An aptitude for learning - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

An aptitude for learning - Viewpoint - careers advice blog The world is changing rapidly. Wouldn’t it be smarter to recruit candidates who can learn new skills quickly, rather than candidates who may only be fit for today? Globalisation, the shift towards a knowledge economy and the sheer pace of technological change are among the many factors radically shifting how organisations operate. Together, they place a premium on an employee’s ability to learn and respond to both their employer’s and the market’s changing demands. With this in mind, a traditional and rigid skills-based approach to assessment and recruitment is no longer good enough. And, when it comes to candidates, the ability to keep up with the world around you cannot be overestimated. “Increasingly, the skillset for tasks needed today is becoming obsolete,” says Sebastian Reiche, an associate professor at Spain’s IESE Business School (University of Navarra). “Organisations need to find candidates who are able and willing to continuously develop and update their skills.” This notion demands a reassessment of what we mean when we look for aptitude in candidates. While aptitude testing has a long history in HR and recruitment, current occupational tests typically assess candidates’ fit for existing roles and skills requirements, not future ones as well. At security firm Kaspersky Lab, the changing environment of online security means recruiters are targeting programmers in adjacent sectors, rather than poaching from other security firms. From this raw material, those candidates who seem most at ease picking up new skills and techniques represent the talent that will support the lab in the future. Of course, nobody can see beyond the horizon, and the specific skills needed in years to come remain unknown. However, by adapting existing assessment methods to identify learning aptitude in a broader sense, HR teams around the world are beginning to shine a light on the nimble minds needed in tomorrow’s workforce. View the full article from issue 6 of our bi-annual publication the Hays Journal, providing global insights into the world of work. You can view the article in the Hays Journal online, via the Hays Journal iPad app or request a printed copy from haysjournal@hays.com