Today more than ever, there is an urgent need for organisations, governments and educators to come together to fix the growing skills challenge and business has an important role to play. Over the next four years, PwC is committed to $3bn in upskilling – primarily in training its people but also in developing and sharing technologies to support clients and communities.
That’s why PwC is launching ‘New world, New skills’ – a commitment to tackle this important problem for people, clients and the communities in which PwC operates. The initiative speaks directly to the network’s stated purpose: to build trust in society and solve important problems.
By upskilling, PwC means giving employees opportunities to gain the knowledge, tools and ability they need to use advanced and ever-changing technologies in the workplace and their daily lives.
The World Economic Forum estimates that upskilling the 1.37 million workers in the US whose jobs are threatened will cost $34 billion in itself – or $24,800 per person. Multiply that by 100 to take in the rest of the world, and the sums become staggering.
Yet the cost of inaction will be worse. Already, there is a skills mismatch around the world and millions of jobs are going unfilled. It is not possible to recruit enough already-skilled people to do them. The only option is to help members of the existing workforce, those currently excluded, those starting their working lives and the next generation gain the knowledge and skills they need – and that society needs them to have – in the digital age.
The programme focuses on four key areas:
Upskilling all of PwC’s 276,000 people: Different programmes to meet their particular needs will be rolled out, from skills academies to digital fitness apps to leadership development. A proportion of the firm’s workforce will develop specialist skills in areas including data analytics, robotics process automation and artificial intelligence for use in their work. For others, it’s about understanding the potential of new technologies so they can advise clients, communities and other stakeholders.
No single organisation can close the skills gap alone. This is a complex problem that will require decision makers to come together- David Valenzia
PwC is also advising clients on the challenges posed by rapid technological change and automation. This includes identifying skills gaps and mismatches against likely future needs, workforce planning, upskilling programme and cultural change.
The firm will work with governments and institutions to reach a much broader group of people. For example, PwC in Luxembourg helped develop the Luxembourg Skills Bridge which brings together trade unions, associations and businesses to build digital industries and develop digital skills, including among those populations most “at risk”.
PwC will help millions of people improve their skills and knowledge for the digital world by making upskilling a focus of its not-for-profit initiatives. This includes working with students and teachers, which will help ensure opportunities are more evenly spread and to reach people who may otherwise be left behind.
David Valenzia, territory senior partner at PwC Malta, said: “No single organisation can close the skills gap alone. This is a complex problem that will require decision makers – educators; national government administrators; and business leaders – to come together. Upskilling is both a business and societal problem, and business has a vital role to play in addressing this challenge and every incentive to do so. No business can protect every job, but they can ensure their people are equipped to adapt to the demands of the future – we have a responsibility to do so.”
In another development PwC published the results of a global survey on technology, jobs and skills. Here are the main findings:
Over a third (34 per cent) of adults without school education or training beyond school say they are not learning any new digital skills compared with just 17 per cent of college graduates.
Fifty-three per cent of workers believe automation will significantly change or make their job obsolete within the next 10 years (only 28 per cent feel this is unlikely);
Seventy-seven per cent of adults would learn new skills now or completely retrain to improve their future employability;
People given fewer opportunities to learn new digital skills are more fearful of the impact of automation, and are more likely to have lower levels of education.
The PwC research was conducted among 22,000 adults across 11 countries worldwide, and build on PwC’s economic analysis on the impact of automation on jobs.
Degree-educated respondents are the most optimistic about technology and their future employment prospects – even though they believe their current job is likely to change significantly or be displaced.
Richard Oldfield, global markets leader at PwC, said: “The mismatch between the skills people have and those needed for the digital world is fast becoming one of the world’s most important problems. While technology will likely create as many jobs as it displaces, they will be very different, and people need the skills to adapt. There’s a huge appetite among people to learn, but the opportunities to do so are not evenly spread. These disparities are only going to get more extreme without serious attention from governments, NGOs and businesses.”