Skills-Based Credentialing: Bridging the IT Skills Gap

In a recent Forbes Human Resources Council article, Liberty Munson, vice chair of the IT Certification Council and director of psychometrics at Microsoft, delves into the critical issue of IT skills gaps. Munson offers insights and strategies for businesses seeking to bridge IT skills gaps and cultivate a skilled workforce capable of navigating the rapidly changing technology landscape.

Munson acknowledges the pervasive nature of IT skills gaps across industries, exacerbated by the accelerating pace of technological innovation. Job roles in areas such as cybersecurity, data analysis, and cloud computing are becoming increasingly integral to business operations and the bottom line. She underscores the importance of making sure new and existing employees have the skills to leverage the power of this technology.

For high-performing companies, the differentiator is their people. “By 2025, more than 90% of organizations will experience IT skill shortages related to digital transformation. This will end up costing more than $6.5 trillion globally because of delayed product releases, reduced customer satisfaction and loss of business,” Munson writes.

The IT skills gap is not new; however, it is “growing exponentially” and is “also affecting nontechnical roles,” Munson writes. She cites Morgan Stanley research about AI and the future of work that finds “more than 40% of occupations might be affected by generative AI in the next three years.” What can HR professionals do to help their organizations effectively upskill employees, customers, and partners to ultimately strengthen their bottom line?

How Organizations Can Invest in IT Skills

Munson offers a road map for addressing technical skills gaps. Strategies include gaining skills through on-the-job training (OJT), acquiring or hiring companies or people with the necessary skills, or growing skills through more formal training. It is important to start by “identifying the skills required to be successful in a given job or on a specific project,” she writes.

Many organizations devote resources to defining the required skills for given job roles. However, due to reorganizations, layoffs, and internal job changes, required skills can quickly change. This churn “creates a need for continuous upskilling and reskilling,” Munson writes. “What’s becoming increasingly important is verifying employees have the right skills and then rigorously validating those skills.”

Practical Training

OJT “is a practical approach to ensuring employees acquire the necessary skills,” Munson writes. OJT allows new employees to learn how to use specific tools and practice skills in a work environment that’s live or even simulated. Employees learn by doing rather than watching presentations. Because technology continues to change the way we work, even existing employees are learning while on the job by exploring how to incorporate new tools into their everyday workflows, Munson explains.

Hiring to Fill Skills Gaps

According to Munson, “there’s such a thing as just-in-time hiring.” This happens when a manager hires new talent whose skills “align with a clearly defined job description for a specific role or gap.” This can ultimately save employers money, as Munson notes, “The cost of hiring the wrong employee can be up to 30% of their annual salary or as high as $240,000 in total costs, including onboarding.” And that’s without the potential financial impact of lost clients, damage to brand reputation, disruption to teamwork, and lost time.

This raises a critical question from Munson: “How do you know you’ve found the perfect hire?”

A crucial part of the hiring process is verifying a candidate’s skills. Certifications can help.

Validate Skills through Certifications

When organizations address workforce transformation, Munson writes, they typically think of training as a first step. She notes that “American companies’ training expenditures increased in 2023 to $101.8 billion” and asks the reader to consider several questions:

• How is return on investment measured if trainees do not demonstrate knowledge or skills acquisition?
• Does your company validate skills and knowledge regarding your products and solutions?
• Is there a team dedicated to ensuring your customers have the right skills and knowledge to gain the most from their purchase of your products and solutions?

Certifications can provide some answers. “Alternatives to degree solutions go far beyond training to verify skills in a valid, fair, and meaningful way,” Munson writes. “With guidance from credentialing industry associations [such as the IT Certification Council], you can gain the insights needed to differentiate high-quality credentials and certifications from low-quality ones.”

A major challenge organizations face today is that there are “more than 1 million credentials in the market,” Munson notes. The sheer number of certification programs available in the market “can lead to confusion around what constitutes a valid certification or credential.” She cites a SHRM study in which 54% of HR professionals say they are apprehensive about using alternative credentials because it’s not always clear what skills were evaluated or whether they were evaluated in a way that ensures the professional has them. Munson recommends coming up with ways to ensure certified skills are legitimate.

She concludes by writing, “A skilled workforce is vital for business success, transformation and profitability.” Her call to action urges us “to understand the importance and use of reliable, valid and relevant credentials and certifications if [we] want to close technical skills gaps and move forward.”

Becky Gray is the senior certification exam director at SAS. For more information about the IT Certification Council, visit its website.