Workforce outlook: McKinsey says only 5% of key skills candidates need today will remain the same in three years
When it comes to implementing AI, there has been a huge gap between what most workers — especially the youngest, most recent college graduates — have to offer and what companies have a vision for the future. Who, between employers and employees, is responsible for ensuring workers have the skills they need to compete?
ARRIVE McKinsey partner Anu Madgavkar, it’s both. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that companies are not going to find perfect unicorns,” she said during the consulting firm’s media day last week. “The perfect person you’re looking for to fit the position you have in mind – that person doesn’t exist.”
Most hiring managers realize that they need to be able to predict what characteristics candidates have and may have in the future. “Maybe it has nothing to do with their education or degrees—maybe it has to do with things like the experience they may have had and using science to predict that, rather than Expect a perfect candidate.”
With impending changes in the workforce landscape, the future may be bleak, even for white-collar workers. ONE McKinsey report from last year Brooke Weddle, senior partner at McKinsey, said in a panel discussion last week that many companies think they only have 5% of the skills needed in the next three years. “That is a very low number and only reinforces the need for change.”
This mismatch is reminiscent of a revolutionary approach to recruiting: Lead with skills or skill potential, as was once done. approved by leadership In IBM, Microsoft And Google, just to name a few. Hiring based on skills – or even hiring based on potential – is not altruism, Madgavkar emphasized. “You have to do that if you intend to fill your talent pipeline.”
Leading organizations are much more analytical in their talent selection process, Weddle adds. “They are really examining learning flexibility as an important skill and mindset. In general, people want to be more gifted in terms of academic thinking.” It also often means an improved workplace culture. “A lot of CEOs are talking about the need to instill continuous learning as a mindset throughout the organization and thinking ‘this is how we win in the marketplace.’”
That trend is likely to only increase, Weddle said, because “the fact of the matter is, even if you get that unicorn today, it’s not the unicorn you’re going to need tomorrow.” next year. Not without agility and learning.”
