Reskilling The Government Workforce And Linking It With Connected Learning for Maximized Results

The requirement for professionals to remain informed and trained is the same for both corporate and government workforces, although we frequently conceive of them as belonging to different categories. National federal governments have come to understand the risks of their weaknesses due to the harsh truth that skill levels aren’t catching up with technological progress.

The older segment of workers’ incapacity to cope and stay up-to-date with rapid technological developments is the leading cause of this general dearth of pertinent job skills. The fact that more than 50% of the government workforce is above 50 years old suggests that these individuals joined state institutions almost 30 years ago — when Google or iPhones did not exist.

At that time, Big Data, AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity were not essential to the operation of any business. National governments cannot operate at their best if those professionals haven’t been retrained along the route to maintain pace with the digital revolution of our environment and the tools we use every day.

According to a recent study, by 2025, 85% of jobs that will exist in the economy haven’t been invented yet. It’s clear that the skills needed for the future workforce are rapidly changing, and as a federal organization, you need to be proactive in ensuring that your government employees are prepared.

So, where do you start? Reskilling your government workers is the answer!

A Requirement to Retrain the Government Workforce

It’s not unusual to want reform within your federal workers. There has been a long-standing perception of widespread inadequacies and a distinct disregard for public service workers, and numerous administrations have attempted to restructure the government workforce to increase productivity and save expenditures.

Today’s requirements surpass those of before, but not principally due to budgetary constraints — but instead because of the digital realm, which has produced more positions than competent individuals to fill.

As a consequence, governments experience a labor scarcity of people with specific high-tech job skills, very much like HR departments in for-profit businesses. In fact, there is a global shortage of IT, data analysis, and cybersecurity workers.

Governments globally have stressed the fact of investing in reskilling their federal workforces to respond to changing demands. The goal is wider than merely reskilling.

It incorporates the necessity to enhance staff performance administration and participation, reskill, upskill, and re-deploy more human resources, and build a straightforward and effective recruitment strategy. This objective heavily emphasizes retraining and reskilling government workers.

Which Segments of the Government Workforce Will Require Reskilling?

In the upcoming 5 years, 59% of firms anticipate adding more jobs needing data analysis capabilities, as reported by SHRM. Big data and visualization will become increasingly important as federal governments collect and handle more information.

In addition, there are several fields where reskilling or upskilling is essential for keeping pace with the demands of occupations in the electronic era, including specialists in big data, cloud computing, cyber security, and AI and ML.

Governments also intend to create programs for reskilling those federal workers who will be particularly affected by automation. According to estimates, up to 5% of employment might be totally automated, and another 60% might be automated by 30%.

How Can Reskilling Help Governments Dealing With Digital Changes?

The majority of governments are not satisfied regarding their capability to hire individuals with the necessary abilities, based on the most current findings. 87% of Millennials and 69% of non-Millennials assert professional advancement and growth prospects are crucial to them when choosing a career. [Source]

Again, 59% of Millennials state that they will make the above elements a component of their standardized criteria when determining whether or not they’ll accept a job. Hence, agencies may find it easier to recruit and keep staff if they can provide government training programs, which will encourage the federal workforce to acquire new skills and continuously know to stay updated.

How Can You Reskill Your Government Workforce?

Now that you understand the importance of reskilling government workers let us see how you can execute such initiatives in your organization.

Identification of the Required Skill Sets

The first step is to identify the specific skills that are needed for your workforce to thrive in the digital age. This includes technical skills, such as proficiency in data analysis and programming, and soft skills, such as communication and collaboration.

