There is no doubt that we’ve reached an inflection point.  Anyone who attended the ATD 2018 conference had “skill gaps” burned into their heads.

Both keynotes President Obama and Tara Deakin (TD Bank) said that we are at the crossroads of an unprecedented change in required skills.  Artificial intelligence and automation are creating a new revolution. CEOs have finally recognized that talent skill gaps may render them unable to compete.  So, there’s never a better time to assess the skill gaps in your organization (know how big the problem is) and measure progress over time. 

Which is why it’s not surprising that I had over 500 people attend my 2 sessions on competency models.

In addition to posting answers to competency model questions, I thought I’d post a few quotes that were highlighted in the conference.

McKinsey & Company:

• “Artificial intelligence is poised to disrupt the workplace.  For workers of the future, the ability to adapt their skills to the changing needs of the workplace will be critical.  Lifelong learning must become the norm – and at the moment, the reality falls far short of the necessity.” 

• According to Bob Kegan, Harvard Research Professor in Adult Learning & Professional Development, “It used to be, “I got my skills in my 20s; I can hang on until 60.” It’s not going to be like that anymore.  We’re going to live in an era of people finding their skills irrelevant at age 45, 40, 35.” 

• According to Maria Flynn of Jobs for the Future, “In a country with such imperfect career navigation and lifelong-learning systems, plus the growth of the gig economy, we could end up worse off if we don’t start to change now.”

Do you agree?