![]()
Explore more topics in the #HowtobyBCG series
3
EDUCATION LEVEL
1
5
Launch
targeted upskilling programs
How to Get
Agile Right
Digital jobs are hot—and digital experts want to keep learning more.
61%
69%
72%
59%
High school
Collaborate with government and educational institutions to train the next generation of employees, including initiatives to motivate young people to enter in-demand careers.
#HowtobyBCG
75%
JOB ROLE
70%
Building learning programs
at speed and scale
No
Majorities at all education levels are willing to retrain—but the percentage falls off at the highest levels of education.
4
Young people want retraining the most, but strong majorities of the elderly also want to improve their skills.
EDUCATION LEVEL
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
5
JOB ROLE
New techniques such as mobile apps, augmented reality, and gamification are powerful tools for real-time, on-site learning.
3
AGE GROUP
2
31-40
Incorporate incentives to learn new skills into talent management and performance assessment. Encourage employees to adopt a continuous-growth mindset.
Extend upskilling to the wider society
56%
6
Managing Director & Senior Partner
59%
Adopt the latest learning technologies
Define a broad portfolio of learning interventions—reskilling existing employees, recruiting new employees, and acquiring companies with desired capabilities and skills—to fill the gaps.
1
Build a continuous learning culture
Sixty-seven percent of respondents are willing to retrain in any situation, while 29% would do so if they hit serious roadblocks in a job search.
LEARN MORE
There are six steps companies can take to meet the upskilling challenge and future-proof their workforce.
Embrace learning contracts
73%
EXPLORE
Launch
targeted upskilling programs
Science
2
How to Future-Proof Your Workforce
Define a broad portfolio of learning interventions—reskilling existing employees, recruiting new employees, and acquiring companies with desired capabilities and skills—to fill the gaps.
Collaborate with government and educational institutions to train the next generation of employees, including initiatives to motivate young people to enter in-demand careers.
How to Unlock
Innovation with Deep Tech
Extend upskilling to the wider society
Companies Have Been Slow to Respond
51-60
3
New techniques such as mobile apps, augmented reality, and gamification are powerful tools for real-time, on-site learning.
Adopt the latest learning technologies
How to Unlock
Innovation with Deep Tech
Doctorate or
equivalent
Legal
Administrative
Bachelor's degree
4
Extend upskilling to the wider society
READ THE CEO’s GUIDE TO LEADING AND LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
2
Adopt the latest learning technologies
AGE GROUP
67%
29%
Digital experts ranked learning
and training second in importance among dozens of job factors.
EDUCATION LEVEL
LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBAL TRENDS IN RESKILLING AND UPSKILLING
LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBAL TRENDS IN RESKILLING AND UPSKILLING
70%
Remaining Competitive in a Fast-Changing Labor Market
No formal education
EXPLORE
64%
Yes
How to Get
Agile Right
People Are Ready and Willing to Learn
If necessary
JOB ROLE
Create a strategic workforce plan
In this TED@BCG talk, Rainer Strack describes the scope of the coming workforce
crisis and how companies must address it.
Create a strategic workforce plan
Appetite for retraining is highest among people in sales, administrative, and services jobs.
Quantify mid- and long-term talent gaps by mapping employee skills against current and future needs.
67%
5
Incorporate incentives to learn new skills into talent management and performance assessment. Encourage employees to adopt a continuous-growth mindset.
1
RAINER STRACK
4
AGE GROUP
Secondary qualification
Back
Quantify mid- and long-term talent gaps by mapping employee skills against current and future needs.
How to Win the
Next Economic Downturn
Build a continuous learning culture
Formalize a commitment between the company and its employees to reskilling and upskilling, so the workforce is continually preparing for the next technological disruption.
Back
5
Sales
IT
76%
21-30
1
Demand for skills in areas such as AI, robotics, and automation is exploding, with mentions in online job postings growing more than 40% per year.
How to Win the
Next Economic Downturn
2
73%
3
58%
2
61 and older
6
In one of the largest global surveys of labor trends and work preferences, BCG and online recruiting company the Network surveyed 366,000 people in 197 countries. The results revealed that most people are prepared to retrain for a new position.
How to Harness
the Power of Purpose
6
To win in today’s business environment, companies need a comprehensive strategy for helping employees acquire new skills.
RAINER STRACK
59%
In the near future, the world will face a global workforce crisis consisting of an overall labor shortage plus a skills mismatch. Every company needs a people strategy and to act on it immediately. There is a huge upskilling challenge ahead of us.
Embrace learning contracts
LEARN MORE
Services
Learning is a CEO issue. A large-scale, digitally oriented reskilling initiative should be a core aspect of any corporate transformation and a top priority for the CEO.
Competing on the
rate of learning
Percentage of Respondents Willing to Retrain for a New Job by Category
Create a strategic workforce plan
Reskilling and upskilling is just one element of an emerging workforce crisis. Addressing that crisis will require an entirely new approach to recruiting, training, and motivating talent.
Launch
targeted upskilling programs
5
3%
41-50
READ THE CEO’s GUIDE TO LEADING AND LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
4
3
67%
How to Harness
the Power of Purpose
20 and under
Master’s degree or post-graduate qualification
60%
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
Build a continuous learning culture
Formalize a commitment between the company and its employees to reskilling and upskilling, so the workforce is continually preparing for the next technological disruption.
4
6
Back
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
Embrace learning contracts
Back
![]()