Workplace learning key to bridging skills gap

On Learning at Work Day UK employers are being urged to take action to identify and improve the skills set of their employees.

Prince Charles is the latest public figure to add his comment to the debate about the lack of skills in the UK workforce and Lord Leitch’s full report into the skills gap is due to be published in autumn. It is expected to provide grim reading for UK businesses, predicting a dearth of young, talented employees for the future.

However, organisations can address this problem now by establishing a learning culture in the workplace, helping employees to develop new skills and improving engagement and retention. Leading HR consultancy RightCoutts is calling upon employers to use Learning at Work Day to kick-start their learning culture and has put together the following top tips:

* Embrace lateral learning - Many businesses are wary of offering personal learning which is not tied to a specific job. However, personal development adds value by improving engagement and encouraging long-term retention.

* Informal programmes - Learning doesn’t have to involve formal classroom based training sessions. Open forums where people share their knowledge and skills can be just as effective and far more fun.

* Variety - Ideally, businesses should combine job-specific learning with broader learning programmes. This not only ensures employees are developing skills relevant to their jobs, but also encourages a feel-good factor which motivates and engages employees. This combination inevitably provides the greatest return on investment for businesses.

* Physical learning centre - Getting away from the office environment can be very motivating, so investing in a physical learning centre for both informal and formal learning can bring great dividends both to the business and the employee.

* Shadowing - Spending time shadowing a member of staff in another department costs nothing, but allows employees to pick up valuable new skills to take back to their regular job.

* Assess current systems - Many businesses already have systems in place which, with only slight alterations, could provide excellent learning opportunities. For example employee of the month is a rather clichd concept, but examining the skills required for employees to achieve this status can be very motivating.

* Kick start - Learning at Work Day is an excellent opportunity to kick start a learning programme, but businesses must be aware of the dangers of making this into just an annual event. This is not just a tickbox exercise and the effects will only be beneficial if learning becomes integrated into the everyday culture of the workplace.

Sally Russell, head of engage and align, RightCoutts, comments: Businesses need to ensure they are building up their workers’ skills whenever possible. Encouraging learning in the workplace is a great way to motivate and engage staff, and is essential if British businesses are to survive the looming skills gap and continue to compete in a global economy. However, learning cannot be done in isolation and must be fully integrated into the company’s development culture in order to achieve the greatest results.