How to Use Skills Development as a Recruitment Tool

• If your company has been deemed essential, you are likely looking at a hiring increase and need to get people in the door quickly.
• If your business is operating normally, you may be recruiting and hiring as usual, but you'll need to do it remotely and pivot your processes to accommodate those changes.
• If you've laid off or furloughed employees, your recruiting and hiring are likely at a standstill. But when you do re-open your doors and need a full staff, you may find that your employees have found jobs elsewhere in the meantime, which will necessitate a flurry of hiring.

Whatever the situation you're in, one thing is clear. You'll need to refine your recruitment and hiring strategies to ensure you get the best people. That means offering the best package of perks, benefits, and salary you can. The top item on your list needs to be skills development. Offering employees the opportunity to upskill and earn verifiable digital credentials is your strongest tool for attracting and retaining the best people today. Here's why:

According to a recent survey by Qualtrics and Accel Partners, the most important thing to millennials (who make up the largest segment of the workforce today) when considering a new job is the opportunity for skills training and development. It's more important to them than company culture, other perks, even salary. The survey found:

• 80% of millennials prioritize personal growth and development.
• 67% of millennials would be willing to take a pay cut to work for a company that offers opportunities for skills development and mentorship.
• 71% of millennials who leave a company in two years do so because there is not enough leadership and skills development.
• 69% of millennials say they aspire to be leaders in the next five years.

Those are some strong numbers. It's very clear that your largest group of job seekers, those between the ages of 23 and 38, want the opportunity to learn new skills, grow in their jobs, and lay the foundation for moving up the ladder.

It's true for millennials. What about Gen Z? Born between 1995 and 2015, Gen Z makes up 24% of the workforce today. Upskilling by earning digital credentials is vital for this group of potential employees as well. Three traits of this generation, identified by LinkedIn, will illustrate why.

• Gen Z is the most tech-savvy generation, and 91% say the technology at a company influences their job choice.
• Gen Z is risk-averse, and even before COVID unsettled the entire world, the top thing they were looking for was job stability and security.
• Gen Z is very competitive and thrives on healthy competition in the workplace.

The opportunity to upskill with digital credentials checks all of those boxes. Using technology for online learning courses is natural for them. Offering opportunities to upskill demonstrates your commitment to your employees and their futures with your company, thus giving Gen Z the stability they need. When your employees earn new digital credentials and post them to social media, it creates some healthy competition among colleagues who want to up their game, too (and gives your brand an increase in reach and visibility). 

Offering your employees the opportunity to upskill by earning verifiable digital credentials has always been a powerful tool in your recruiting arsenal, but now it's more important than ever. 

Speak to our team to learn more about how digital credentials can be used as a recruiting tool.