Dive Brief:
- With unemployment down and millions of jobs unfilled, corporate learning and development can serve as a differentiator in the war for talent, according to Chief Learning Officer (CLO).
- CLO calls learning the "accelerant" of the workforce, which has three primary objectives: recruit, develop and retain.
- Unfortunately, CLO notes, many believe learning is solely for employee development, leaving recruiting and retention to other processes. But that's shortsighted, according to CLO, as all three roles belong to all sections within an effectively integrated human capital strategy.
Dive Insight:
CLO posits that the unfilled jobs and the related skills gaps match up when compared to job market data. It cites Burning Glass Technologies, a job analytics firm in Boston, which found that employers are increasingly seeking employees with so-called soft or baseline skills, such as writing, communication, problem-solving and organization.
While most believe these types of skills should have been honed in college, reality depicts otherwise. That means the "opportunity for learning leaders is huge," according to CLO, and the combination of 5.6 million unfilled jobs and a 4.9% unemployment rate translates into a significant reason for L&D to expand its role.
Existing silos are hurdles to overcome, CLO reports. But if you can take those silos down by transforming L&D into a recruitment force, CEOs will sit up and take notice.
