This latest roundup of news for those in the talent, skills, learning and development field has been selected by TJ’s editor, Debbie Carter
McKinsey survey reveals increase in use of AI
Surveys by McKinsey and others have shown an increase in the use if AI in certain organisational functions over the past few years, but their latest research reveals that the use of Generative AI is already widespread and set to accelerate even more.
Marketing and sales, product and/or service development and service operations are leading the field in the use of Gen AI. With 75% of respondents indicating they expect gen AI’s disruption to be highest in the financial services and technology industries clearly those involved in knowledge work are going to be most affected by these changes.
Find out more here
UK managers outdo non-UK-based leaders in supporting people with their skills
New research from Degreed into what motivates people to learn and the kind of learning they prefer has found that UK workers are primarily focusing on the current skills needs in their roles instead of long-term career growth, with 40% setting goals to excel in their current role and 37% feeling motivated to learn to perform better in their current job.
Unlike other regions (where typically manager support has been lacklustre) 71% of UK workers feel relatively supported by their managers and managers are the top source (at 33%) for understanding what skills workers need to succeed in their roles.
Click here to download the full findings
Half of UK businesses have skills gaps in their basic cyber security
In the UK 50% of organisations are suffering from a basic cyber security skills gap, according to the latest data on the security jobs market produced by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The study found security leaders ‘lacked confidence’ to carry out basic asks as outlined in the NCSC’s Cyber Essentials programme or lacked appropriate support from third parties. It also found a third of organisations had a more advanced skills gap, particularly when it came to aspects of security such as forensic breach analysis, storing or transferring personal data, or detecting and removing malware. The data also revealed that 41% of organisations also lacked capabilities around incident response and recovery and were not outsourcing this.
Skills gaps were common in the security sector, with 49% of cyber firms having faced problems with technical skills gaps among existing staff or job applicants and with over 160,000 cyber job postings in the UK in 2022, with an estimated shortfall of 11,200 people needed to meet demand these statistics there is a pressing need to address these skills shortages.
Click here to read the report
AI increases course apprenticeship completion rates
Aston University has completed a two-year knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with apprentice management specialist Advanced Smart Apprentices. Computer scientists from the university’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, created a new learner engagement module, ‘Smart Coach’, which offers learner support material as a ‘bolt on’ to existing apprenticeship delivery software.
The Smart Coach module analyses patterns in learner behaviour and identifies areas for closer learner support by combining complex data consolidation and in-depth predictive analytics based on learner records.
The project team used machine learning to create a prescriptive analytics model, which identifies at risk learners while also indicating possible interventions to mitigate risks and support each student’s learning journey.
Find out more above Aston University’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships here
