The rise of cross-training in the post-pandemic marketplace

Long before the pandemic and the major workforce shifts it caused, the US labour market was already in the grip of a major skills shortage, across a range of sectors.

 

As far back as 2017, analysis of the US skills gap had already revealed some major pipeline issues, with the healthcare, education and technology sectors experiencing skills shortages nationwide. The McKinsey Global Institute estimated that as many as 375 million workers (14 per cent of the global workforce) may have to acquire new skills by 2030, due to automation and artificial intelligence replacing manual labour.

 

Since then, the rapid shift to online services and remote working brought about by the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem. COVID-19, global lockdowns and the existing skills gap created a perfect storm – and one that added huge pressure to an already strained labour market, as many companies tried to pivot or undergo digital transformation that would allow them to keep up in the new, post-pandemic marketplace.

 

The pandemic accelerated the skills gap to such an extent that, by May 2020, another McKinsey survey showed that 87 per cent of executives either acknowledged a current skills gap in the workforce or expected one to arise in the next few years. And yet, less than half of those executives had an actual plan to reskill or upskill their workforce to overcome it.

 

Cross-training as a solution to the global skills gap

 

In candidate-short markets such as tech, healthcare and manufacturing, it is clear that innovative approaches are needed to tackle the skills gap and ensure businesses have the in-house skills they need to compete in the modern marketplace. One of the best and brightest of these new approaches is cross-training.

 

Cross-training, when done correctly, can be an extremely powerful tool for organisations looking to solve internal skills gaps. At an organisational level, it starts by identifying any major tasks or skills that are lacking in a particular department and training an employee (or employees) from a different department until they can effectively support this area of the business.

 

This can work across any number of departments within an organisation – from accounting to administrative duties or even building or maintaining online infrastructure. It not only allows your company to flexibly respond to rapid changes in demand or fluctuating workflows but also enables organisations to repurpose redundant resources, meaning they’re less likely to lose people as marketplace demands change. In both cases, cross-training can be extremely beneficial to any organisation, as a whole.

 

Beyond that, reskilling and cross-training can also help organisations future-proof their workforce against skills gaps, which is critical for both global economic recovery and the long-term sustainable growth of any sector or company facing a skills gap.

 

The ability to future-proof workforces will be of vital importance to businesses that work in sectors where skills demands can shift so rapidly. And with Gartner research highlighting that an alarming 33 per cent of the skills listed in the average job posting in 2017 were no longer necessary just four years later, it’s clear this could impact a lot of sectors.

 

A solution to the skills gap in tech

 

In the age of the internet and remote working, the tech sector is perfectly placed to benefit the most from cross-training.

 

Online training platforms have the potential to be a real game-changer. They allow individuals to learn much-needed skills that could land them sustainable and reliable work, while simultaneously increasing the talent pools of people trained to wield these in-demand services. While this may be enough for some organisations to cross-train their teams, there are also companies that specialise in offering customised training programmes for teams and will handle everything from recruitment to training and certification to your exact specification.

 

Revolent takes existing IT professionals and cross-trains them into in-demand cloud technologies, before placing them with organisations that have a skills gap in that area. The companies it works with have access to the skilled professionals they need to undergo digital transformation or keep up in online-first marketplaces. Individuals get to start a new career in a rapidly growing technology or sector, with great job security and financial rewards. It’s a win-win.

 

And it’s working: Revolent’s business model has allowed it to flexibly plug skill gaps for companies around the world, as and when they need it. And that flexibility has come directly from its ability to tap into wider IT talent pools, underrepresented groups and people from diverse backgrounds and cross-train individuals into emerging cloud technologies.

 

Cross-training is set to play a huge part in closing skills gaps across multiple sectors as more and more organisations begin to adopt the practice. It’s truly an exciting prospect.

 

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To learn how Revolent’s cross-training career programmes are closing skills gaps for its partner organisations, visit revolentgroup.com

 

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