For years now, job hunting has been a tedious task for many of us. You are expected to have years of experience in the industry alongside a full degree to even stand a chance at an interview. This system presents multiple failures. One being – the struggle of working your way into that experience in the first place. Without someone taking a chance and believing in another’s capabilities, many will end up stuck in a cycle of dead-end interviews. 

The benefits of a skills-based approach are becoming more prominent as we realise how much the economy and nature of the workplace is changing. As a result, upskilling and training is becoming essential to ensure the stability and sustainability of certain roles as well as the inclusivity of neurodiverse individuals. Without it, employees are not utilising transferable skills and employers are missing out on hiring people with real potential.  

Instead, it is vital we begin making use of alternative corporate-training methods and realising why we need to improve our talent development procedures. 

Corporate Training Methods

Comparing the different strategies will allow us to realise the benefits of a skills-based approach and take time to understand how and why we should be implementing it in our businesses. 

Firstly, objective-based training focuses on the desired outcomes of your company and which targets you want to hit. Once you have these in place, it is important to decide which people are going to be responsible for reaching them. Only then can you develop and implement training programs that surround each business need. As a result, you will be honing in on key roles, skills and knowledge that will be useful in tackling certain goals. However, this does not necessarily tackle the importance of transferable skills. 

Another idea is content-based training. This will ensure that the relevant subjects and topics are available to the individuals who will benefit the most from them. Instead of assuming everyone in the company will need training, you can pinpoint the roles that will develop and improve because of the content provided. Although, it has a significant focus on the learning resource which can lead to an inflexible outcome. 

Lastly, the benefits of a skills-based approach are plentiful. It allows employees to develop upon the knowledge they already have and improve upon their ability to apply that to real-life scenarios. Not only does it look at physical knowledge from books, webinars or in-person content, but it is a key component in technical, emotional, methodological and cognitive assets that employees can utilise throughout their careers and expand upon in challenging situations.

More Benefits Of A Skills-Based Approach

#1 Future-Proofing

Many enterprises around the world have noticed the extent to which workplaces and consumer needs are changing. It is because of this that many business owners have begun investing in ‘future proofing’ their employees. 

What we mean by this is the simple fact that in five or ten years time, a person’s role within the company will most likely be obsolete. So much would have changed and the necessary input of each job role would have morphed so significantly alongside the required knowledge and skill set that there is a need for a new role entirely.

Instead of hiring people who, on paper, have experience in the modern niche and have worked with similar challenges, we can look into those with proven continued development and those with extensive skill sets. This allows for great employee retention and gives individuals the opportunity to grow with the business and industry as a whole, rather than becoming stuck in one place.

Furthermore, by beginning with this strategy, we are allowing those with less experience and without the ability to move into jobs in the traditional (but outdated) fashion to prove themselves in different ways. This opportunity will be invaluable for those with key skills who just lack the knowledge to move in ways that have been expected for years.

#2 Accessibility For New Recruits

In a world where higher education is expensive and not available to everyone, it seems obvious that we should be striving for a skills-based organisation. Without it, we are excluding a huge part of our community who could be the most valuable assets to any business. 

Although, it is not all about the availability of education. Neurodivergent individuals may well attend highly commended universities and do extremely well in their field. It is when we get caught up in the social aspect of work-life that we can miss a person’s potential. 

Communication is of course something almost every business depends upon to run efficiently. However, when we dismiss potential employees for their inability to communicate in a way that reflects the social norm, we are not creating an accessible environment and could be jeopardising the future of the company and the individual. 

Focussing on the skills a person inhabits allows us to benefit from the more technical side of their capabilities and make use of vital abilities they bring to the business. As a result, we will be tackling the issue of unemployment at the same time as drawing in a more diverse talent pool and retaining essential employees.  

#3 Individual Moulding

Another one of the important benefits of a skills-based approach is the ability it gives enterprises to mould employees and leaders as they develop with the company. Neurodivergent behaviour does not mean that those individuals are not capable of learning. When they already possess many of the required skills to carry out a particular role, they just need some direction to allow them to become a stable part of the business. 

Not only does this give them the best chance to thrive and develop their knowledge – but it gives the company a  chance to drive goals, values and missions into the heart of everything that goes on. 

Qualifications have always been used as a method for testing capability. Nowadays, you can learn about almost anything online without having to attend any form of an educational environment. As well as this, learning does not have to focus on reaching a goal and should not be provided purely for the proof of attendance. Being able to apply your skills and knowledge in daily life is the real aim. 

When someone has this ability, it is the business’ role to mould this in a way that suits the company. As a result, you will see efficient outcomes that reflect the culture you have worked hard to build and you are again, future-proofing your employees for the ever-changing world of work.

#4 Resource Allocation

Identification of certain skills already present within the business will allow you to define those required at a deeper level. Once the skills that are missing can be mapped to employees, you will be able to identify gaps and areas that require improvement. While these may be more prominent in some departments, it gives you an idea of where you need to focus your time and money.

When you are able to accurately determine the needs of certain departments, you are in a better position to match the necessary resources to the individuals that need them. This is a more efficient way of allocating training and content as you are breaking down the role and addressing the level of competency within it.

Whereas, a role-based approach would match a bid manager to the need for a bid manager, for example. It presents a very vague and oftentimes useless requirement that circles back to our outdated approaches. This alternative sees businesses saving time and money on unnecessary resources. As well as this, you are better equipped to move forward as an enterprise because you have correctly identified gaps in the workforce and areas for reconciliation. 

Make A Change To This Failing System Today

In a world where consumer needs, employee expectations and neurotypical capabilities are changing every day – it is important we react now to create a more inclusive workplace. Instead of falling back into the same routine of role-based hiring and shallow development opportunities, we can focus on the skillsets of different job titles and industries. 

This creates a more accessible dynamic whereby anyone who has the relevant foundations and overarching capabilities is presented with an equal chance. All it takes is for business owners to implement new training strategies and understand the advantages of this approach. At Azimuth, we are striving to create unique and bespoke learning experiences for anyone who needs it. 

Still unsure of how to take on this new challenge? Or are you thinking of implementing your own in house training to hone in on your specific needs? Speak to one of our dedicated Azimuth experts today by contacting us at enquiries@azimuth.eu.com or call 01483 24 33 81. 

We will be more than happy to discuss how we can help you and with over 20 years of experience across a range of industries, we have the innovative, proven tools that can help you unlock the true potential of yourself – and your business. What are you waiting for?

Work with the experts you can trust. Azimuth, a new direction in learning.