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Finding the skills for Finland’s future

Finland Skills Gap Survey 2014

Understanding the gaps can help prioritize strategies

Copyright © 2014 Accenture. All rights reserved. 32 Copyright © 2014 Accenture. All rights reserved.

Executive summary

A recent Accenture survey of senior executives and students in Finland provides important insight into the country’s skills gap and helps organizations identify measures to close it. The study found significant differences in perception between the two groups of respondents. For example, there were major divergences on the skills required in a working environment, the skills that students actually possessed and the areas of greatest employment opportunity. The survey showed there is widespread concern about the skills shortage among Finnish organizations. It revealed several areas where the perceptions of those who need relevant skills to meet business goals and those tasked with finding those skills need to be more closely aligned.

Finnish organizations face a widening skills gap. The combined effect of demographic trends, a post-recession slowdown in hiring and several other factors has resulted in a growing shortage of talent in key sectors considered the country’s traditional areas of strength. Compounding the situation is the fact that despite a growing number of people out of work, organizations are experiencing difficulties in finding the right skills and specializations to meet their business objectives. Indeed, as the nature of work evolves as a result of new digital technologies, innovative business models and growing customer expectations, the challenge of hiring employees with a diverse portfolio of relevant skills will become even more acute in the future.

While Finnish organizations recognize the importance of employee training to impart new skills, in our experience these efforts tend to be episodic. We believe organizations need to adopt a more strategic approach in line with business priorities. Executives felt an overwhelming need to increase training programs, but corporate belt-tightening is seen as a major constraint. New technologies, digital tools and innovative approaches could provide cost-effective alternatives to traditional initiatives. Just as importantly, the survey found noteworthy gender differences among students’ perceptions regarding career aspirations, work-life prerequisites and job opportunities. We believe recruitment campaigns that recognize these nuances

could prove highly efficient in attracting the relevant skills.

Can Finnish organizations close the skills gap? Our report identifies key levers that could help, but they call for a significant shift in perspective for organizations that rely on outdated approaches to training, and depend on educational institutions and the government to deliver skills-development programs. Changing mindsets could prove difficult, especially given that executives have yet to fully grasp the skills required in today’s business environment. However, we maintain there is a growing imperative to act now because in the rapidly changing competitive landscape, organizations with a pipeline of relevant skills have an edge.


Introduction

Of particular concern is a lack of relevant skills among the youth. Despite a 22.9 percent unemployment rate among Finns under 25 years of age,1 organizations often find it difficult to hire qualified candidates. This clearly points to a mismatch between the skills needed by organizations to effectively execute their business strategies (demand) and the skills of those entering the workforce (supply). Finland’s challenge is to bridge that gap by equipping young people with the right education and training.

As Finland evolves into a more digitally-enabled knowledge economy, the

After weathering one of the deepest economic contractions in the eurozone, Finland’s sustained economic recovery is contingent on organizations finding the right skills to drive innovation and growth. However, the rapid greying of Finland’s workforce, coupled with historical labor market inflexibility and geographic immobility, has resulted in skills shortages across industries and regions. As a consequence, Finland risks losing high-value jobs in sectors such as electronics, information technology, pharmaceuticals, consulting and manufacturing.

education, skills and business capabilities required of its workforce are undergoing a radical change. Employees of tomorrow must be more creative, collaborative, entrepreneurial and digitally savvy than ever before. Building a pipeline of talent that meets these criteria will ensure Finnish organizations have the prerequisites to remain globally competitive well into the future.

To better understand Finland’s current skills gap, Accenture recently interviewed 59 senior-level executives from across industries and functions. Six out of ten executives were from organizations with

1,000–4,999 employees, and half were from organizations with revenues of more than €300 million (US$414 million). We also interviewed 389 students aged 16–22 in different parts of the country. Two-thirds were in their first or second year of high school. The sample consisted of 57 percent female students and 43 percent male students. The data was weighted for gender distribution.

1. Labor Force Survey, Statistics Finland [http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2014/02/tyti_2014_02_2014-03-25_tie_001_en.html] Mar 25, 2014, accessed Apr 16, 2014.

http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2014/02/tyti_2014_02_2014-03-25_tie_001_en.html


The skills gapIn the new global economy, Finnish organizations that have the relevant skills — wherever and whenever they are needed — can achieve and sustain competitive advantage. But they have to move quickly to close skills gaps or risk losing business to more agile competitors. Our survey highlights four major challenges that Finnish organizations need to recognize and overcome if they are to get out in front of the looming skills crisis. These are:

• Shortage of skills

• Skills mismatch

• Digital divide

• Episodic training

Improved awareness of these issues will help organizations reevaluate their existing human resources (HR) strategies and prioritize future investments to achieve a skills advantage.

