ITS LEARNING. JUST NOT AS WE KNOW IT . 1 ITS LEARNING. JUST NOT AS WE KNOW IT. How to accelerate skills acquisition in the age of intelligent technologies2 ITS LEARNING. JUST NOT AS WE KNOW IT . Forewords | 3 Introduction | 6 Staying Still Is Not An Option | 7 Intelligent Technologies Will Reconfigure Roles | 9 Intelligent Technologies Are Subverting the Skills Mix | 14 Solving the Skills Crisis In Three Steps | 16 Are You Ready to Transform Learning In Your Organization? | 28 Appendices | 30 CONTENTSThe issue at hand is one I take very seriously: Employers face a global skills crisis that could hold back the economic promise of intelligent technologies. Well beyond todays talent shortages, digital innovations will continually and rapidly alter the demand for skills in the future. Incremental changes to our education and corporate learning systems will not be sufficient. In response to this crisis, business leaders must completely rethink how to prepare their workforces, from anticipating the skills their organizations will need, to how they will help people learn and apply new skills throughout their careers. For leaders looking to drive growth in an incredibly competitive and rapidly changing business environment, investing in people is both responsible and cost effective. The good news is that skills development is, itself, undergoing rapid advances. This report examines the potential of new learning opportunities and offers recommendations for businesses, entrepreneurs and policy makers. Among the recommendations, we call for teaching approaches that encourage individuals to develop a range of both technical and innately human skills, like empathy and critical thinking. We advocate a greater commitment to experience-based skills development, like on-the-job learning and apprenticeships. And we describe how engaging and adaptive techniques can support more personalized, lifelong learningespecially in older workers and those in low-skill roles, who are often excluded from education and skills programs. As a professional services company, Accentures people make the difference in driving innovation and delivering high-quality services to clients. Indeed, we are tackling skills challenges head on. We have invested in large-scale skill building that leverages the latest advances in learning sciences, digital applications and experiential techniques. These help our people develop diverse talentscombining creativity, analytical and digital skills. In the communities where we work, we are extending apprenticeship programs to facilitate youth on-the- job learning. We are also supporting disadvantaged people as part of our Skills to Succeed program, which is on target to equip more than three million people with the skills needed to get a job or to build a business. We are proud to once again support the B20 as it shapes the education and skills agenda. We are pleased as well to collaborate with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (G20 YEA) to offer fresh insights and recommendations for policy makers working hand-in-hand with organizations. We hope our unique analysis, combined with our own experience of reimagining skills development, will help businesses and policy makers take the necessary steps forward. PIERRE NANTERME Chairman Mexico and South Africa 1.8 percentage points. Economies with a stronger skills base may be better prepared, but could still lose big, as much as US$975 billion in the United States and US$264 billion in Germany over the coming 10 years. Beyond the economic impact, the risk includes greater rates of unemployment and intensified income inequality. (See Figure 1. For more details see Appendix 3: Technical Annex: Skills Crisis: Measuring the Growth at Risk.) STAYING STILL IS NOT AN OPTION