Can you imagine a world where it’s not your diplomas but your skills that determine your success in the job market? For Jos Sanders, professor of Human Capital Innovations at HAN University of Applied Sciences, senior research scientist at TNO and EPALE Ambassador, the answer is a resounding yes. In his inspirational keynote, he talked about how sustainable employability can be achieved by focusing mainly on skills.

‘Diplomas are important indicators of a person’s skills, competences and learnability,’ Jos explained. ‘But in many cases, they don’t paint the whole picture. So a lack of one or more qualifications doesn’t always mean that someone doesn’t have, or will never have, the skills needed to pursue a particular profession. You don’t stop learning and developing when you finish your academic career and receive your diploma. In fact, that’s when you start your learning and development journey in earnest, as you keep improving your knowledge and skills in response to all kinds of changes in your work and society. The focus on diplomas as an ‘organising principle’ for the labour market is still hindering many necessary changes.’

How a job can become a misfit

More than ever, working adults are expected to keep learning. We’re constantly facing changes that we need to respond to in order to stay ahead of the curve. But if there are too many changes, a job that was previously a good fit for you may end up turning into a misfit, as you realise that it’s no longer right for you. Not everyone likes change, and some find it easier to deal with than others. In some cases, there are things you can do to influence it, but often it’s just something that happens. In his keynote, Jos explained that there are different types of change (internally or externally driven) that determine whether or not your job is still right for you:

• Wear and tear: the work you do demands more than your body can handle. This is the case for construction workers, for instance.
• Atrophy: the loss or deterioration of skills you had in the past due to lack of use or practice. Without regular practice, skills can deteriorate rapidly.
• Changing tasks: you need different or new skills to keep doing your job.
• Company-specific changes: the implementation of a new business software package, for instance. This kind of change requires adaptation at different levels within the organisation in terms of skills.
• Changing employment opportunities: due to changes within your current field, your skills are no longer in demand.

Taking your jacket to the tailor

If you’ve got an old jacket that no longer fits, you can either get a new one or take the old one to the tailor. This metaphor also applies to someone’s set of skills when they’re no longer adequate for the work they do. In this case, what is known as a re-fit is necessary to remain employable. Sustainable employability means that, throughout their working lives, employees should have the right opportunities and conditions to perform well in their current and future jobs, while also staying healthy. This implies a work context that enables them to do so, as well as the attitude and motivation needed to seize opportunities (Van der Klink et al., 2011). According to Jos, employers have an important responsibility in this context, for example by changing the work their employees do or offering them opportunities to develop new skills. This calls for a learning culture where people get the support they need to recognise and seize opportunities, and where they can have positive learning experiences.

Achieving a re-fit

Besides the work context, the employee’s attitude and motivation are essential to achieve a good re-fit. Here, Jos stressed the importance of positive learning experiences. Modular training programmes and direct rewards are effective ways of giving people the belief and confidence they need to learn. Microcredentials can be helpful here as well. These are certificates people receive after doing a short, targeted course, and that validate specific skills or knowledge. The units participants complete are often linked to short-cycle offerings designed to quickly improve or update professional competences. This gives them several successful experiences in a short period of time, which is encouraging and has a positive effect on their motivation to keep growing and developing. Jos’s advice: do not subject your employees to tests or exams if you don’t have to. This could bring up negative past learning experiences, which can keep them from continuing their learning and development journey. And don’t be pushy either. Instead, ensure that your employees receive support and proper guidance from a colleague, create a learning culture or use learning ambassadors.

An organisation’s Learning & Development or HR department can assist in achieving a re-fit by:

• paying attention to physical and mental health;
• encouraging the development of new skills;

Learning new skills requires time and space. Offering this during working hours can help achieve a good fit.

• creating awareness about employability;

Focus on the person’s needs, not on specific tasks.

• changing an employee’s job description to better align with their desires and skills, for example by looking for other tasks within the organisation.

Jos concluded his talk with a valuable piece of advice: ‘Remember to look back from time to time at all the changes employees have already experienced. Maybe that will make future changes seem a little less scary.’

Read more

• The slides for the plenary part of the presentation are available here
• Learning ambassadors: who, what and where? An article based on an interview with Anneloes van Delft (NSS EPALE Netherlands), Jos Sanders (HAN) and Saskia Marsman (CNV).

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