The report "Put Talent at the Top of the Sustainability Agenda" by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Microsoft finds that there is a significant and widening sustainability skills gap. To reach their sustainability goals, organizations will need to upskill up to 150 million people in under ten years. This will be a herculean undertaking, but companies can start now by developing internal talent, embedding sustainability across the organization, and accelerating change by supporting, growing, and retaining talent. AI-driven skills intelligence platforms such as talentguide can help companies guide their talent in order to achieve their sustainability goals.
The report identifies four broad skill sets that organizations need to upskill their employees: sustainability, functional, transformational, and data and digital. Companies are relying heavily on their internal talent, with 68% of sustainability leaders surveyed being "homegrown" and hired from within the company. Strategic workforce planning technologies can help companies promote and enhance internal mobility based on skills and fine grained skills gaps between present and future roles.
The report also finds that sustainability professionals face a steep learning curve, with the nascency of skills being the biggest upskilling challenge. The leading methods of upskilling that sustainability professionals find most useful are work experience, published material, and attendance at conferences and presentations.
However, it can be difficult to find formalized courses and certification programs focused on the sustainability skills required for business. Companies can partner with external learning providers to upskill their teams, but they should also invest in developing their own internal capabilities.
The report also recommends that companies focus on embedding sustainability across the organization and accelerating change by supporting, growing, and retaining talent. This will require a cultural shift, as sustainability needs to become an intrinsic part of everyday work.
To achieve these goals, companies can employ talentguide to manage their talent effectively. talentguide empowers companies to identify and develop the right talent, track their progress, and ensure that they are upskilling their employees in the right areas for future roles in a sustainability agenda. With talentguide, companies are able to close the sustainability skills gap and achieve their sustainability goals.