There are several ways to identify the required skill sets in employees:

• Job analysis: Analyze the job description and requirements to determine the necessary skills and qualifications.
• Performance evaluations: Assess the employee’s current performance and identify any areas where they may need additional training or development.
• Surveys and feedback: Ask employees, supervisors, and managers for feedback on the skills and abilities of the workforce.
• Industry standards: Research industry standards and best practices to determine the skills and qualifications needed for success in the field.
• Future needs: Consider the future direction of the company and identify any skills that will be needed to support that direction.
• Technical skills testing: Assess the employee’s technical skills through testing or demonstration.
• Behavioral Interview: Ask specific questions to assess the employee’s past behavior, experience, and skill set.

Offering Learning Opportunities

Once you have identified the skills needed, it’s important to provide your employees with training and development opportunities. This can include formal training programs, online courses, and mentoring from experienced employees. Here are a few examples:

• On-the-job training: Provide hands-on training and mentoring opportunities for employees to learn new skills and improve their performance.
• Classroom training: Offer in-person or online classes and workshops that cover specific skills or topics relevant to the employee’s role.
• Conferences and seminars: Encourage employees to attend industry events and conferences to learn about new trends, technologies, and best practices.
• E-Learning: Provide access to online learning resources, such as tutorials, webinars, and e-books, to support employees’ self-paced learning.
• Tuition reimbursement: Offer financial assistance to employees who want to pursue higher education or certifications related to their role.
• Job rotation: Allow employees to rotate through different roles or departments to gain a broader understanding of the company and develop new skills.
• Mentoring: Pair experienced employees with less experienced employees to provide guidance, support, and knowledge sharing.

Providing Hands-on Experience

Give your employees access to the latest tools and technologies and opportunities to work on projects that allow them to apply their new skills.

Hands-on experience is crucial for employees to put their new skills into practice and develop the confidence they need to use them effectively. Let’s check out a few methods to equip your government employees with practical skills:

• Job shadowing: Allow employees to observe and follow more experienced colleagues as they perform their job duties.
• Project-based assignments: Assign employees to work on real projects or tasks that allow them to apply their skills and knowledge in a practical setting.
• Internships: Create internship opportunities for employees to gain practical experience in their field.
• Volunteer opportunities: Encourage employees to volunteer for community projects or non-profit organizations to gain hands-on experience in different fields.
• Job rotation: Allow employees to rotate through different roles or departments to gain practical experience in different areas of the company.
• Simulation training: Provide your government employees with simulated scenarios that mimic real-world situations to give them hands-on experience in a controlled environment.
• Cross-functional teams: Assign employees to work on teams with members from different departments to gain hands-on experience working on cross-functional projects.
• Field Experience: Allow employees to spend time in the field, observing or working on projects that allow them to gain hands-on experience.

Upskilling Existing Employees

Another important aspect of reskilling your workforce is focusing on upskilling your current employees rather than hiring employees from outside the organization. This helps to retain experienced employees and maintain a strong institutional memory within the organization.

Upskilling current employees also means that they will better understand your organization’s goals, culture, and ways of working, which will help them adapt to new technologies more quickly.

It is more cost-effective than hiring new employees, as it allows your company to retain and develop its existing workforce rather than incurring the costs of recruiting and training new hires.

Additionally, upskilling current employees can improve employee engagement and retention, as employees may feel more valued and invested in the company when they are given opportunities to learn and grow.

Furthermore, upskilling your government employees can also help your company stay competitive by ensuring that its workforce has the skills and knowledge needed to adapt to changing market conditions and technologies.

A Culture of Reward and Recognition

But it’s not just about providing opportunities for reskilling and upskilling; it’s also important to recognize and reward employees who are taking steps to reskill themselves. This can include promotions, bonuses, other incentives, and public recognition for their efforts.

Recognizing and rewarding employees for their hard work and dedication will not only boost morale but will also encourage others to take up reskilling opportunities and make an effort to adapt to the digital age.

As a government or federal organization, you are responsible for ensuring that your workforce is equipped to meet the demands of the digital age.

By identifying the skills needed, providing training and development opportunities, focusing on upskilling current employees, and recognizing and rewarding those who are making an effort, you can ensure that your employees are prepared for the future.

