Skills, Not Degrees

This week has been quite busy in the world of Learning & Development. Some major announcements recently made will have long standing repercussions on how we view education. In many ways these were predictable as I’ve said before “Business Always Finds A Way.” Specifically two major announcements need to be discussed: The removal of a college degree requirement for Federal Job Applicants and the news from Microsoft regarding its initiative to help 25 million people.
Tackling the Federal news first, the President signed an Executive Order that will overhaul the government’s hiring practices so that skills will be given preference over a college degree. Not a good week for Higher Education. Already under financial distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, College Degrees have been on the downward trend. With tech giants, Google-Facebook-Apple, swearing off degrees in lieu of skills, look to “Skills” as the new currency for education.
Broad based degree programs in the Liberal Arts are already under siege with budget cuts at many universities. Prior to the COVID Crisis there was a Global Shortage of skilled workers. I’ve often spoken to the point that “Existing Pipelines” of talent have dried up and that “New Pipelines” are required. The Skills Initiatives we are seeing taking place are going to challenge the 4 Year Degree model in ways it never imagined.
To emphasize my point that “Business Always Finds A Way” one only must look at the major announcement and commitment that Microsoft made yesterday. In a Press Announcement and very detailed blog, Brad Smith, President of Microsoft announced how they will help 25 million people worldwide acquire the digital skills they need to succeed in a Post-COVID economy. Microsoft has committed to leveraging its behemoth presence to crunch data identifying in-demand jobs and provide the skill development necessary to fill them.
Of major significance is the commitment to provide FREE access to learning paths and content (through Linkedin Learning) for those interested. Additionally, Microsoft will provide low-cost certifications as well as job-seeking tools for those who take advantage of these services. While I love to see this offering being made available, much in the way business “finds a way” it is most likely not entirely altruistic on their part. Microsoft is essentially buying its way into the established learning and development industry space by giving away content and leveraging data freely given by users of Linkedin. Ultimately, this “Facebook Model” stands to benefit Microsoft with a tailored Pipeline of Talent as well as ownership of some of the most data-rich talent information in the world.
Imagine if the Higher Education systems had thought this far ahead and joined forces to not only cultivate but catalog the talent they had on their campuses. Unfortunately, most schools have been myopically focused on their own personal interests (Endowments) like a shiny toy while the rest of the world passed them by. Even the cash grants of up to $20 million that Microsoft intends to make are going to non-profit organizations, not Universities. It is not likely that the Corporate Learning & Development industry will be so compliant in ceding their business.
If you read through the full blog from Brad Smith, it’s a brilliant condemnation of the Corporate Learning Industry. While promoting their vision that: a connected “system of learning” that helps empower lifelong learning, you would think there isn’t a tool on the market that could achieve such a thing. He further indicts the existing market by stating that “Since 2008, the downward trend in employer-paid training has given way to a decade of stagnation, both in North America and around the world.” Really? In 2019 the total U.S. Corporations spent an estimated $169.4 billion U.S. on corporate training initiatives. While initially a dip from 2008 to 2009, the data shows a 27% increase from 2008 to 2019. Wow, thanks Microsoft for saving us.
The blog post is choked full of neat graphs, data points and catch phrases that I’m sure we will see in PowerPoint slides for months to come. My personal favorite is this one: “Our data shows that two years’ worth of digital transformation have been concentrated into the past two months. By one account, the final weeks of March alone witnessed as much broadband traffic growth as would be expected in a full year.”
Microsoft is of course first and foremost a technology company. While initially strong in the client-server / desktop space, they had to make up ground quickly as the Oracle’s and Salesforce’s of the world took over the Cloud. Microsoft quickly took note with the Office 365 suite, a subscription based offering, and most recently has struck gold (even more in the pandemic) with Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams has clearly been a winner with the virtual office and remote work force.
For those that keep reading their case as to how the established Corporate Learning & Development market has been such as huge disappointment, the payoff comes at the end where they announce that Microsoft Teams will be getting a shiny new update complete with learning functionality. Microsoft will bring “learning into the flow of work” through an app that will “empower managers to assign and track learning progress and enable employees to have conversations around the content while also earning certifications and recognition for their new skills. Whether a new employee is onboarding, a manager is looking to sharpen a team’s skills, or a first-line worker is in the field needing immediate training, this new app will create a seamless experience for employees to learn in the flow of work.”
I’ll admit that there is a bit of sarcasm in my tone when it comes to Microsoft’s announcement of their initiative. Primarily because none of this is new. Many of us have been in the Corporate Learning Industry for years discussing “Learning in the flow of work” or “Just in time Learning” or any number of other phrases used in the blog. COVID is a game changer for many things and I do hope it ushers in a better way to leverage technology for personal development. This may be the case where Microsoft has cracked the code (metaphorically speaking) when it comes to developing skills in a meaningful way. While this is their moment, don’t look to the existing providers in the space to roll out the welcome matt. Much like Workday’s heralded announcement of their Learning capability, I’m sure we’ll see that while much anticipated, the realities of implementing and executing are vastly different than a white paper.