How companies upskill their staff

To bridge the skills gap in the tech sector, companies need to invest in upskilling for their employees. Here’s how some are stepping up to the challenge.

Last week, we heard from industry professionals about the most in-demand skills right now and unsurprisingly, AI, machine learning, cybersecurity and data science were top of many lists. However, soft skills were also called out as vital and the experts shared their advice for how tech workers can go about building up these skills.

While building your network, seeking out online courses and staying informed about industry trends are important, many companies also offer their own methods of upskilling their staff.

Hackathons

Workhuman has an established learning and development team offering in-person and virtual courses to their employees and personalised coaching.

“We also have AI hackathons and innovation-related events where there is dedicated time given to employee ideas on how to further enhance our products and this usually involves collaboration between tech and non-tech functions in the company,” said Michelle Daly, a senior recruitment manager at the company.

“Additionally, we have established numerous partnerships with universities that offer relevant courses, which aligns with our commitment to continuous learning and development. We also offer tuition assistance programmes for those interested in further education and e-learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning through our Workday learning.”

Workshops and courses

To ensure its employees stay on top of these emerging skills trends, Leeanne Patterson, head of HR at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spoke about the company’s training and development platform, which includes certifications, workshops and online courses. It also collaborates with educational bodies to stay ahead of industry trends.

“The most recent example of this is through the partnership with TCS, Jaguar Land Rover and Atlantic Technological University in creating the first degree and master’s programme in electric vehicle engineering,” she said.

“Our TCS Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny houses an innovation lab where employees can experiment with new technologies, develop prototypes and work on cutting-edge projects.”

Access to research

Fidelity Investments’ SVP of technology Lorna Martyn said the financial services firm has multiple mechanisms that help it address future skills needs.

“The Fidelity Centre for Applied Technology (FCAT) has a mission to explore trends that will shape the next generation of financial services. This provides a view that is more than 10 years out and the teams of researchers also engage in significant applied research,” she said. “Being able to learn from this research work and in many cases be immersed in the outcomes provides an opportunity to experience aspects of the future now, which in turn fuels learning plans for many associates at Fidelity in emerging skills.”

Martyn also said there are many learning channels to support associates’ learning plans, including peer learning mechanisms. “In Fidelity Ireland, we have a very active network of communities of practice supporting learning and development across all aspects of technology and business acumen and these communities reinforce learning for the skills required for today but are also catalysts for the development of emerging skills,” she said.

“We also have targeted skills development specifically for our entry-level talent through the Leap technology graduate programme and FidelityYou business graduate programme.”

Academic collaboration

At Deloitte, Harshika Pareek said the consultancy company has learning and development programmes that help employees upskill in areas such as AI, data analytics, machine learning and digital transformation.

“These programmes are tailored to different roles in the organisation, ensuring that every employee, from entry level to senior leadership has access to the resources they need to stay ahead of industry trends,” she said.

“Deloitte actively collaborates with leading academic institutions, technology firms and industry experts to stay at the forefront of innovation. These collaborations also facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices evidenced through academia and industry. Strategic partnerships are in place with many of the world’s leading technology companies, offering benefits in knowledge sharing, training programmes and joint ventures.”

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