6 Copyright © 2014 Accenture. All rights reserved.


Figure 3. Top strategies for countering current skill shortages become very important, with organizations placing a premium on those with multiple skills.

A larger proportion of those in HR prioritized training, redeployment and integrating new skills as the top three strategies. This could partly be because HR executives have better visibility into organizational strategies to counter skills shortages. HR executives also gave high ranking to communication-led strategies such as providing better skill information (77 percent) and defining job requirements by function (73 percent).

Increase investment in training

Redeploy employees to new roles where their skills are more needed

Make learning new skills an integrated component of employees’ jobs

Provide employees better information about the required skills in various roles

Define job requirements according to the functional skills required to perform the job

Make employment with your company more attractive to prospective employees to improve

pipeline of candidates with required skills

68%

68%

64%

59%

58%

70%

Finding good people is challenging and laborious, yet possible. A good working community, meaningful roles and tasks, and development opportunities are important in retaining talent.Executive, Information Technology (IT)

Finland’s labor force was 2.69 million in 2013, of which 2.46 million were employed. As a result of the economic slowdown, the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent in 2013, against 7.7 percent in 2012.2 Long-term unemployment increased to 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2013 from 1.6 percent in the second quarter of 2013.

Despite the rise in unemployment, the combined effect of rapid population aging and slower hiring have left Finnish organizations with a shortage of skills. The government’s ambitious structural reforms, aimed at kick-starting growth, will extend working careers and increase the supply of labor in the long term. However, two-thirds of the executives interviewed by Accenture said they currently experience a shortage of skills or anticipate a shortage over the next 12–24 months (Figure 1).

The survey revealed differences in the perception of respondents from HR vis-à-vis those from other functions—a recurring theme across multiple topics. Fewer HR executives said their companies experience a shortage of skills compared to those in other functions (Figure 2). Clearly, there is a need to strengthen the connection between those who require the skills to meet their business objectives and those tasked with finding those skills.

To counter the current skills shortage, 70 percent of the executives surveyed said their organizations are increasing investment in training (Figure 3), thereby providing employees an opportunity to upskill and expand their capabilities in line with business priorities. The other top strategies include redeploying skills (68 percent) and integrating new skills (68 percent). A higher percentage of respondents currently facing a skills shortage cited training (78 percent) and redeployment (72 percent) as their top strategies. Clearly, employee agility has

Shortage of skillsFigure 1. Two thirds of executives said they currently experienced a shortage of skills or anticipate a shortage of skills over the next 12-24 months

Figure 2. Fewer HR executives said their companies experienced a shortage of skills today compared to those in other functions

We have the skills we need today and for the next 12 to 24 months

We have the skills we need today, but we are concerned we may not have the skills we need in the next 12 to 24 months.

We have a lack of skills today

38%30%

27%

43%

47%

15%

HR Other functions

“We have a lack of skills today” or “We have the skills we need today, but we are concerned we may not have the skills we need in the next 12 to 24 months”

“We have the skills we need today and for the next 12 to 24 months”

66% 34%

2. Labor force survey, Statistics Finland, [http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/index_en.html], Apr 1, 2014, accessed Apr 15, 2014.

http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/index_en.html


Skills mismatch

Employment among high school and university students fell 3 percentage points in 2012 from the previous year. Only half of Finnish high school and university students had jobs while they completed their studies.3 Our survey showed that 42 percent of high school students are not confident about finding a job (Figure 4). Almost half the students felt high school leaves them ill-equipped to enter the job market (Figure 5). To help address this issue, Finnish organizations need to collaborate more closely with educational institutions and formulate academic curricula better suited to their requirements.

A third of the executives interviewed concurred, saying it was a challenge finding youngsters with relevant skills (Figure 6). Another 27 percent were neutral. Among the remaining respondents, confidence about attracting relevant skills stems from the large supply of unemployed workers under the age of 25. We believe this confidence could be tested as the Finnish economy recovers and the job market tightens.

Here, too, our survey found differences in perception between respondents in HR and those in other functions. Almost half of those in functions closer to the business said it is difficult to attract candidates with the relevant skills, while fewer respondents in the HR function felt the same way. Thirty-two percent of executives said they would hire more people if they could find qualified candidates. This figure rose to 42 percent among executives in functions other than HR.

As Finland transitions further to a digitally-enabled knowledge economy, the nature of work is evolving from standardized, repetitive activities to more complex, problem-solving ones. As a result, organizations are increasingly looking for employees that have not just one or two key functional skills, but a diverse portfolio of skills that help them operate more seamlessly and efficiently. Our research shows a variance between the skills possessed by students and the mission-critical future needs of organizations.

