Narrowing the Skills Gap
Jinfo Blog

By Sarah Huibregtse, Val Skelton

Abstract

Co-producers of the Topic Series "Best Practices in Information Skills Development", Val Skelton and Sarah Huibregtse, look at the articles, webinars and Community of Practice events yet to come in the series. Upcoming articles will cover flexible pathways to learning, using video in training, and using competency-based strategies to develop your information team.

Item

In its latest Skills Report, the OECD has explored the work-based skills of young people in 22 developed countries. Some of the findings are disheartening for the UK and the US. 

Using data from 2012 and 2013, the researchers highlight a disconnect between what young people are learning at school and the skills they need to thrive in the workplace. In particular the research highlights the gap between the skills and capabilities of young people in work and those who are disengaged from employment, training or education (often referred to as Neets).

The report focuses on basic literacies - reading, mathematics and problem solving.  The UK is placed near the bottom of 22 countries when it comes to the skills gaps between young people in work and those who are not. In the US, one in every six young person is a "Neet".

Digital Literacy

Other research suggests that we are wrong to assume that younger people entering the workforce are digitally literate by default.

In the UK the Digital Skills Committee is calling for digital literacy to be treated as a core competency alongside mathematics and English.

Even if they are digitally literate, younger people entering the workplace may be creating alternative information skills challenges. They are accustomed to an "always on" lifestyle and may require guidelines and training around concepts of information and data security. They may also respond more favourably to "non-traditional" training opportunities including reverse mentoring and project-based learning.

New Ways of Nurturing Information Skills

So, where does this leave the information professional tasked with nurturing relevant information skills in the organisation? As we enter the era of the "five-generational workplace", we need to be even more aware of different learning styles and employee motivations.

For younger workers, who may not be organisation-loyal, it may be useful to emphasise the transferability of information and digital skills.

For the YouTube-generation, short training videos which colleagues can refer to as and when they need them would be a great start. 

Videos and Content Chunks

In his forthcoming article, Phil Bradley outlines how you can create professional-looking training videos using freely available software. This article follows on from his earlier piece about using free and alternative presentation tools to set your end-user training material and events apart from the mundane!

In "Being Digital - Flexible Pathways to Learning", Katharine Reedy will describe how the Open University built on research about information skills in the workplace to develop a mixed programme of training content aimed at helping time-poor learners improve their digital skills.

The resulting programme created "chunks" of content that can be used separately or linked flexibly in pathways that best suit the learner. There are as many ways through the content as there are learners!

Maintaining the Skills of Your Information Team

In forthcoming articles we look at approaches to managing the competencies of information teams.

In her article "Using Competency-Based Strategies to Develop your Team of Information Professionals", Dr Sonja Irlbeck describes how to bring together job-embedded learning and competency based learning to deliver training programmes that are relevant, timely and deliver real value.  In "Information Team Tactics", Jacky Berry of the British Medical Association will describe the ongoing project that helps her team maintain their information skills.  

A number of webinars and Community of Practice sessions complement these themes. Don't miss our June sessions on the future of information at the SLA Conference in Boston, and on "getting information skills development on the strategic agenda" by teleconference. Register now to book your place at these popular events.

Webinars and Community of Practice Events

The webinar recording "Do You Know Your Skills Objectives?" is now available to view, and is an ideal way to gain information on how to develop a framework around skills objectives, to research and implement training and resource development to meet those goals and measure progress against them.

If you are attending the SLA Conference in Boston this year, do book to attend "Driving the Future of Information - FreePint's Research Agenda". This in-person session with FreePint's director of research, Robin Neidorf, will help you identify critical gaps in your organisation's strategy on skills, risk management and changes in vendor offerings on sources... and provide you with practical insights to drive change in your organisation. This session is open to any member of staff at an organisation with a FreePint Subscription.

Upcoming Community of Practice sessions (open to any organisation with a FreePint Subscription at the Community level or higher) offer the opportunity to delve into other aspects of skills development. "Getting Information Skills Development on the Strategic Agenda" is being offered by online teleconference on 9th and 25th June and includes a toolkit to support you in developing and acting on a plan to drive discussion in your organisation.

This Blog Item is part of the FreePint Topic Series "Best Practices in Information Skills Development".

« Blog