Never Stop Learning: How Skills Can Future Proof Your Career and our gift 🎁to you: Free Courses to help you!

I’m asked frequently about what it takes to be a successful engineer. My answer: have a growth mindset and #AlwaysBeLearning. Frankly, this answer is applicable to most jobs today; not just engineering. 

Learning new skills is imperative to any successful career. The skills you fine-tune at the beginning of your career can’t fully prepare you for success 10 or even five years down the line. Think about how much technology has transformed industries in the last few years alone. 

LinkedIn recently looked at the skills listed by our 850+ million members around the world, and compared that data to the skills listed in 2015. We found that job skills (across all industries) have changed 25% since 2015 – and expect that percentage to double by 2027. We’re seeing the ramifications play out in a variety of ways across different jobs. 

For example, for highly technical, in-demand jobs, such as engineering? Our analysis showed a dramatic shift with the top skills changing 70% between 2015 and 2022. That’s why a growth mindset is imperative. Successful engineers must be able to adapt quickly to changing technologies and view changes as an opportunity to improve their work, their products, and outcomes. 

The job market may be more volatile in spots right now, yet it’s still pretty common to hear employers say they can’t find people with the right skills to fill certain jobs. It’s why more and more companies are shifting to a skills-first approach: today, 40+% of companies on LinkedIn rely on skills to search and identify job candidates, up 20% compared to a year ago. 

While the onus of learning new skills is ultimately on individuals, employers bear important responsibilities as well.

Create a supportive learning environment

Employers that are overly focused on recruiting talent with certain degrees or experience as the solution for hard-to-fill jobs may need to re-evaluate their strategy. Apprenticeships, like our REACH program that we launched five years ago, are powerful hands-on training tools that can help close skills gaps. Investing more in upskilling and reskilling an organization’s existing workforce is also an effective and efficient way to fill jobs – plus, it creates an enriching environment for employees. Putting greater emphasis on developing skills internally, instead of bringing people in with the right employment history or academic training, establishes a more logical and equitable way to hire and promote people. 

With how fast things change in our field, it’s especially critical for engineers to have regular opportunities to learn the latest techniques and pick up new skills. To support those looking to gain engineering knowledge – whether it’s to support a career transition or deepen existing technical skills – LinkedIn Learning unlocked 🎉free courses🎉 that align with our analysis of today’s top engineering skills. The courses listed below are free until September 30th: 

• JavaScript - JavaScript as a Second Language with Ray Villalobos
• Java - Java 17 Essential Training: Objects and APIs with Angie Jones
• React.js - React.js Code Challenges with Ali Spittel
• Git - Git from Scratch with Morten Rand-Hendriksen
• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) - Cutting-Edge CSS with Morten Rand-Hendriksen
• Test Automation - Test Automation Foundations with Meghan Lewis
• C (Programming Language) - C for Embedded Applications with Eduardo Corpeno

We also know for many professions, certifications have emerged as key to showcasing that you have the in-demand skills needed to do a role well; the number of people adding certifications to their profile has increased 44% over the last two years. Yesterday, we announced how we’re expanding access to certifications by partnering with notable third-party providers to help learners discover certification preparation content related to topics like cloud infrastructure so learners can easily build skills and showcase their certifications on their LinkedIn profile to stand out. 

While our 3,200+ tech courses on LinkedIn Learning are powerful tools to sharpen skills, we know receiving hands-on training that can be put into practice immediately makes learning experiences even more powerful. I’m excited that soon we’ll be partnering with GitHub to bring real world, hands-on practice into more of our courses that cover today’s most popular programming languages.

Never stop learning

The world of work has evolved rapidly over the last few years, and the pace of change isn’t likely to slow anytime soon. Adapting a mindset of continuous learning is key to helping your career – and your organization – grow as conditions change.

#SkillsFirst #LinkedInLearning #LinkedInTalentSolutions