workplace

Companies are key to solving the digital skills gap [Afshar]

On 07/12/2021, in 21st century, career development, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education, education reform, ideas, learning, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, new business models, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Companies are key to solving the digital skills gap — from zdnet.com by Vala Afshar
The digital skills gap is becoming a digital skills crisis. An innovation expert discusses the root cause of what is driving the digital skills shortage and how can companies contribute to closing the gap.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Vala Afshar: When we talk about the digital skills gap, what do we really mean?

Simon Mulcahy: Fundamentally, it’s an issue of supply and demand: a mismatch between the need for a digitally savvy workforce and the availability of workers trained in those skills. Every organization — whether a bank, healthcare company or retailer — is becoming a digital organization. Core digital skills aren’t the purview of a single department but increasingly hard-wired into nearly every job on the planet.

On the flip side, there’s a massive shortage in the skills needed to operate and lead in a digital-first environment. More importantly, there’s no mechanism in place to fix it.
…
VA: What can be done to address this growing gap, and what role should companies play?

SM: We need to revamp the way we deliver education. Of course, we need to build a foundation early on, but there are much better ways to equip people than through exams that don’t evolve to match society’s needs or degrees that force young people into onerous debt.

Instead, we should think of ourselves as lifelong learners. In support of that, we need just-in-time training that’s integrated into our working experience and relevant to wherever we are on our career journey. We need education that’s widely available, simple to access and affordable. It has to be easy to upskill or gain the knowledge we need to divert onto a different path. We also need education to be a lot more personal, matching what an individual needs in the moment.

Interesting…LearnWorlds: Create & sell online courses from your own website

On 07/12/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, entrepreneurship, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, new business models, online learning, online media, passions, platforms, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
While checking out an edition of innovation & tech today, the following sites caught me eye.

LearnWorlds looks intriguing to me. It will be interesting to see how teachers, professors, trainers, instructional designers, artists, coaches, and more make their living in the future. I’m pulse-checking the area of learning platforms and posting items re: it so that we can stay informed on these trends.

Also from LearnWorlds:

27 Best Online Learning Platforms

Also see:

Thinkific’s powerful, all-in-one platform makes it easy to share your knowledge, grow your audience, and scale the business you already love.

Want to Hire Diverse Candidates? First Drop This Hidden Bias [teamedforlearning.com]

On 07/07/2021, in career development, society, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Want to Hire Diverse Candidates? First Drop This Hidden Bias — from teamedforlearning.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Your organization is committed to diversity. You pride yourself on hiring people of all races, genders, and creeds. And yet, there’s still something you’re missing. This bias sneaks past even well-designed diversity hiring strategies. Ask most hiring managers if they have it and they’ll say: of course not. But a look at who they’re hiring tells a different story. When the smiling faces on your diversity poster all belong to people under 50, is it any surprise that ageism is still a problem?

Also see:

America’s workforce is graying, and ageism could cost the economy trillions of dollars — from businessinsider.com by Andy Kiersz

Excerpt:

The American population is aging, and businesses will need to adapt to an older workforce.
An AARP study suggests that age discrimination could cost the US economy nearly $4 trillion by 2050.
However, building an age-inclusive workplace can bring benefits to businesses.
This article is part of a series called “The Cost of Inequity,” examining the hurdles that marginalized and disenfranchised groups face across a range of sectors.

Amazon — you need to listen up and shape up!

On 07/05/2021, in Amazon, business, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, engineering, geography / geology, health, society, UK, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Amazon Contractors Are Revolting, Here Are Their Demands — from interestingengineering.com by Loukia Papadopoulos
Two major delivery partners announced they chose to shut down rather than keep sating Amazon’s draconian demands.

Excerpt:

The firms essentially offered Amazon an ultimatum to either agree to a set of conditions that they said would improve driver safety, or they would shut down — well, Amazon is their only client. Amazon refused, and the two companies actually followed through with their ultimatum.

