In today’s labor landscape, a skilled, future-proof workforce is your business’s biggest competitive advantage.
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Even with the threat of recession circling the global economy, the labor shortage crisis is as strong as ever — with almost two open jobs for every available worker. As the economy moves into uncharted waters, the question becomes: how can companies address the need for skilled workers while navigating the challenges of an uncertain market?
While there may not be a clear-cut answer, one thing is certain: the businesses poised to come out of this period on top are the ones building a highly-skilled workforce from within. To retain top talent and develop a future-ready workforce, it’s necessary to proactively address skills gaps today through training and education.
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Labor shortage by industry
Durable goods manufacturing
Wholesale and retail trade
Financial activities
Professional and business services
Leisure and hospitality
0%
100%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Filled job openings
Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Analysis, BLS Data
Unfilled job openings
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Ready for a better solution to the skilled labor shortage? Unlock the full playbook to access actionable tactics for filling your talent pipeline.
Get the latest on the skills gap crisis and how it may affect your business
In this playbook, you will:
Learn how to build the workforce you need from within
Discover how to get more out of your L&D budget for maximum impact
The rest of the playbook is now available. To continue, click on the arrow to the right.
Technology is outpacing workers' ability to upskill and the demand for skilled workers is outpacing supply. So not only are there not enough workers, but many current employees don't possess the future-ready skills needed to fill positions.
For the first time, many businesses are having to balance a slowed economy with record-high labor shortages. The reality is that despite the state of the global economy, skills gaps persist.
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Only 34% of employees feel properly supported by their company’s skills development opportunities.
Did you know?
A tumultuous labor market means it’s even more important to refocus on the talent you have and ensure you can retain and develop your people to fit the long-term needs of the business.
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Today’s employees seek out more than financial compensation in a job — they want a career.
Offering run-of-the-mill benefits isn’t enough to attract and retain talent. It’s not one-time bonuses and free break room snacks that they’re after — it’s a sense of well-being and connection.
Workers are seeking an “emotional salary” that pays in flexible working hours, childcare, corporate social responsibility, training and education — this is non-monetary compensation that speaks to emotional needs, quality of life and personal growth.
Lack of growth
Top reasons employees leave a company
Work/life balance
Personal reasons
Career change
Compensation/ benefits
Leadership
Manager
37.1%
13.4%
11.8%
11.1%
7.6%
7.2%
Source: CultureAmp
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Click on each section to reveal the data
Younger generations are leading this shift in changing expectations now that Millennials make up the bulk of the workforce. Similarly, these groups echo concerns around increased automation and growing skills gaps that other generations have already begun to experience the adverse effects of.
In a recent study, 60% of Gen-Zers reported that they don’t think their job will exist in the same form 20 years from now.
This makes employers offering training and education programs that address these skills needs even more appealing.
Growth
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Generations in the U.S. labor force
2% Silent Generation
25% Baby Boomers
33% Generation X
5% Generation Z
35% Millennials
25%
33%
35%
5%
Source: Pew Research Center
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Measuring the impact of your L&D efforts isn’t always black and white. When evaluating the effectiveness of your programs, ask yourself:
Do my L&D efforts…
Contribute to overall business goals and generate an ROI?
1.
Align to my talent development strategy and impact the employees that need it most?
2.
Deliver meaningful career outcomes for employees?
3.
Run successfully with minimal administrative effort?
4.
Training
+
Between responsibilities of work and home, employees have little available time. A successful education program must offer the flexibility to fit into the spaces learners have, whatever hour or day.
Training alone is not an effective solution because it typically focuses on short-term outcomes. Too often, employees find themselves learning generic content in a one-size-fits-all training course. While this consistency may be useful for some training (like company onboarding), it falls short when it comes to building competencies for meaningful career outcomes. Simply completing a training program isn’t enough to achieve long-term career advancement. This waste of money and time affects both sides equally, and drains L&D of valuable dollars that could be used more effectively elsewhere.
Training alone is not an effective solution because it typically focuses on short-term outcomes.
Tuition assistance programs (TAPs) that offer tuition reimbursement deliver in theory, but fail many workers, who are unable to cover the upfront cost of tuition and wait for reimbursement months later.
Tuition reimbursement programs sound beneficial in theory, but they fail many workers.
Tuition Reimbursement
By itself, training isn’t an effective solution for meaningful upskilling.
In the past, many L&D leaders have relied on training and tuition reimbursement programs to fill skills gaps. But these tools aren’t enough.
Learn why
Training alone is not an effective solution because it typically focuses on short-term outcomes. Too often, employees find themselves learning generic content in a one-size-fits-all format.
While this consistency may be useful for some types of training (like company onboarding), it falls short when it comes to building competencies for meaningful career outcomes. Simply completing a training program isn’t enough to achieve long-term career advancement. This waste of money and time affects both sides equally, and drains L&D of valuable dollars that could be used more effectively elsewhere.
Tuition reimbursement programs fail many workers who are unable to cover the upfront cost of tuition. With these programs, education remains inaccessible for those who come from low-income backgrounds, further contributing to the education gap that disproportionately affects people of color.
Additionally, learners often have little guidance when choosing education programs, resulting in costly courses of little relevance to their career path or your organization’s skills gaps.
It's of little surprise that employees struggle with their education path since companies themselves don't know what learning aligns with their company goals. As a result, ROI often becomes difficult to measure and achieve.
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Plus, external hiring comes with substantial costs — often as high as 3x to 4x of their salary, when you account for recruiter fees, interviewers’ time, onboarding and the higher salary external hires typically command. While this may make sense for some positions, it’s not a cost-effective long-term solution.
