What’s driving the skills agenda? And how can L&D get ahead of the curve? 

At the heart of it, learning and development is really all about building skills for our organisations and the people who work in them.  

So how can L&D professionals best connect and engage with the business to build future skills? 

In this webinar, Organisational Learning Strategist Michelle Ockers is joined by Go1’s Katie Graczer to unpack the challenge of building skills for an unknown future. 

As Michelle says at the beginning of the webinar: 

“There’s a conundrum of needing to build skills, when we’re not exactly sure what we’re building skills for, or what type of skills are going to be needed into the future. But we can tackle this with evidence-informed approaches. We can draw on what’s worked; what’s demonstrated to work in skill-building, in order to respond and scale in a way that is actually going to be effective and build impact – even though we may not know what the future holds for roles in our organisation.” 

As Michelle explains, the Emerging Stronger team believe there are five principles that L&D leaders can apply, to best connect and engage with the business to build future skills: 

• Connect with the right priorities 
• Connect with the right content 
• Connect with relevance 
• Connect with people 
• Connect with data 

Each of these five principles is explored in depth throughout the session. To get you started, we’ve captured some of the key takeaways from the conversation here.  

The challenges of L&D right now 

When managers within the business aren’t equipped with the skills to have crucial conversations around topics such as cultural awareness or diversity, L&D teams can be left to pick up the slack. This highlights the importance of connecting and engaging people with high quality resources and content. 

From her experience talking with L&D leaders, Katie highlights some of the biggest challenges L&D and HR teams face today. 

Is technology a help or hindrance? 

When it comes to scaling up future-fit skills, technology plays a crucial role in the growth of L&D.  

In the video below, Michelle stresses the importance of viewing technology as an enabler rather than a saviour of learning. She explains that when we look at technology’s role through a different lens, it can only be a hindrance if not planned or used properly. 

Changing the way skills are applied 

With more organisations adapting to a new way of working, the focus is now more about analysing the new environment and changing the way current skills are applied - rather than simply learning new skills.  

Here, Michelle explains that it’s all about context and changing the perspective.  

Keen to learn more about how you can get ahead of the curve with skill-building in your organisation? 

All five principles are highlighted and explored in detail throughout the session - watch the full webinar and get started in applying them to your role and organisation.  

You can also download a free eBook, created by the Emerging Stronger team, to learn more about these five important principles derived from high-performing L&D teams.