91% of Europeans expect generative AI to increase productivity in the European market, according to Deloitte Germany’s research into the economic effects of a shrinking workforce. The rapid advancements in technology are likely to disrupt our workforce structure, leading to the rise of new technical skills, distinctive soft skills, and highly sought-after jobs. In a context where agility and the ability to incorporate new realities are paramount, upskilling your workforce may be the solution to this rising challenge.

In the US, companies with a historical track record of substantial investment in training such as Amazon who have recently announced plans to retrain 100,000 workers by 2025 and invest $7,000 per employee, reshape their strategies to include upskilling programmes with measurable impacts. In Europe, this trend is expected to gather momentum by 2025.

The Urgency of Now: Investing in Training for Market Challenges and Opportunities

Why now?

In 1987, skill sets had a lifespan of over 30 years. By 2024, they will become obsolete in 18 to 24 months, sometimes even less in several highly competitive tech professions. The emphasis is on upskilling amidst a context where innovations related to generative AI are making their mark on the market, accompanied by a strong assimilation of theoretical concepts by numerous talents.

The focus has shifted away from theory, and many companies are keen to apply these concepts through very specific use cases for their teams. The training market is booming, within a post-COVID-19 context and geopolitical tensions where resilience and agility are prioritised.

With the advent of tech tools, “the distinction no longer lies in access to knowledge but in our ability to adeptly navigate through it” says Adrien Fernandez Baca, Founder of Cubyn and trainer on prompt engineering at Pollen.

The opportunities are also there. The European corporate training market is estimated to grow by 12.2 billion euros from 2022 to 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 7.4% according to a market research report by Technavio. There’s an anticipated surge in enrollment for technical programmes driven by an increasing need for education in procedural skills and modern technologies like machine learning and digital marketing.

But upskilling your workforce is not just a defensive strategy to respond to a market need, it is also a means to seize competitive advantages in innovation and positioning for companies. That is how on March 13, in line with European trends, the French government announced an ambitious AI action plan to be at the leading edge of technology, involving an annual investment of 5 billion euros over five years. This initiative is grounded in a particular focus on employee training and the development of recognised technical skills. Not to mention that training can also be a great way to retain and attract your top talents.

Leveraging Upskilling as a Strategic Asset for the European Market

It’s not that employees require constant reminders about the significance of refreshing their skills. A recent study by the professional education firm Emeritus revealed that 80% of professionals believe upskilling will make them more distinguished among colleagues and 74% would prefer to be employed by companies that invest in their educational development over those that do not.

Upskilling programmes, therefore, have great potential to bridge the technology talent gap in Europe, enhancing a company’s appeal to elite professionals and diminishing turnover and inactivity, as they are primarily due to the absence of career advancement opportunities, according to a report by The Society for Human Resource Management in 2023 (SHRM).

Among others, Slack has embarked on this strategy with a vast and ambitious upskilling programme. Parent company Salesforce’s ‘ranger week’ has offered its employees the chance to upskill on a number of subjects via online modules and gamified challenges. This “release of duty” period — where all meetings and non-priority projects were rescheduled — was made to meet the week’s training objectives, yet, the company claimed that it remained fully operational. This trend looks set to be repeated as many launch multiple in-house training programmes to take advantage of both upskilling challenges caused by technological change and future market opportunities.

But while the US may be leading the upskilling trend with its heavily online-based model, Europe places a stronger emphasis on the need for on-the-ground, practical training, where peer learning emerges as a pivotal asset to most training programmes. The rules may be different there and Europe has a chance to seize it.

Tech Founders Guide: Bridging Skills and Fostering Human Connections

Tech founders play a crucial role in steering their teams towards success amidst rapid technological advancements. They could also use an ambitious training strategy to fulfil their employees’ needs for reconnecting with others while sharing meaningful experiences.

Gaining employee commitment by highlighting the advantages of upskilling, ensuring support, and communicating the importance of these initiatives is key to improving job performance and engaging your workforce transparently.

“Probably more than any other population, people in tech sectors have to constantly update themselves in a market that is changing very fast. And you can’t just learn from theory but from the best of your peers. This is where Pollen makes perfect sense,” says Vincent Huguet, co-CEO & Cofounder at MALT, the online marketplace that puts companies and self-employed digital workers in touch with each other.

It is, therefore, crucial to leverage experts who have extensive experience in the field, having access to the latest skills and methodologies, offering continuous learning opportunities, and preparing your workforce to tackle challenges effectively. Encouraging peer-to-peer experiences is also key to promoting resource-sharing and brainstorming to tackle most burning challenges, with a focus on achieving meaningful outcomes.

But beyond pure skills, training programmes offer a refreshing experience, while many employees show a strong need for reconnection in light of the inherent tensions that shake the European market (crisis post-COVID-19, geopolitical tensions). Upskilling programmes, as they gather experiences, may well promote internal mobility and challenge hidden talents with projects that push them to expand their boundaries.

In Europe, the most efficient strategies will, therefore, focus on:

• Speed: Ensuring learning happens as soon as new skills emerge, especially in high-demand areas like the tech market.

• Actionability: Emphasising rapid application of the key takeaways, prioritising practical use cases, hands-on experience, and feedback.

• Peer-learning: Making training desirable again by offering sessions led by sought-after instructors and experts in their field.

• Networking: Transforming training into an opportunity for meaningful connections, a particularly valued aspect in the post-COVID-19 era and a time with strong geopolitical and economic tensions.

Training Your Workforce: Skills for Tomorrow

What are the skills of the future, and how can businesses ensure their workforce is prepared?

Training topics such as AI, data analysis, tech products, machine learning, no-code, and automation are certainly here to stay. But they are not the only ones.

As remote work increases and job autonomy grows, the importance of soft skills has also increased, according to Rohan Rajiv, Director of Product Management at LinkedIn. This trend seems to be consolidating in a context where productivity gains still rely heavily on soft skills. These skills appear to be more differentiating, whereas technical competencies seem more easily substitutable through technology. Therefore, creativity, agility, communication, and team organisation may play a crucial role in this new paradigm, as technological and AI tools still struggle to replicate these high-value tasks.

In other words, traditional training involving strategic thinking and a form of emotional intelligence is growing in importance: tech team management, the ability to build strong data storytelling, and the establishment of a performance-driven culture are all topics that will continue to attract employees in a market disrupted by technological advancements.

Such skills highlight an evident paradox: in order to adopt the new approach to workforce development, future training programmes will incorporate a greater emphasis on the human dimension and experience.

By adopting these best practices, European tech founders will effectively navigate the new approach to workforce development, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation within their organisations, and therefore, retaining their top talents.