From DSC:
Our son, who is college age, worked at an Amazon distribution center last summer. He is typically a healthy person. But his back and knees did not do well over the summer. After just a few weeks of having to meet an aggressive (and constant) quota of items being shipped, pains and issues started appearing. I don’t know how some of their employees keep up the pace that they are required to maintain…hour after hour after hour after hour…day after day, month after month.

Also see:

Amazon is destroying millions of unsold goods, from smart TVs to laptops — from fastcompany.com by Lucy Wishart
An Amazon warehouse exposé in the UK underscores a larger problem with how goods are treated as disposable.

Excerpt:

A recent undercover investigation in an Amazon warehouse in Dunfermline, Scotland, reported the disposal of more than 130,000 “new or lightly used” objects in a single week in just that one location. Public outrage was clear. Questions were asked about how Amazon could be so wasteful and why weren’t the usable objects sent to those in need?

Exclusive: Amazon is destroying millions of items of unsold stock in one of its UK warehouses every year, an ITV News investigation has uncovered.

Many of the products – including smart TVs and laptops – are often new and unused. https://t.co/OJjexB0YQd #AmazonWaste pic.twitter.com/UR7XrLWvIM

— ITV News (@itvnews) June 21, 2021

Hired by an algorithm [MIT Technology Review]

On 07/05/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, corporate / business world, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Hired by an algorithm — from podcasts.apple.com | MIT Technology Review | In Machines We Trust* — also see this article from technologyreview.com

Excerpt:

If you’ve applied for a job lately, it’s all but guaranteed that your application was reviewed by software—in most cases, before a human ever laid eyes on it. In this episode, the first in a four-part investigation into automated hiring practices, we speak with the CEOs of ZipRecruiter and Career Builder, and one of the architects of LinkedIn’s algorithmic job-matching system, to explore how AI is increasingly playing matchmaker between job searchers and employers. But while software helps speed up the process of sifting through the job market, algorithms have a history of biasing the opportunities they present to people by gender, race…and in at least one case, whether you played lacrosse in high school.

We Meet:

Mark Girouard, Attorney, Nilan Johnson Lewis
Ian Siegel, CEO, ZipRecruiter
John Jersin, former Vice President of Product Management, LinkedIn
Irina Novoselsky, CEO, CareerBuilder

*From DSC:
In Machines We Trust — Hhhhmmm….hmmmm….I’m not crazy about this title. At all. If you’ve tried to get a job within the last decade, you might know why I say this. While I suppose the algorithms are getting better/more accurate with the passage of time, I still think that a human being can see where a candidate might work or might be able to transfer some skills/competencies from other positions.

I don’t put my trust in machines. I don’t see that perspective changing anytime soon.

Developing managers to succeed in the hybrid world of work [Anticole]

On 07/02/2021, in 21st century, business, corporate / business world, MBA, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Developing managers to succeed in the hybrid world of work — from chieflearningofficer.com by Tony Anticole
To manage effectively in a hybrid work environment, managers need the ability to tap into the intrinsic motivators within their teams.

Excerpt:

Two years ago, if someone asked you how performance would be impacted if people started working from home, what would you have said?

This question was explored by Nicholas Bloom years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Across a two-year period, he partnered with a company to study people working from home versus in the office. He found working from home led to a 13 percent boost in performance, which is roughly getting six days of output for five days of work and a decrease in attrition by 50 percent.

Ten years later, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a replication of this study on a global scale and the findings were strikingly similar. Gartner found the percentage of high performers increased as workers’ flexibility increased; 36 percent of employees working regular hours in the office were labeled as high performers, while 55 percent of remote employees with more flexibility were labeled as high performers. That’s the equivalent of transforming an additional one out of five people on your team from an average to high performer.

