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How to Win the
Next Economic Downturn
5
Incorporate incentives to learn new skills into talent management and performance assessment. Encourage employees to adopt a continuous-growth mindset.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
If necessary
READ THE CEO’s GUIDE TO LEADING AND LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
To win in today’s business environment, companies need a comprehensive strategy for helping employees acquire new skills.
RAINER STRACK
Create a strategic workforce plan
2
2
Quantify mid- and long-term talent gaps by mapping employee skills against current and future needs.
4
5
60%
No formal education
Back
Competing on the
rate of learning
How to Harness
the Power of Purpose
Master’s degree or post-graduate qualification
Build a continuous learning culture
LEARN MORE
How to Win the
Next Economic Downturn
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.
59%
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.
Launch
targeted upskilling programs
3%
RAINER STRACK
Remaining Competitive in a Fast-Changing Labor Market
Sales
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.
Build a continuous learning culture
21-30
64%
61 and older
Formalize a commitment between the company and its employees to reskilling and upskilling, so the workforce is continually preparing for the next technological disruption.
Embrace learning contracts
Yes
LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBAL TRENDS IN RESKILLING AND UPSKILLING
LEARN MORE ABOUT GLOBAL TRENDS IN RESKILLING AND UPSKILLING
Quantify mid- and long-term talent gaps by mapping employee skills against current and future needs.
1
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.
67%
70%
How to Get
Agile Right
AGE GROUP
Services
IT
3
![]()
41-50
73%
58%
EXPLORE
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.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
6
Create a strategic workforce plan
Appetite for retraining is highest among people in sales, administrative, and services jobs.
Back
5
JOB ROLE
Formalize a commitment between the company and its employees to reskilling and upskilling, so the workforce is continually preparing for the next technological disruption.
20 and under
4
6
3
Secondary qualification
76%
Back
JOB ROLE
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.
4
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
How to Harness
the Power of Purpose
67%
1
Embrace learning contracts
6
51-60
29%
2
Adopt the latest learning technologies
69%
People Are Ready and Willing to Learn
Digital jobs are hot—and digital experts want to keep learning more.
Administrative
6
How to Get
Agile Right
EXPLORE
2
AGE GROUP
Managing Director & Senior Partner
EDUCATION LEVEL
Science
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.
3
1
Digital experts ranked learning
and training second in importance among dozens of job factors.
3
New techniques such as mobile apps, augmented reality, and gamification are powerful tools for real-time, on-site learning.
70%
59%
31-40
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.
How to Future-Proof Your Workforce
Launch
targeted upskilling programs
1
No
75%
AGE GROUP
#HowtobyBCG
READ THE CEO’s GUIDE TO LEADING AND LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
5
Incorporate incentives to learn new skills into talent management and performance assessment. Encourage employees to adopt a continuous-growth mindset.
Adopt the latest learning technologies
Majorities at all education levels are willing to retrain—but the percentage falls off at the highest levels of education.
![]()
Bachelor's degree
LEARN MORE
How to Unlock
Innovation with Deep Tech
Extend upskilling to the wider society
61%
4
3
EDUCATION LEVEL
Adopt the latest learning technologies
High school
2
Percentage of Respondents Willing to Retrain for a New Job by Category
Building learning programs
at speed and scale
Companies Have Been Slow to Respond
56%
Extend upskilling to the wider society
How to Unlock
Innovation with Deep Tech
Extend upskilling to the wider society
Sixty-seven percent of respondents are willing to retrain in any situation, while an additional 30% are willing to do so if it’s necessary for their current jobs.
4
Collaborate with government and educational institutions to train the next generation of employees, including initiatives to motivate young people to enter in-demand careers.
Launch
targeted upskilling programs
EDUCATION LEVEL
72%
Collaborate with government and educational institutions to train the next generation of employees, including initiatives to motivate young people to enter in-demand careers.
New techniques such as mobile apps, augmented reality, and gamification are powerful tools for real-time, on-site learning.
There are six steps companies can take to meet the upskilling challenge and future-proof their workforce.
Doctorate or
equivalent
JOB ROLE
Build a continuous learning culture
Young people want retraining the most, but strong majorities of the elderly also want to improve their skills.
67%
Embrace learning contracts
59%
73%
Legal
Explore more topics in the #HowtobyBCG series
5
