The acquisition of new skills is a major challenge for both employees and organisations at a time when skills are becoming obsolete faster than ever. Across the OECD, around two in five adults participate in formal or non-formal learning, with skills development remaining a primary driver of engagement in professional training.
This creates a dual challenge for managers and leadership teams: anticipating future needs while organising delivery at scale. Here, we explain the value of training in core operational skills and technical know-how to secure operations and improve productivity.
Skills development: what does it involve?
Morgan Philips Group identifies skills shortages as the leading challenge facing organisations in its HR Trends & Recruitment Forecasts 2025. This makes it even more important to strengthen employees’ capabilities through a skills development plan aligned with your operational needs and business objectives.
Skills development is the process of learning and acquiring new capabilities. It may take place within an employee’s existing area of expertise, to refresh or deepen technical knowledge, or in a new field of activity.
This approach relies on the implementation of a continuous learning programme that strengthens the technical and role-specific capabilities of your teams (hard skills). It also encompasses employees’ ability to take on new responsibilities and roles, through the development of behavioural and relational capabilities (soft skills).
Career development: how can you build employees’ skills?
The annual appraisal helps to identify new skills that need to be developed, but it is not sufficient on its own to address the gaps identified. The role of the L&D function is to close these skills gaps in line with the workforce planning requirements.
Here is an example of a skills development plan for field-based roles, designed to secure operations and optimise team productivity.
Identify your teams’ skills
Identifying needs helps HR leaders refine training initiatives. Assess each employee’s situation through an individual professional review. Skills assessments can also be used to gather reliable data on your employees’ capabilities.
You then need to map the skills of each profile in order to identify which operational competencies need to be acquired or strengthened. Finally, appoint a designated mentor with strong managerial capabilities to support employees throughout the journey.
Set clear objectives to support skills development
Clear, realistic objectives over the short and medium term maximise the effectiveness of any skills development process. Be explicit about:
- Expectations, expected outcomes and reference practices to apply
- Timelines and key milestones to reach the agreed objectives
- Learning tools and methods for monitoring progress
Your training policy may include online modules (e-learning), allowing employees to develop their skills at their own pace and in line with their operational requirements. Digital tools can also support the structuring and scaling of mentoring-based training approaches.
Role-based certifications to validate acquired skills
They provide formal recognition of your teams’ specific capabilities within their area of expertise. This allows you to recognise each employee’s strengths while encouraging the development of new skills.
Such certifications can be obtained through one of the following routes:
- Professional training specific to your sector or business activity
- Validation of prior learning and experience (VAE)
- Certifying assessments or examinations delivered by recognised institutions
When using role-based certifications, prioritise the development of internal technical skills while also taking into account the new capabilities required by evolving market conditions.
Which HR indicators can be used to ensure ongoing monitoring?
Training in operational skills and technical know-how is only effective when supported by regular, personalised monitoring of skills development. A 360-degree evaluation is particularly useful in ensuring that participants receive the right level of support.
It is based on feedback from managers, colleagues, clients and other professional stakeholders involved with the employee during their development journey. HR indicators related to skills development provide objective, tangible data to support this review:
- Drop-out and completion rates, to assess the relevance of training content
- Satisfaction rates by training format, to inform next-year budget decisions
- Absenteeism or turnover rates following training, to evaluate the adequacy of learner support
- Changes in average skill levels after training, to measure the added value of the skills development plan
- Promotion rates following training, to assess the impact of learning on capability progression
Skills development is a gradual process for each employee. Use the data collected to adjust the level of support, attention and practical guidance you provide.
Ultimately, skills development acts as a catalyst for career management and supports the long-term professional progression of your workforce. The foundations of an effective approach lie in needs assessment, objective setting, the implementation of a structured skills development plan, and consistent follow-up.