Insights

The acceleration of change is putting a strain on human capacity to adapt, affecting every aspect of our lives. With the urgency of adaptation impacting the workforce, business, and society, a critical gap has emerged in digital talent.

Businesses are facing an acute digital talent gap. A comprehensive study by Capgemini and LinkedIn highlights the severity of this gap. Some key findings include:

• The demand for digital talent is outstripping supply, yet many organizations lack a strategy to address this.
• The gap is widening and affects all business areas, not just HR.
• There is a shortage of both hard skills, like tech and data literacy, and soft skills, such as creative thinking and a lifelong learning mindset.
• Customer-centricity and a passion for learning are among the most sought-after soft skills.
• Cybersecurity and cloud computing are topping the list of hard skills in demand.

Another study in the UK indicates:

• Only 11% of the workforce has digital skills.
• 72% of UK businesses have digital skill vacancies.
• 68% struggle to hire the digital workers they need.

The World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report lists the top skills needed today, many of which are not focused on in traditional education. Businesses are now taking proactive measures to transform their strategic talent management strategies to close this gap.

Business is transforming its strategic talent management strategy to stanch the skills gap

Businesses are not relying solely on higher education to bridge the talent gap. They are adopting bold new approaches, such as:

• Direct C-Suite involvement in talent strategy development.
• Hiring shifts from diploma-focused to skill-focused.
• Upskilling investments for retention and early identification of high-performers.
• Collaborations with universities for targeted training.
• Promoting a lifelong learning mindset.
• Joint solutions with other companies to fulfill skill demands.

CEOs recognize talent management as a top priority. The ability to acquire and manage talent is a critical capability for future CEOs, according to PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO Survey.

Who will train digital legal talent?

The legal industry must adopt fresh approaches to align with business and society. Digital legal talent will emerge from tech-enabled, data-backed, collaborative, and multidisciplinary education and training, not the legacy model.

The Digital Legal Exchange (www.dlex.org) is tackling the digital skills gap in the legal industry. They provide a collaborative platform for leaders to share experiences and solutions for digital transformation.

Goliath tech companies are expanding into legal training, with initiatives like Microsoft’s AI training program, demonstrating the growing integration of technology in legal education.

Conclusion

As AI continues to advance, the legal industry faces critical questions about the role of specialized expertise and the balance between AI and human critical thinking. The approach to training and career development must adapt to these new realities.