Putting theory into practice – recent reskilling case studies.
Online, offline, adding value, building teams, taking business leaders forward to better support their companies – different reskilling programmes and approaches can deliver more for the employer and employee alike.
This multinational information technology services and consulting company was facing a shortage of UK-based business analysts with strong RPA (Robotic Process Automation) skills. This left them struggling to meet rising client demand. Without an existing RPA training capability, Capgemini looked outside the organisation for talent support.
A bespoke RPA training programme with clear attainment goals for candidates was created. Bolstered by input from external and client mentors, the programme developed a cohort of semi-skilled candidates into a team of highly specialist RPA business analysts – and giving them immediate capacity to meet their client needs.
The outcome: 100% success rate, with all programme candidates now working on various delivery projects. The programme has been expanded into other areas of Capgemini’s business, including data engineering and business monitoring.
We work with the ManpowerGroup’s Experis Train-to-Fit programme team as a key pillar of our approach to hire skills that are difficult to acquire in the market. This has helped us to shortlist strong, semi- experienced candidates who are then given additional on-the-job training with existing teams to develop the specialist skills that we need – all the candidates selected as part of this programme are now successfully working on various delivery projects.
The UK’s leading supplier of liquified petroleum gas was struggling to recruit and retain talent in the tightest labour market for fifty years. Realising that the best way to retain current workers and to attract new hires was to offer greater career opportunities to their workforce, Calor Gas incorporated MyPath, an established training and upskilling programme into their HR strategies.
Employees operating in different areas of the business were given opportunities to upgrade their existing knowledge and learn a range of new skills – actions that not only made them more productive workers for their employer, but also enhanced the workers’ long-term employability and earnings potential.
The MyPath programme allows us to look at the people that are displaying the qualities we value in the workplace and then determine where our skills gaps are, looking to see if we can take those people that have the personal qualities and attributes that are important to us and give them some additional skills and qualifications to plug those gaps and help us to better discharge our responsibilities towards our customers.
The outcome: Calor Gas was able to plug the skills gaps that were hampering their business – adding value to the work their employees perform and to the employee’s personal development and earnings potential – a two-way street that improved the organisation’s EVP and gave workers deeper connection to the business, whilst allowing the company to sustain its customer service levels and sell its products with improved safety and efficiency.
This top 5 global pharmaceutical company wanted to enhance and develop the capabilities of its leadership population to ensure they were equipped to lead the business into the future. After consultation, the client selected a digital coaching platform as the perfect tool to support the development of their leadership population in the face of organisational change. Key stakeholders felt that the platform would provide a safe space for their leaders to embark on a journey of ongoing learning, where they could open up about the challenges they are facing and receive expert advice.
The platform team worked hand-in-hand with the client to create a bespoke service for a cohort of 45 leaders, all of whom were given access to three 30-minute, 1:1 online coaching sessions. Each session was available to book at any time, with as little as 2 hours’ notice – ensuring every individual could engage with the support on their terms. The team also provided a package of communications to participants explaining the platform dynamics and how it could help them.
This supported the client’s HR function in promoting timely take-up of the support to maximise the benefits of expert coaching.
The landscape has shifted and there is much more for leaders to think about now, including a greater focus on individuals and wellbeing. It is time to continue to come out of survival mode, take a step back and think about what really needs to be done.
The outcome: Coachee satisfaction has been recorded following each coaching session, with the leaders consistently providing both high formal ratings and extremely positive feedback regarding the quality of support available. The client now plans further use of the platform to support their leaders and are actively exploring the refinement of both the key leadership focus areas and communication plan. This will build on the successful introduction of the platform and embed its benefit, as long-term organisational transformation continues.
Many organisations were struggling with the ongoing skills shortage and comparatively high salaries required to attract existing recruitment professionals. ManpowerGroup partnered with REC to develop their own in-house Recruitment Academy - reskilling workers from a variety of backgrounds who demonstrated the right characteristics and behaviours for these roles, but who would have previously been excluded for consideration in this profession.
The partnership gave rise to the REC elements of the CoRE Academy training programme, an 8 -week schedule that encompasses 7 days of REC training for cohorts of up to 15 trainees. Each REC element of the programme was developed by REC trainers in partnership with ManpowerGroup.
The programme teaches trainees the fundamentals of the recruitment industry and the skills they need to build a successful career. The training also prepares them for active placements where they are able to gain experience working alongside seasoned recruitment professionals.
The Recruiter Academy has been an excellent addition to the ManpowerGroup Centre of Recruitment Excellence (CoRE). We have provided some great opportunities to people looking to reskill and change careers, from teachers to engineers. The structured programme has given our Academy Recruiters the tools and techniques to become highly successful within their specialist verticals.
The outcome: Many programme graduates have equalled or exceeded the performance of established professional recruiters and are already being deployed to help service major ManpowerGroup clients.
