The year 2022 is expected to breathe new life into ambitions and growth prospects, with it predicted to be the harbinger of hope for individuals, job seekers, organisations and industries alike. The goal of an efficient digital economy depends on a business's ability to thrive, and meet the re-defined potential of technology, arising from the limitless pace of digitisation. Enterprises are experiencing a welcome surge in business, and the need to service digital-first clients with new-age operations is ramping up steadily. To ensure that businesses fulfill this need, they must bridge critical skills gaps by hiring and upskilling resources, effectively adapting to business scaling requirements while adding value to end customers.

The right talent pool brings diverse cultures and enriching perspectives together and acts as a critical resource of technical and leadership skills that empowers a company and grows. Today, a renewed skill-dynamics beckons job seekers, as advanced cloud automation, the rollout of 5G, digital computing, IoT, AI and robotics competitively upgrade the job skills landscape. Some job roles will merge with others, making way for new roles as high-level technological, cognitive and emotional skills take over basic problem-solving and manual skills. Along with the right tools and data structures, companies also need a strong and holistic talent pipeline for responding to business needs and managing expansion effectively.

While requirements for job-specific skills will remain at the core of talent search, interpersonal, cognitive and digital skills are crucial to give an individual the upper hand in tech-driven sectors. When the right workforce is enabled with essential competencies, they can provide much-needed support for the implementation of innovative applications and technologies in an automated and digital workplace.

Data Literacy and Cloud Computing

Smart data infrastructures and intelligent machines are transforming the way everyday operations transpire around us. To derive the true tech value of data and cloud, and build agile workplaces within remote and hybrid work environments, it is critical to develop an in-depth understanding of how data analytics, data science, programming statistics and software design systems function.

Hiring resources with data literacy and intrinsic computing knowledge is important to close the digital talent gap and enable businesses to upgrade digital productivity. Further to digital implementation, one must also understand the necessary digital ethics, compliance services, and cyber security factors involved in the digital landscape today.

Collaborative negotiations

Fostering teamwork and developing cordial working relationships in virtual environments is just as important as it is in physical workplaces. An inclusive approach for effective digital collaboration, integrated and collaborative communications paired with an ability to think clearly, critically and flexibly to resolve conflicts faster and navigate through complex systems effectively, are crucial skills for the workplace of tomorrow.                                 

Self-growth ability

A 'can-do' attitude begins with oneself and is the centre of inculcating self-confidence, optimism and motivation. The ability to self-organise, adapt, prioritise and maintain a calm state of mind helps to manage oneself better while also motivating those around us in a constantly evolving tech space.

Proficiency and creativity

Candidates will need to learn new skills based on their personal development goals and continually adapt to new requirements and unique ways of working. It is fundamental to develop proficiency by asking the right questions, gaining process awareness and investing in learning the use and development of digital tools, keeping the larger organisational goals in mind. It is also essential to come up with creative solutions when the going gets tough, by analysing all the available permutations and extracting rewarding outcomes.

Courageous leadership

Competitive markets demand trustworthy and humble leaders with an entrepreneurial attitude. Demonstrating the capability of ownership and decisiveness, an undeterred focus on achieving goals while inspiring trust, and driving change will greatly motivate employees to navigate turbulent times in the coming year. Learning from crises and showcasing the skill to cope with uncertainty and risks in a disciplined manner makes for reliable future leaders.

Recognising the need for reskilling employees

In the year to come, as many employees familiarise themselves with the new normal and rethink their career and skills development plan, how can employers ensure they are creating a conducive learning environment for upskilling? An environment that leads to a higher likelihood of employment, growth and job satisfaction along with sustainable employee development in a tech-driven industry. 

Sufficient time and effort need to be spent on providing access to training and technology to develop their digital skills. High-level skill development offers a better opportunity for long-term employment and workplace preparedness.

Every employer, big or small, must understand the role of employee skills in building innovative, inclusive and resilient operations and transforming into a digital-centric business swiftly. Reskilling bridges digital skills gaps, improves the efficiency of internal IT infrastructures and client delivery, therefore, accelerating economic growth and creating a digitally-empowered and secure future workplace.