Developing essential skills in the next generation of Irish workers in 2021

By Aoife Sheehy & Ian MacRae

The next generation of the Irish economy

Ireland has built up an economy based on highly specific skills sets, and companies that draw in international talent and capital. There are substantial opportunities in Ireland and it’s essential that young people in Ireland develop the skills necessary to take advantage of these opportunities. In 2020 multinational corporations, a sector dominated by tech and big pharma were responsible for over 50% of Ireland’s overall GVA.  

As global talent and capital shifts away from London, there are substantial opportunities to take advantage of the movement of both capital and talent. At the same time, Ireland has an opportunity to develop the next generation of labour with a new set of skills for an even more digital, widely distributed, and high-tech economy.

Essential skills for Irish workers in 2021

The most in-demand roles in Ireland for the foreseeable next few years are in occupations related to tech, finance, and marketing. The top-performing companies reflect this. To be globally competitive, younger Irish workers must develop the skills and competencies that are essential in any high-tech, fast-paced roles that require self-motivation and independent thinking.

Talent shortages will shape the next generation of workers and workplaces

There is an international talent shortage. The COVID pandemic has accelerated the number of workers leaving the workforce with minimal transfer of skills between generations. Even in, the most efficiently run companies training and development does not happen overnight. The next generation of workers must develop the tools and competencies to be agile, disciplined and effective in the workforce: it is necessary for a coordinated strategy alongside practical tools to ensure workers in Ireland can benefit from the opportunities available.

As employers and employees make decisions on hybrid working across the country, the future of work will inevitably be online-dominant which younger generations are the quickest to adapt to.  

Opportunities to develop Gen Z workers

More so than any other generation to precede them, Generation Z currently entering their initiation phase to the corporate world are tech literate. They have developed an ability to manage various communication styles and platforms and have tools that give them access to massive amounts of information. However, many have not yet developed the capabilities to adapt these effectively to the workplace. The next generation of HR tech will be tools that help the next generation of workers to embed these skills into their workplaces.

Their technical familiarity and potential come with areas for development. Although familiarity with communications technology is widespread with the new generation of workers, many will still need experience in adapting to the culture of workplace communication. Snapchat and Tiktok natives will take some time to adapt to different expectations and processes on platforms like Teams and Slack.

However, the challenge for younger workers who are used to constant connection via smartphone will be learning the skills needed to develop work-life balance, and avoiding the constant demands of digital workplaces. Alongside technical skills, younger workers will need the training and experience to develop strategies for using this tech effectively without diving too deeply into workaholism and presenteeism.

Attention along with time management, problem-solving, and communication will be essential for the next generation of workers. There is nothing new about new entrants to the workforce needing to develop this skill set, but the training and development methods need to be adapted to build on the teaching methods and information environment that younger workers have learned within. 

Research conducted by Maynooth University saw Gen Zers describe how face-to-face and interpersonal interactions and communications are one of the greatest apprehensions for the youngest cohort of workers. With emotional intelligence constantly ranked as one of the most important skills for career progression, this is a key area of concern for their development. 

As Gen Z make their way into the world of business we need to prepare for the skills they have along with their specific development needs. The next generation of digital HR tools will be built to align with the capabilities of the next generation. The companies that adapt to this the fastest will have the most robust and agile workforce, the companies that do not will be faced with perpetual talent shortages in a dwindling talent pool.

Our ‘one size fits all’ coaching and development models will need to be adapted to match the capabilities of young workers. For example, younger workers may be far more comfortable accessing and processing large amounts of information and expect learning and development sessions to be highly tailored and relevant. Taking a bespoke approach can help maximise the efficiency of training and development initiatives and will help employees feel that development initiatives are relevant and useful to them. 

Assessments as a Coaching Tool

One of the most effective ways to identify and narrow down the specific needs of individual workers from a large pool of talent is through the use of psychometric assessments. Many companies have adopted some form of measurements into their recruitment process, utilising the available information about an employee’s personality can provide companies with a clear direction for focused individual development.

Having reviewed an individual’s preferred styles, introducing suitable development tools and techniques to be self-adopted and practised over a week before checking in again at a short scheduled time can build self-reliance consistently. For example, if you are aware that an employee could develop in the area of attention and planning introducing them early on in their employment to a Time Management Matrix allows the individual to consistently develop without a deadline and before their natural capabilities become ‘an area for improvement’ at work. 

Gen Z is used to finding, accessing, and using vast amounts of information almost instantaneously, to support their development they need practical tools they can access, try and practice. It’s a no-brainer that the technology we provide needs to be as frictionless as the devices they are drawn to. As technology is adopted to evolve other areas of our businesses to make them more efficient, our employees’ development should be no different. Especially if we want to get the most out of our new employees.

Educating a generation in self-coaching techniques not only increases self-reliance and confidence amongst other beneficial traits we are subsequently handing down invaluable practices that will inevitably create balanced leaders of our future.   

Aoife Sheehy is the founder of Attain, an Irish startup focusing on assessment, coaching and digital skills development.

Ian MacRae is a work psychologist and author of six books including Dark Social: Understanding the darker side of work, personality and social media.

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