Investing in reskilling and upskilling your government workforce is not only good for your employees, but it’s also good for your organization’s bottom line.

Yes, it is obvious that it is vital to implement a continuous-learning drive to reskill and upskill your federal workforce — to try and fill those skill gaps that exist today and those that will emerge as needs continue to evolve.

But in spite of your best efforts, your workers may feel ill-equipped. Why? In addition to reskilling, organizations should also focus on continuous and connected retraining plus learning efforts.

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Reskilling Government Employees Alongside Creating a Culture of Connected Learning

According to Gartner, 70% of workers say they are not proficient in the abilities required for their professions today. 80% of respondents claim they lack the skills necessary both for their present position and their prospective employment.

The methodology most government agencies use to develop learning programs is the issue since it degrades the readiness of skills. This hampers employees’ capacity to keep up.

By adapting their strategy for employee training and development to concentrate on cultivating connected learners, HR professionals can help workers stay up with changing skills requirements and produce real company value.

Connected trainees are aware of the skills that are desired in the marketplace, the needs of the business, and the chances for skill development that they themselves require.

Three Strategies for Developing Connected Learners

Companies must ensure that their government workforce has the appropriate skills for today and the future if they want to thrive in the growing digital environment. This entails taking into account the abilities that the economy demands and highlighting to workers the advantages of learning these new abilities.

Connected learners, such as connector managers, promote deep relationships between and among staff members, departments, and the business. A three-pronged strategy is necessary to develop linked learners:

Consider Market Dynamics

Consider using a market-driven, predictive method to identify talents. By varying the variables used for requirements analysis, you can collect more unbiased, comprehensive, and continuous data on changing skill demands. Don’t depend solely on corporate leaders’ interactions because they frequently only see the internal landscape.

This method of identifying the most urgent skill requirements creates a stronger connection between workers and the marketplace.

Encourage Government Workers to Raise Their Game

Although employees are responsible for their professional development, they frequently feel excluded from the firm’s growth requirements. Show your government employees how they can develop the abilities that the company and the competitive pressures in order to advance individually.

Although you must continue to convey the needs of the company significantly, 70% of your communications must be directed at specific personnel.

Introduce Individuals to Chances for Skill Development Outside of Their Current Employment

Government employees may be unable to acquire new skills in the workplace for the abilities they will require to thrive because of the speed of changes.

Don’t only collect fresh learning materials and offer self-service learning alternatives; these can be misdirected and overly general. Rather, facilitate training experiences to hasten the acquisition of new skills and link staff members with opportunities to expand their skills outside of the company. Additionally, you might encourage staff members to apply practical applications to hone their talents.

The use of connected learners has positive effects on businesses. According to Gartner research, building linked learners increases various aspects of skill readiness by 28%–39%.

It provides additional benefits to both people and the company. For instance, connected learners have an eight-fold higher likelihood of being high achievers.

Rounding It Up: Select the Right Corporate Training Provider to Reskill Your Government Workforce

The participation of both your organization and your training provider is necessary to reskill your government workers — actively seeking new skill sets while utilizing authorized charge cards to compensate for public employee training.

Understanding how to find the best government worker learning courses is essential, as choosing any instruction without first verifying it will be a waste of money and effort.

PlayAblo provides the right kind of instruction to assist people who are looking for resources for reskilling. We provide dozens of programs in the technological specialties that national governments most urgently need, such as data analytics, cybersecurity, as well as other IT positions.

PlayAblo’s courses include mobile learning, videos, online live sessions, and micro-learning to maximize learning. Digital self-paced courses and instructor-led live online educational training are both options.

Our government workforces must be reskilled, first by ensuring that employees receive proper training, then by ensuring that they keep current on quality standards and ever-evolving innovations. The public sector can only become the successful and efficient function that the general populace expects it to be through retraining staff.

Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, assessments, and gamification features ensure learning outcome measurement and sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!