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Finding and training digitally-savvy employees instils innovation and helps your business stay ahead of the curve. A recent study into emerging apprenticeships finds a demand for a unique blend of digital and soft skills in a variety of industries.
But with technical and interpersonal skills not necessarily coming hand-in-hand, what can businesses do to ensure their training strategy keeps them at the forefront?
Blended learning
As digital natives, Generation Z are the next wave of talent to enter the workplace – they’re ambitious, have entrepreneurial spirit and recognise how the right employer can carve out their career paths.
Engaging Gen Z is key to nurturing digital talent within your business and according to research, half of them prefer a combination of face-to-face and digital training methods. With blended learning appealing to their technical prowess, this approach will help engage them in a more authentic way.
Soft skills
While technical abilities are a fundamental part of today’s workplace, soft skills can boost ROI, staff productivity, retention and among other things, can improve your bottom line.
With the majority of emerging apprenticeships looking for a blend of technical and communication capabilities it’s essential you focus on developing employee soft skills to ensure you stay ahead of the competition. Interpersonal skills are important for all businesses and industries, but it’s possible to build on these soft skills to make them more of a commercially viable asset.
Making work fun
Studies show instilling a fun working environment with like-minded people can increase productivity and have a positive effect on staff morale. Creating an environment where employees can freely express their ideas, and encourage cross team collaboration is key to develop a workplace where employees can grow their skills.
Consider office seating plans and layout – ensuring there’s enough space for breakout areas will help with creativity flow – introduce elements to help spark social interaction such as pool tables will help instil the message of collaborative teamwork.
Partnering with academic institutions
Bringing in students to undertake apprenticeship schemes helps bring fresh ideas into the business, and create a sharing and learning environment between colleagues. Fostering a relationship with academic institutions allows access to a constant stream of talent that could potentially become an asset to your company.
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Source: Training Journal
