A Study on Skills Gap Beyond COVID

Abstract

Keeping up with the pace of technological advancement is a challenge for companies of all shapes and sizes. It is increasingly crucial to reskill and upskill in the changing era of innovation, especially post-pandemic (Beyond Covid), and acquiring soft skills is imperative for success in the digital era. The importance of soft skills, like teamwork, communication skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking, is a growing demand, heightened especially during the pandemic while working remotely. Upskilling ensures employees’ skillsets won’t become obsolete. As you reskill your employees, you create a more well-rounded, cross-trained workforce, and increase your team’s effectiveness. (itagroup.com, n.d.)

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs have been lost due to the pandemic, and 1.6 billion informal economy workers lacking a social safety net have been significantly affected. The recovery will be slow; global economic growth is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels only by 2022 or 2023.

The pandemic has dramatically accelerated the need for new skills in the workforce, with social and emotional skills high in demand. The proportion of companies addressing empathy and interpersonal skills doubled in 2020, according to our newest McKinsey Global Survey on reskilling. (McKinsey, 2021)