Actually Addressing Skills Gaps With Simon Gibson

If addressing Skills Gaps was as easy as plugging in a new platform filled with categorised content then L&D wouldn’t be recognised as part of the Skills Gap problem rather than addressing it. Yes, that’s right, Organisational Learning is deemed under-skilled at addressing ‘broad-based re-skilling efforts’. So how did we get here and how do we sort ourselves out? These questions - and many more are explored in this episode.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Training and learning are different things. We are creating a flawed system through our own educational institutions. We are taught the basics, but not taught how to apply these lessons. The industrial strategy council has highlighted that five million workers could become acutely underskilled in basic digital skills by 2030. Skills gaps are impacted both positively and negatively by more factors that many realise, including the political landscape and economic requirements of any given territory. Approximately, we spend 44 billion pounds per year on L&D, and yet the returns do not seem to be worth the investment. BEST MOMENTS 'We're not addressing a skills gap - it's just keeping a nice chat going' 'We can't just go out and recruit to make this business successful - we're going to have to grow some' 'As a learning profession we have turned the other way' 'What is the outcome that we deliver, year on year, for that spend?'  VALUABLE RESOURC ES The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 Industrial Strategy Council ‘UK Skills Mismatch 2030’ Research Paper - https://industrialstrategycouncil.org/uk-skills-mismatch-2030-research-paper UK’s Digital Skills Gap Poses Risk To Economic Recovery - https://news.microsoft.com/en-gb/2020/11/23/uks-digital-skills-gap-poses-risk-to-economic-recovery-research-reveals/ ABOUT THE GUEST Simon is a modern and experienced Executive-level People Leader who has delivered meaningful commercial Change and Transformation via appropriate Learning, Organisational Development and Talent initiatives. Simon has a varied history and experience of working in different sectors and economic climates. From start-up to large multi-national companies, including NBC Universal, Fujitsu, Sonnedix and NatWest / RBS.  You can follow and connect with Simon via: Twitter: @simon1gibson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simongibsonlearning/  ABOUT THE HOST David James David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board. CONTACT METHOD Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/ Website: https://www.looop.co/