Critical Skills for 2022 - Survey
Steven Forth is co-founder and managing partner at Ibbaka. See his skill profile here.
The skills need for effective work are changing. This change is being driven by four major shifts in the working environment:
Changes in how we work based on the response to Covid 19
New technologies we are adopting (and adapting to)
New frameworks and business processes
Greater aspirations around social impact
Please take the critical skills for 2022 survey
Changes in how we work based on we responded to Covid 19
The Covid 19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns and office closings have changed how many of us work. At Ibbaka we started working remotely in March 2020 and in September 2021 took the step of closing our office. Many organizations have done this and remote or hybrid work are likely to be an important part of work culture for many years to come. To operate effectively in this environment we need to develop new skills, attitudes and behaviors. What are these? Please share your thoughts in the survey.
New technologies will require new skills
The innovation economy continues to expand and with it come requirements for new skills. The range of new technologies is astonishing. Artificial intelligence (from deep learning and semantic networks to general AI) and the languages (such as Python or R) and tools needed to work in this world (Keras and Tensorflow) are attracting a lot of attention. So are the many technologies needed for mitigation (avoiding) and adapting to (learning to live with) climate change. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Which new technologies are impacting you and what new technologies are you preparing for? Share your ideas in the survey.
New frameworks and business processes will require new skills
It is not just technologies that are changing. How we approach our work is also transforming. Part of this is the growing importance of teams and project work. Many organizations are also introducing new frameworks and processes. These can have deep implications for how work gets organized. Two examples from the commercial realm.
Changes in buyer behavior and greater reliance on the Internet have brought sales and marketing closer together. In many companies the heads of sales and marketing, and in some cases even customer success, now report to the Chief Revenue Officer, and commercial excellence is expected to integrate marketing, sales, implementation and customer success.
In the pricing world, there has been a phase shift from a focus on price setting and price optimization to value. Critical metrics have moved from price and price realization to value to the customer (V2C) and customer lifetime value (LTV). Some companies are appointing Chief Value Officers to own and integrate value and pricing.
See some of the frameworks that are shaping critical skill requirements.
Greater aspirations around social impact shape the skills we choose to develop
Many people, and not just members of Gen Y (25 to 40) and Gen Z (9 to 24), are more and more concerned about the larger social implications of their work. This is often framed in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A theme for the next few years may well be “What skills will people need to contribute to the UN SDGs.” The global badging and microcredential community is looking at this, which is why the GoFrameworks site includes the UN SDG. Badges can be aligned to the UN SDG, and this has proven to appeal to Gen Z students.
Ibbaka does ongoing research and explorations of critical skills. You can find an introduction to critical skills here here and there is a list of posts on specific critical skills below.
