Mind the skills gap

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Career fair from the SENA photo bank
Career fair from the SENA photo bank

Over the next 20 years, the demographics of various professions will change radically, and communication and technology skills will need to be developed in all job functions. At the same time, the nature of training itself is being turned on its head, led by new research, business demands and technology. Colombia is gearing up for these changes, but significant gaps remain.

It’s a good time to be in “city” professions. As the global economy becomes more integrated, rising levels of intermediation are needed. This means more opportunities for those working in services such as banking, law, accountancy and consultancy.

A shift in needs

Engineers and IT professionals in Colombia are also looking at a future filled with opportunities. But many obstacles need to be overcome in this emerging economy – in particular an urgent need to develop both transport and IT infrastructure. With the arrival of large call center companies, Colombia is chipping away at Asia’s contact center dominance, in addition making forays into offering higher value outsourced services such as project-based engineering and IT development. And while Colombia’s oil and mining industries boom, they too demand engineers.

Gone are the days of working away in isolation. Successful companies need to develop competencies in building networks, alliances and partnerships both within and externally to their company. Skills such as team work, negotiation, presentations and relationship management are becoming just as important to the engineer as to the business consultant.

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English remains ‘king’ in business, and initiatives such as the British Embassy led Prosperity Fund will support and harness partnerships in Colombia with English-speaking countries. However, training professionals doesn’t solely depend on the command of a global language.

More than just a language

Lawyers, for example, need to have an understanding of Common Law rather than just a familiarity with Colombia’s Republican civil law system, and accountants need to understand and adopt new international accounting standards. So language, culture, skills development and specialist knowledge become intertwined as a set of training requirements.

Corporate social responsibility must also be taken into account. Whilst labour laws in Colombia are good, the majority of workers in the country work outside them. Overseas investors and customers are increasingly looking for higher human rights standards and environmentally-friendly practices.

So how is training changing? There has been a phenomenal growth in in-company training throughout the world, and in large cities like Bogotá where transportation can be an issue, the old adage “time is money” could not be more relevant. Why send six students across town for training when one trainer can come to the office? Similarly, holding separate English lessons and sales training is wasteful when these two can be combined using a cross-disciplinary approach.

Training: any time, anywhere

Technology is changing the ‘how’ as well as the ‘when’ training is delivered. As a long term trend, we can see a gradual shift in the sense of responsibility for training from government to employer to employee. Learners are increasingly looking to “invest in themselves” and institutions are responding accordingly, such as the Professional English Programme at La Javeriana, where classes take place outside of office hours. Mobile devices, social media and gaming simulations also enable a totally different training experience, anytime, anywhere.

What does this mean for trainers? They need to be far more creative and solution-focused. Gone are the days when a trainer can turn up, deliver a standard lesson and leave. Companies demand training that is highly relevant to employees’ individual needs and tailored to overall business objectives.

Many of the issues faced are not unique, but Colombia has major ambitions, and needs to work hard to bridge the skills gap and meet these new and unprecedented global opportunities. Fortunately, many younger people entering the workplace today embrace change. Education, training and development will elevate the Colombian economy up the value chain towards delivering higher-margin goods and services in the global marketplace. Real competitive advantage in such a fast-moving world comes from a company’s ability to learn and grow.

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