An Increasing Number of Stakeholders Consider Professional Development a Strategic Necessity
The success of the deployments, initiatives, and projects envisioned by tech leaders for the year relies heavily on their team's capacity to execute effectively. Nonetheless, challenges such as skills gaps, recruitment hurdles, and retention issues pose significant obstacles for those in the tech industry, hindering their delivery capabilities. It is worth noting, however, that these challenges are not insurmountable and can be addressed.
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KEY FINDINGS
Implementing a build-and-bridge strategy brings numerous advantages to organizations, the workforce, and the entire industry. Companies can cultivate a culture of innovation, resilience, and adaptability through ongoing investment in employee development. Consequently, employees enjoy heightened job satisfaction, feel appreciated, and are more inclined to stay dedicated to their organizations, addressing the costly issue of high turnover rates.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Investing in the skill development, reskilling, and overall growth of IT professionals yields significant returns. Employees desire to learn and actively seek avenues to enhance their technical expertise and soft skills.
As evidenced by 2023 data, IT professionals proactively explore free online learning tools, including free trials, subscriptions, and accounts. This highlights that employees actively pursue knowledge acquisition regardless of employer-provided learning initiatives. They engage in various self-driven learning activities such as attending webinars, reading and downloading white papers or technical guides, and participating in seminars or conferences.
When asked to identify their preferred learning modalities, our respondents overwhelmingly favored online, on-demand sessions (59%), followed by online live training sessions (46%) and informal training opportunities (31%). Notably, when evaluating training options, learners prioritize criteria such as content quality, hands-on learning experiences, and up-to-date content. IT professionals' skill development, reskilling, and overall growth IT professionals' skill development, reskilling, and overall growth.
TRAINING TYPES
In our findings for this year, a clear preference emerged among respondents, with the majority favoring formal training (71%) over informal training (29%). When considering their preferred mode of formal training, respondents expressed a preference for in-person, instructor-led training (29%), followed closely by online instructor-led (24%), online on-demand (24%), and a blended combination of online and in-person training (23%).
WHAT ARE THE INCENTIVES?
Before delving into the advantages of training, it's crucial to understand the motivations behind IT professionals seeking training. The primary reason, identified by 32%, is preparing their organization for new technology. Following closely are more personal objectives, such as pursuing a salary increase (21%) and preparing for a career change (13%).
Notably, a significant portion of our respondents, 47%, emphasize the "extremely important" role of professional development in their careers, while another 35% consider it "very important." However, the alignment between importance and provision is not entirely seamless. Only 37% report that training is included when their employers invest in new technology. Barriers to training and professional development include workload (46%) and a lack of a training budget (35%).
This perspective appears limited in scope because, for organizations to fully leverage introduced platforms or tools, they need individuals who comprehend their capabilities. This necessitates expertise and a commitment to ongoing learning. This conviction becomes especially significant when examining the impact of training on achieving certification, with 62% expressing an enhancement in the quality of their work.
Additional concrete benefits encompass heightened work engagement (47%), improved job performance efficiency (45%), and a reduction in errors (23%). Employees also realized various personal gains, including salary raises (20%), securing new job opportunities (17%), and earning promotions (17%).
WHAT'S IMPEDING PROGRESS?
One notable shift from last year is the decrease in the number of respondents indicating that management doesn't perceive the value of training. This year, only 15% state that their managers don't appreciate the significance of training. This positive trend indicates a growing acknowledgment among organizations regarding the importance of enhancing the skills of their teams.
Other hindrances to training include workload, insufficient training budget, and personal commitments outside of work.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOFT SKILLS IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
We inquired with respondents about training beyond the conventional IT curriculum. When questioned about the existence of a leadership development program in their organization, 65% confirmed its presence, with 31% focusing on professional skills in the past year, such as leadership, management, and communication. An additional 18% emphasized business process skills.
While this is promising, 20% of employers do not provide valuable leadership training, and 15% are uncertain. Clearly, there exists a gap, presenting an excellent opportunity for organizations to differentiate themselves by offering comprehensive leadership training.
Delving deeper into our respondents' perspectives on essential skills for IT leaders, technical skills received only 8% of the vote. In contrast, soft skills like team communication (40%), interpersonal communication (21%), and emotional intelligence (13%) are considered significantly more crucial. Other vital skills highlighted for leaders include business acumen, technical proficiency, critical thinking, project management, and adaptability.
The emphasis on soft skills is substantiated by the evolving landscape. Gartner predicts that in 2024, AI and emerging technologies will replace nearly 69% of a manager's workload. This doesn't imply the automation of managerial roles but underscores the necessity for leaders to cultivate critical thinking, project management, adaptability, and other skills to sustain innovation, growth, and efficiency in their organizations.
Chauster UpSkilling Solutions
Chauster is dedicated to advancing the technology workforce for organizations globally. We understand that the most challenging aspect of building a business extends beyond software and technology development—it involves nurturing the individuals who contribute to your business growth. As your exclusive partner, we specialize in assisting leaders in
simultaneously enhancing their teams and products.
Our upskilling and cloud transformation solutions empower you to cultivate the talent you require precisely when needed. Through collaborations with Chauster and Skilldacity, we offer courses authored by experts in the latest technologies and certification preparation.
By upskilling your teams with our comprehensive set of skills, we enable your team to execute strategic objectives that drive innovation, automation, and efficiency. Chauster is committed to supporting your organization in concurrently building better teams and products.
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