John Bersin of Deloitte has said that training and development is the #1 reason millennials choose an employer. The global workforce is evolving rapidly and there is no reason to think that isn’t the case with IT and developers too. Those born at the turn of the millennium turn 18 next year. And everyone born in the past two decades has grown up with the Internet and mobile devices. By Julian Wragg, VP EMEA & APAC of Pluralsight.
This generation of digital natives is radically reshaping the workplace. Technically gifted, they know their worth and what they need to do to get ahead. Recent studies show Gen Z are even more conscientious and career driven than millennials. Technology has an incredible power to accelerate progress and that is also true for learning.
We’re entering an age of continuous learning that can be taken on in bite-sized chunks. With micro-learning employees can quickly learn something new, put it into practice, get immediate feedback, and then get back to learning more. It is a cycle that keeps forward-thinking companies at the edge, pushing onwards.
Business models are changing too. The CIO is taking on greater responsibility for the talent at his or her disposal, and keeping staff constantly clued up on the latest methods can be challenging. . Take working practices like agile and DevOps for example, that both demand an ability to quickly grasp new concepts, experiment and learn from the best. That’s why an on-demand technology learning platform is the right model at the right time for today’s software-driven world. Upskilling continuously should be at the heart of operations for these three major reasons:
Technology is always one step-ahead – New coding languages and practices appear as if from nowhere, quickly establishing themselves as must-haves. Witness the rise of Node.js and AngularJS. Only on-demand digital, learning resources can be delivered at scale can hope to keep pace.
It establishes a meritocracy within an organisation – With the right tools, companies can now empower and entrust their employees to better themselves. By using a technology learning platform, both the employer and employee can track progress in a measurable way based on the quality of their work and performance in training modules.
It protects the business from competition – Gaining a competitive edge is key to corporate success. Real-time learning allows companies to stay ahead of the curve. Prototyping and testing software has never been so cost-effective thanks to the Cloud, but talent must have the skills to make the most of the opportunity.
Technology is a fantastic tool, but it is the employees who CIOs must focus on. Only by making each employee an expert, always learning, always looking for what’s next, will companies have the best chance of remaining competitive and safeguarding future success.
