Published on 03/07/2016 | Strategy
The knowledge gap between skilled labor and jobs available has always been a challenge, but the digital era is intensifying the mismatch between current workforce knowledge and the skillset required to meet the growing demands of the digital economy.
The most in-demand jobs today didn’t exist 10 or even five years ago, and the expanding Internet of Things multiplies the need for highly skilled workers. At the same time, 30%–40% of the global workforce is under-utilized, according to The Economist Corporate Network report, Shaping the Future of Work: Technology’s Role in Employment.
Government and business leaders tackled the digital economy skills gap issue at the recent World Government Summit. Business leaders called on governments to help bring the workforce into the new digital age, and suggested that governments use the vast amount of big data they have to find new ways to address unemployment and the knowledge gap.
Businesses are also taking matters into their own hands. For example, Accenture Federal Services is expanding its Technology and Innovation Center in San Antonio, Texas, adding 300 new jobs by the end of 2016. This expansion will bring the total number of Accenture Federal Services employees in San Antonio to 1,400 by the end of the year. The center expansion will serve as a full-service innovation and delivery hub for SAP HANA to benefit businesses as they move into a digital mindset.
Accenture and other companies are also partnering with nonprofit agencies, high schools, and other educational institutes to provide mentoring workshops, internships, and college-preparatory curriculum guidance to strengthen the future digital workforce.
Governments, businesses, and educational institutes must work together to meet the ongoing challenge of matching skillsets with technology positions to create a new breed of worker in the strengthening digital economy.
