LinkedIn presented the “2018 Workplace Learning Report: the rise and responsibility of talent development in the new labor market”

Around 4.000 professionals – 1.200 talent development specialists, 400 managers, 200 executives, and 2.200 employees- were surveyed to learn more about the educational trends in the labour market. The results show that, in a context of increasing automation, the most important skills that workers must learn are leadership, communication, and collaboration.

The survey also shows that 68% of people prefer to learn at work, 58% wish to learn at their own pace, and 49% demand flexibility.

“Organizations must align development opportunities with employees’ aspirations, and encourage them to become active participants of the platforms where they are already spending their time”, claims the report.

Supporting employees through professional training clearly has strategic importance; 94% of workers say they would keep stay at a company longer if it invested on their career.

“Workers state that the main reason for not getting involved in the educational programs their company offers is lack of time. Executives and managers agree on the fact that the main challenge for talent development is to enable workers to take time to learn” points out the report.

According to LinkedIn, educational programs are more successful when managers get involved: 56% of workers would take a course suggested by his/her manager. However, the second biggest challenge for talent developers or human capital areas is to make managers commit to their workers learning process.

“The survey shows that, more than ever, talent developers depend on online education, not just to provide content, but also to measure learning success. They are observing the key trends of the industry, such as “microlearning”, and “just in time learning”, in order to better support modern employees. “

As regards technical skills, LinkedIn data shows that companies are looking for people with knowledge in the following areas: cloud computing, statistics analysis and data mining, software integration, web development and architecture, and user interface design.

Survey respondents agreed on the fact that granting educational resources for workers is key for companies. They also point out that professional development program are a huge benefit for workers, and that they generate high levels of commitment.