Another common tactic for addressing skills gaps is through hiring. But as talent becomes more scarce, it’s becoming increasingly more challenging to do this.
And because the skills needed are constantly evolving, a new hire may need training and upskilling only a year into their role. This leaves you back at square one with a workforce in desperate need of effective training and education opportunities.
Is your L&D effective?
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Employers report difficulty finding qualified talent, reaching a 16-year talent shortage high
in
Source: ManPowerGroup
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Gutting L&D initiatives is a knee-jerk reaction to fears of recession, but one that makes little sense today when skilled employees are already hard to come by. But if you're relying on hiring and outdated learning methods that don't deliver returns, it’s easy to see how L&D could be viewed as just another cost center, rather than a must-have tool for future-proofing your business
65% of organizations don’t measure the business results of their learning investments
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It’s time to double-down on learning programs that are measurable and drive real business outcomes.
At InStride, we believe that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for workplace learning. That’s why we’re championing a bold, new approach to workforce education — one that’s strategically designed to fit the unique skills needs of your business and help you stay competitive even in the most uncertain of times.
Source: Association for Talent Development
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Through InStride’s Strategic Enteprise Education™ approach, we work closely with our partners to understand their most pressing skills needs and develop custom career education paths that align career outcomes to relevant learning options. Each path is tailored to a particular role or competency and provides a clearly defined track to advancement.
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[PLACEHOLDER]
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Skill requirements
Programming languages
Software testing
Analytical training
Entry-level
Associate Software Engineer
0-2 years of relevant work experience
Learning options
Mid-level
Software Engineer
Agile, Waterfall, DevOps
Technical communication
Critical thinking
Management fundamentals
Assuming responsibility
Managing quality
Senior-level
Senior Software Engineer
Business strategy
Operational excellence
Technical mastery
Executive
IT Leader
Example career education path
Degree - Computer Science (B.S.)
Bootcamp - Coding Bootcamp
Stackable Certificate - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Course
Learning options:
Certificate - Mastery of Business Fundamentals
Certificate - Agile Project Management
Course - Introduction to Database Development
Certificate - PMI Agile Certified Practictioner
Certificate - Postgraduate Program in Digital Transformation
Degree - Information System Management (M.S.)
Degree - MBA
Stackable Certificate - Leadership Graduate Certificate
Stackable Certificate - Cyber Management Graduate Certificate
Programs designed around business goals and employee skills needs deliver success because everyone has a unique path to career advancement. You could have two people in the same job with varying skill levels and education backgrounds that require entirely different learning to get to the next level of their careers.
An effective L&D program has to meet the learner where they are — whether they have some college, no college or have only earned certification courses. This is where true engagement happens.
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By designing industry-specific career education paths for in-demand and hard-to-fill roles, InStride helps organizations build a strong pipeline of diverse talent, increase retention, close skills gaps and foster employee engagement.
3X
226%
Average ROI over a three-year period for every dollar spent
Retention vs. 52% with traditional tuition reimbursement programs
92%
Higher promotion rate vs. non-participating employees
The proof is in the numbers:
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Based on InStride's long-term, enterprise partners. Results vary depending on industry.
1
For your business to stay agile in the face of disruption, you need skilled employees — ones that possess the hard skills required of their role, but also the soft skills and competencies that enable them to advance. Workforce education that supports this kind of critical thinking builds agility, one of the most vital traits your employees can bring to the table during economic downturns, pandemics and other unexpected disruptions.
It’s time to prioritize educational approaches that solve real business needs. InStride’s Strategic Enterprise Education™ programs help you strengthen your workforce and your business, allowing you to change course as markets fluctuate and emerge with minimal damage, prepared for each new normal.
Ready to see what a custom Strategic Enterprise Education program could look like for your organization?
Request a demo
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Ready to see what a custom Strategic Enterprise Education program™ could look like for your organization?
If you're relying on outdated training and upskilling methods that don't deliver proven returns, L&D could be seen as just another cost center. This is a pivotal time for people leaders to re-evaluate existing learning programs and ensure your budget is being invested wisely.
Used strategically and efficiently, L&D pays dividends that will not only help weather the storm, but can help your business maintain stability through these periods of change.
It’s time to double-down on learning programs that are measurable and effective at solving real business needs.
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Participation rate for traditional tuition assistance programs
Participation rate for InStride programs
InStride Strategic Enterprise Education programs see an average 226% ROI per learner
The InStride approach by the numbers:
Through our Strategic Enterprise Education™ approach, we curate a network of top-tier, academic institutions that offer degrees, credentials and skills designed to meet in-demand skills needs and are proven to generate career outcomes for adult learners.
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We can reach these kinds of returns because we don’t just send you a catalog of thousands of learning options for you to sort through — our industry and academic experts partner with you to curate high-quality, accessible education and develop a program that’s strategically aligned to your business goals.
Ready to see how far your L&D dollars can go?
Calculate my ROI
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Every individual has a unique path to upskilling/reskilling. Programs that accommodate both employee goals and business needs deliver high levels of success. But it’s more nuanced than even that: you could have two people in the same job with varying skill levels and education backgrounds that require entirely different paths to get to the next level of their careers. An effective L&D program meets the learner where they are — whether they have some college, no college or have only earned certification courses. This is where true engagement happens.
By designing industry-specific career education paths for in-demand and hard-to-fill roles, InStride can help your team build a strong pipeline of diverse talent, increase retention, close skills gaps, increase employee connection and strengthen the communities you serve.
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