Due to the situation caused by Covid-19, millions of unemployed people are at risk of exclusion from the labour market, with the economic and social consequences that this entails. Firstly, because it is difficult for them to find a job, and secondly, because they are unable to access higher quality and more sustainable jobs due to a lack of digital skills. In order to improve the employability of these professionals in a situation of redundancy, the Transformational Outplacement programme, “UpSkill España”, was created, an initiative led by Catenon together with Telefónica and other Spanish companies committed to talent as a driver of the economy and society. It is an advanced outplacement plan for companies that will contribute to the recovery of the Spanish economy and its growth; it will not only accompany professionals through the change, but also prepare them for the new Digital Era.
The Pandemic
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, training, development and UpSkilling initiatives that were once considered complementary, are now essential. There was already a clear need to invest in the continuous development of professionals to meet the demands of rapidly evolving industries. In 2020, in the World Economic Forums’ “Future of Jobs 2020” report concluded that the rise of machines and automation will eliminate 85 million jobs by 2025. But, simultaneously, the World Economic Forum expects 97 million new jobs to be created, which represents a net increase of 12 million jobs.
The pandemic has become a turning point for the digital transformation of businesses. The rules for success have changed and increasingly depend on harnessing the power of the digital models to create new values and experiences. But accelerating the technological and digital transformation highlights the enormous gap between talent supply and demand that exists in Spain and other advanced countries.
Technology
Technology is also creating new jobs. New jobs related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and Big Data infrastructures are two areas where employment will undoubtedly grow. However, it is difficult to quantify and know in advance which sectors will be impacted the most. On the other hand, the types of jobs expected grow the most in the EU-28 by 2030 appear to be those that require higher education, intensive use of social and interpersonal skills and at least basic ICT knowledge.
The Skills Gap
In Europe, the current skills gap will lead to millions of unfilled vacancies by 2025, which demonstrates that the automation revolution does not necessarily mean the loss of jobs, but new ones that require the acquisition of new skills by the workforce, in order to build towards a sustainable and more equitable future of work.
Last year (2020), Spain fell out of the European digital top ten, weighed down by human capital skills and the technological integration in companies, and only 16% of its professionals have decided to train in the last year.
These gaps between supply and demand of talent due to the lack of necessary skills endanger not only thousands and thousands of projects, but also the recovery and growth of our country, which will see how inequality grows if we do not carry out ReSkilling and UpSkilling processes for Spanish professionals.
The transformation of the market towards a digital environment is unstoppable and the irruption of the Pandemic has accelerated the process. Data from international organisations support the need to train the labour market in new skills, which will require the ReSkilling of more than 1 billion people worldwide by 2030. The mismatches between labour supply and demand has doubled in the last decade, and doing nothing has a very high and unimaginable cost. In all the G20 countries, not meeting the skills damnad of the new technological era could put $11.5 trillion in potential GDP growth at risk over the next decade, according to Accenture estimates. And the human cost is infinitely worse.
UpSkilling vs. ReSkilling
UpSkilling and ReSkilling are related, but they are not the same:
- UpSkilling occurs when professionals learn new skills or upgrade existing skills in order to adapt to changes in their current position. It involves updating skills and corresponds to a role that continues to evolve and needs continuous training.
- ReSkilling consists of equipping professionals with new knowledge and skills, so that they can work in another area of the company, when the previous job does not exist or is becoming less in demand
New technologies affect tasks, not jobs. This explains why digital technologies not only create and destroy jobs; they also change what people do at work and how they do it. Job profiles could change substantially by adding new tasks or modifying existing ones, forcing forcing professionals to adapt to new working methods, tools and organisation.
UpSkill Spain: training, the next big challenge for our country
“UpSkill España” promotes the adaptation to the new Digital Era of the millions of professionals in our country. All of this through training in the knowledge, skills and digital tools necessary to face the new strategic challenges we face.
Within this movement, there are Transformational Outplacement programmes and UpSkilling and ReSkilling programmes to be applied to current company staff.
All this to transform thousands of Spanish professionals towards the new roles that are being generated, with the support of important employers such as ESIC, Tendam (Cortefiel Group), Iberostar, Henneo, DKV, Foro de Marcas Renombradas Españolas, among others. You will not only be complying with the regulations and improving your Employer Branding strategy. You will also be making a real contribution to the creation of a more competitive and sustainable society.