No, it doesn’t need to be a Zoom — from wired.com by Chris Stokel-Walker
We’re wasting hours of our lives on inefficient video calls. Here’s how to decide when you should jump on a Zoom – and when not to

Excerpt:

Academic research has pinpointed four reasons why we’re growing sick of video calls. For one thing, we’re engaged in an unnaturally large amount of eye contact, which can prove exhausting, according to Jeremy Bailenson professor at Stanford University and founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab. We’re also stressed out by being confronted with our own face for hours on end (even if you can’t stop staring at it). Bailenson compares it to be followed around with a mirror all day.

From DSC:
What comes to my mind here is that videoconferencing — and meeting in general — requires mental work — and thus energy. Why? Because, as I mentioned in this posting, we are constantly processing auditory and visual channels.

Transcript here.

From DSC:
So having to process auditory and visual information hour after hour takes major energy! And some presentations/presenters require a lot more energy than others.

The rise of “third workplaces” [Pandey]

On 06/28/2021, in career development, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, culture, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, society, technologies for your home, trends, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The rise of “third workplaces” — from axios.com by Erica Pandey

Excerpt:

The big picture: As the world begins to move past the pandemic but holds onto remote work, we’re seeing the rise of “third workplaces” — teleworking spots in cafes, hotels or co-working spaces.

Some great resources re: “The 60-Year Curriculum”

On 06/28/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, Alternatives, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, ideas, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, liberal arts, lifelong learning, love of learning, marketplaces, online learning, organizational change, pace of change, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

A LIFETIME OF LEARNING — from continuum.uw.edu

Excerpts:

The 60-year curriculum is the modern approach to a lifetime of learning. Getting a degree, getting a job and never setting foot in a classroom again are not today’s reality.

A discussion paper from the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that in the next 10 to 15 years, the need for new tech skills will accelerate. We will also need people who will develop, innovate and adapt those technologies. The paper asserts that, right now, 80% of the workforce doesn’t have the skills for most of the jobs that will be available in the next five to 10 years.

From DSC:
It would be good to integrate more vocational types of pathways/items in here as well.

The Future of Career Technical Education (CTE): What Educators Need to Know [Bendici]

On 06/16/2021, in career development, future, parents/guardians, participation, society, United States, vocational / trades, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

The Future of Career Technical Education (CTE): What Educators Need to Know — from techlearning.com by Ray Bendici
Career technical education is gaining expanded interest and funding support in the wake of the pandemic

Excerpt:

Career technical education (CTE) is currently receiving increased attention as it is expected to play a key role in the recovery from the pandemic. New skills, approaches, and funding introduced over the past year are helping to drive expansion of programs as many employers continue to struggle to find qualified workers.

Shortly after his confirmation, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona posted an open letter to U.S. students and their families in regard to his plan for education. In it, he suggests that a heavy focus on CTE will be an essential part of what’s next in education.

Accenture Extended Reality: Immersive learning for the future workforce

On 06/16/2021, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), business, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, future, immersion, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, Mixed Reality (MR), tools, training / L&D, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Accenture Extended Reality (XR)
Immersive learning for the future workforce

The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready? — from Microsoft

“Over the past year, no area has undergone more rapid transformation than the way we work. Employee expectations are changing, and we will need to define productivity much more broadly — inclusive of collaboration, learning, and wellbeing to drive career advancement for every worker, including frontline and knowledge workers, as well as for new graduates and those who are in the workforce today. All this needs to be done with flexibility in when, where, and how people work.”

Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft

Also see:

What executives are saying about the future of hybrid work — from mckinsey.com by Andrea Alexander, Rich Cracknell, Aaron De Smet, Meredith Langstaff, Mihir Mysore, and Dan Ravid.
What’s next for consumers, workers, and companies in the post-COVID-19 recovery — from mckinsey.com by Susan Lund, Anu Madgavkar, Jan Mischke, and Jaana Remes
For mothers in the workplace, a year (and counting) like no other — from mckinsey.com by Jess Huang, Alexis Krivkovich, Ishanaa Rambachan, and Lareina Yee

Move over, blue- and white-collar jobs: The workforce color spectrum is expanding [Britt]

On 06/11/2021, in 21st century, business, career development, change, corporate / business world, future, generational differences, organizational change, parents/guardians, society, student-related, technology (general), training / L&D, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Move over, blue- and white-collar jobs: The workforce color spectrum is expanding — from chieflearningofficer.com by Frank F. Britt
Here’s how gray-, green- and pink-collar jobs will define the post-COVID future of work.

