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MAPPING AND MEASURING SKILLS: HOW COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION CAN INFORM
CORPORATE LEARNING

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Today’s growing talent shortages means it’s crucial that companies understand
the skills and abilities of their employees.


BY JILLIAN KLEIN

MARCH 8, 2023

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Call it a tale of two labor markets. Recent headlines have been dominated by
tech companies laying-off highly compensated, white-collar professionals as they
grapple with the effects of inflation. At the same time, other industries have
numerous job vacancies.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, employers experienced a mass exodus from the
workforce, whose repercussions continue to present them with many challenges. In
fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 4.5 million workers
voluntarily quit their jobs in March of 2022 alone. This Great Resignation has
made it challenging for some companies to find qualified employees, and
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in
December 2022 was 3.5 percent, which may make recruitment more difficult. Talent
gaps also exist internally within companies, and only 27 percent of employees
worldwide feel very equipped with resources to learn the digital skills needed
in today’s workplace. 

Companies are being affected by a “training treadmill,” in which an increased
focus on hiring and training for positions vacated due to turnover is reducing
the amount of time and energy available for focusing on productivity. Meanwhile,
many companies are worrying about a potential recession, as their executives
brace for scrutiny of all budgets, including their learning and development
budgets. 

It’s arguably more important than ever that internal L&D initiatives produce
hard data to show a demonstrable return on investment — that proves, in other
words, that skills can be measured in terms of what new employees bring with
them and then what they learn on the job. But how can organizations be certain
that skills-based education and training in the workplace is effective today and
over the long haul?

Corporate trainers might be able to draw inspiration from the world of
postsecondary education, where instructors and administrators have been working
to perfect competency-based education. This data-driven learning practice offers
multiple lessons for corporate trainers seeking a roadmap for successful
skills-based practices.

CBE uses professionally aligned assessments — which can take a variety of forms
— to measure the learner’s skill set. Once learners demonstrate via testing
their competence in a verified skill or curriculum standard, they can progress
through course material at a pace that makes sense for them. Through the
painstaking process of mapping professionally relevant competencies to course
content, colleges can use these assessments to gather data that gives them an
understanding of how well learners are mastering specific topics. 

When companies and organizations recognize and build upon the current skill sets
of their employees, they can offer L&D opportunities that are more efficient and
more relevant. They can help their employees develop new skills rather than
review lessons learned long ago. Companies don’t have time to waste and neither
do their employees.

Corporate trainers are leveraging their own short-form assessments to measure
skills and track how quickly employees are learning new ones. Indeed, a growing
number of companies are looking beyond traditional hiring and development
methods, and turning to pre-hire and on-the-job assessments to better understand
their employees. Companies like Catalyte are using online tools to assess
individual skills to identify, train and develop non-traditional talent to tech
careers.

A 2021 American Institutes for Research report highlighted case studies of 10
employers, including IBM, Comcast and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget,
that had integrated skills-based practices into employee development. Companies
that had succeeded in this space had followed the same basic blueprint: They
identified and defined necessary skills, measured skills, incorporated skills
validation and tracking into existing HR infrastructure, and identified the
benefits and outcomes of this work. The data collected allowed these
organizations to gain an accurate picture of the current capabilities and future
readiness of their workforces.

While implementing flexible CBE programs over the years, we have learned they
can provide another side benefit: It helps us understand where learners need
support. By combining CBE’s personalized learning programs with success
coaching, academic advising and competency mapping, students can track their
progress and understand how their learning aligns with career fields they’re
seeking to break into.

Corporate trainers should consider supplementing skills-based practices with
digital tools to track learning progress, provide internal road maps for career
advancement and conduct 360 reviews where employees are assessed by their
managers, peers and direct reports. By making these resources easily accessible,
organizations can help employees prepare for their next project and their next
company role.

Finally, a shift to measuring skills and competencies has helped to break down
barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. Because CBE
offers flexible pathways to educational advancement, it has been one tool to
improve access for nontraditional learners.

With greater transparency around skills and competencies in the workplace,
career opportunities may increase for a broader range of students and workers.
Adult learners, veterans, career changers and those from historically excluded
backgrounds who might have unfairly been overlooked in the past now have the
means to demonstrate to potential employers what they know and can do.

When it comes to using data to assess skills, the competency-based learning
models developed in postsecondary education offer numerous insights for
companies that seek to better understand the impact of their training
investments. Today’s growing talent shortages means it’s crucial that companies
understand the skills and abilities of their employees. Lessons learned from CBE
can provide corporate L&D leaders a much-needed framework for what works.


JILLIAN KLEIN

Jillian Klein is senior vice president of government and external affairs for
Strategic Education, Inc., where she works with internal and external partners
on higher education policy, postsecondary innovation, and federal financial aid
compliance on behalf of Capella University and Strayer University. She was part
of the team that created Capella University’s direct assessment competency-based
program offerings (FlexPath), including the first bachelor’s and master’s level
direct assessment programs approved to offer federal financial aid by the U.S.
Department of Education. Klein received a Bachelor of Arts in business
administration from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a Master
of Arts in systematic theology from Luther Seminary.
To comment, email:  editor@chieflearningofficer.com.



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