A Summary of the Skills Gaps Conversation

As society, technology, and the economy constantly change, the way policymakers look at traditional labor data has also changed. The traditional workforce is not what it looked like in the past and will continue to change, grow, and align with the way the world is moving forward. So it makes sense that all these changes would have an impact on the ever elusive skills gap.

These changes were examined at the first Economic Graph Forum in Washington, D.C. Here are key components of the conversation:

Learning and Education – The increasing value of critical reasoning and creative problem-solving are crucial in a world that is constantly changing. Especially one in which learning on the job is vital. CEO of LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner “urge[s] the importance of developing digital fluency” to meet the demands of learning multiple skills.
Soft Skills – Though hard to prove on a resume, soft skills are crucial. They make up an important part of the skills gap and yet are often overlooked.
Following the Talent – Going to where the skills are may be a better approach than waiting for talent to come to you or where you’re headquartered. Creating opportunities elsewhere or allowing for more remote work may be the missing link for many companies.
Equality in Education – Making quality education available to all. This includes tackling obstacles of the disenfranchised members of our society such as access to internet, healthcare, and childcare.
Performance-Based College Funding – Creating ways to reduce tuition costs for students and encouraging performance. Models that reward such programs will help students with barriers to success.
Aligning Academic Institutions and Companies – If companies and educational institutions communicate on job availability and which skills are in demand, these institutions can better prepare future applicants and students can also prioritize their learning.
If you’d like to read more about the conversation, here’s the original link below:

https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/blog/a-conversation-on-skills-gaps-at-the-economic-graph-forum

At SOAL Technologies, what we see in our line of work is that there are ample jobs available. So much so, especially in Austin, that we have very low unemployment rates. It is already hard to recruit talented people and with the immigration and administration changes, it is even harder. We work to find quality people and continue to improve our meticulous screening methodologies and testing requirements. With the ideas discussed above, we can make momentous strides to better cater to eliminating the skills gaps.

Let us know your thoughts on the current skills gaps conversation and where you think there needs to be more or less attention.

Saher Lalani
Marketing Manager