they go, and HR has a significant role to play in helping to shape that development. Looking at the people you have within your organization and helping them build the skills you need is likely to be a far more fruitful avenue to create your teams of the future.

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