Excerpt:

In 2015, a report from Burning Glass and General Assembly called attention to the rise of a new type of occupation. These roles combine technology skills with positions that haven’t historically required them, like analysis, design or marketing. Burning Glass called those positions “hybrid jobs.” Today, in a rapidly digitizing labor market where tech skills are fast becoming table stakes, we might just call them “jobs.”

Back when that report came out, so-called hybrid jobs were largely a white-collar phenomenon. But today, we’re witnessing a rise in demand for digital skills that is transcending desk work — and, in fact, may be transforming the entire “color spectrum” of the American workforce.

None of these are really white- or blue-collar jobs. We might think of them, instead, as gray-collar (at the intersection of manufacturing and technology), pink-collar (allied health and the care economy) and green-collar (clean energy). These are the jobs that will define the future of work. And they’ll be the majority of jobs in the U.S. before we know it.

The Short-term Credentials Landscape — from newamerica.org by Monique O. Ositelu, PhD, Clare McCann, and Amy Laitinen
What We See and What Remains Unseen

Abstract

Given the rapid growth in short-term programs, and policymakers’ fast-growing interest to invest federal higher education dollars into very-short-term credentials, we explore what the research does—and does not— show us about such credentials’ utility in the labor market. With concerns about equity, our review of the literature guides us towards caution, as a strong push for short-term certificates may run the risk of reifying socioeconomic stratification.

From DSC:
I wonder…will accreditation move towards the use of crowd-sourced methods? Similar to rating one’s driver or one’s experience with a product, will microcredentials get into more reviews and recommendations from the users of various learning/training-related sites and services?

Will users of a service comment on whether the credential helped them (with a salary increase, with practical knowledge, with an expanded scope of projects at work, etc.)?

My post-pandemic learning list — from chieflearningofficer.com by Elliott Masie
This is the time to extend our skills as learning professionals through the power of learning.

Excerpt:

Curation on a personal level. I want to create new ways to curate awesome information and knowledge that I encounter every day. I want a “Later” button on my mouse or a gesture feature on my phone to capture and re-present indicated content to me at a later time. My curiosity as a learner is demanding a better way to tag or selectively highlight content, conversations and resources effortlessly and at any time throughout the day.

Adding arts to learning for impact. We have hosted 33 one-hour Empathy Concerts since April 2020, combining Broadway performers and learning experts for powerful blends of content and music relevant to the workplace. I am excited to expand models for incorporating music, songs and theater into our learning efforts. Arts expand the emotional impact of cognitive mastery.

Also see:

The reverse culture shock of returning to the office — from chieflearningofficer.com by Camille Preston
Understanding reverse culture shock and its effects may be the best way to prepare for post-pandemic work and life.

Excerpt:

While leaving home to return to work will be remarkably different than coming back from an overseas tour, there are similarities. Understanding reverse culture shock and its effects may also be the best way to prepare for post-pandemic work and life.

Learning Ecosystems

Companies are key to solving the digital skills gap [Afshar]

Want to Hire Diverse Candidates? First Drop This Hidden Bias [teamedforlearning.com]

Amazon — you need to listen up and shape up!

Developing managers to succeed in the hybrid world of work [Anticole]

Reflections on “No, it doesn’t need to be a Zoom” [Stokel-Walker]

The rise of “third workplaces” [Pandey]

The Future of Career Technical Education (CTE): What Educators Need to Know [Bendici]

Accenture Extended Reality: Immersive learning for the future workforce

The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready? [Microsoft] + 3 items from McKinsey.com

The Short-term Credentials Landscape [Ositelu, McCann, & Laitinen]

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