49%51%

High school is equipping me with relevant work life skills

High school is not equipping me with relevant work life skills

42%58%

Confident in finding a job when entering workforce

It’s difficult to attract candidates with the skills we need to our industry

We would hire more people if there were more qualified candidates

Not confident in finding a job when entering workforce

Figure 4. 42% of high school students were not confident in finding a job when entering the workforce

Figure 6. One third of executives agree that attracting relevant skills among candidates entering the workforce is a challenge

Figure 5. Almost half of the high school students don’t think that high school is equipping them with relevant work life skills

3. Employment of students, Statistics Finland [https://tilastokeskus.fi/til/opty/index_en.html], Mar 20, 2014, accessed Apr 17, 2014.

https://tilastokeskus.fi/til/opty/index_en.html


This indicates that many Finnish organizations need to bring their hiring strategies more in line with the demands of the business.

Executives highlighted the challenges of finding and attracting candidates with specialized skills (Figure 7). The top functional areas where a shortage of relevant skills is most prevalent include information technology (IT), digital (social media, mobility, analytics and cloud), sales, engineering, and research and development (R&D). The shortage of sales specialization can be linked to a growing demand for skills that directly impact revenues. Skills mismatches are also contributing to the shortage. For example, Finland has traditional strengths in engineering—and recent redundancies have made engineering skills more readily available. But these are not necessarily the kind of engineers that organizations need at the moment.

As outlined earlier, tomorrow’s employees will need to adopt an entrepreneurial work style. Our survey defined entrepreneurial skills to include collaboration and teamwork, problem solving, creative and innovative thinking, sales, marketing and communications, and digital skills. In terms of the most important skill needed over the next five years, collaboration and teamwork topped the list of both executives (68 percent) and students (73 percent).

But there were major differences in perception on the relative importance of other skills (Figure 8). Executives rounded out their top five with leadership, people management, creativity, and sales, marketing and communications. Digital and problem solving figured far lower in their priorities. In contrast, students gave higher priority to collaboration, creativity and problem solving.

Figure 7. Top five functional areas with a shortage of relevant skills according to executives

Figure 8. There is consensus but also clear gaps in the importance of skills between executives and high school students when asked to select the top 5 work life skills

General information technology (IT)

Digital (Social, mobile, analytics, cloud)

Sales

Engineering

Research & development (R&D, including product development)

31%

25%

24%

20%

14%

Leadership skills

People or team management

Sales, Marketing and Communication

Project management

Digital and Technology skills

Problem solving

Collaboration and teamwork

Creative and innovative thinking

Industry skills

Entrepreneurial skills

Professionalism

Numeracy: good with numbers and

related analysis

73%68%

35%64%

24%56%

67%54%

38%54%

57%46%

28%46%

52%31%

36%29%

62%22%

21%20%

8%10%

Students Executives

% shows executives’ ranking of the functional areas in which they are experiencing shortage of skills

% shows how many times particular skill was mentioned by executives and high school students when asked to select the 5 most important skills needed for work life in the next 5 or more years


Figure 10. Executives and high school students are in agreement on areas of employment opportunity

20%

31%

27%

25%

27%

24%

20%

20%

General information technology (IT)

Digital (Social, mobile,

analytics, cloud)

Sales

Engineering

Students Executives

There is always a demand for skilled people, that is why it is quite difficult to hold on to them. A company must invest in communicating about career opportunities for employees to experience their input as significant and useful.

Executive, Technology Services

Green % shows areas which high school students consider as best employment opportuntities. Light green % shows top areas in which executives have experienced skills shortages.

Copyright © 2014 Accenture. All rights reserved. 15

In terms of actual skill levels, most executives found today’s students wanting. Barring digital skills (which we will discuss later in this report), and collaboration and teamwork, the executives ranked students poorly across the entire spectrum of skills (Figure 9). Only 2 percent of executives felt students had any leadership skills, and only 5 percent thought students were equipped with entrepreneurial and professional skills.

Furthermore, our survey highlighted wide gaps between the executives’ perception of students’ skill levels and those of the students themselves. The largest gap was noted in problem solving (66 percent of students perceived their abilities as strong versus 17 percent of executives). Other notable gaps were seen in sales, marketing and communications (48 percent versus 12 percent), numeracy (66 percent versus 34 percent), and creative and innovative thinking (62 percent versus 34 percent). This indicates students lack adequate understanding of the proficiency required in the work environment and new recruits were not meeting executives’ expectations.

When asked about the most important skills to find a job for those just finishing school, executives listed mathematics, foreign languages (primarily English), Finnish language, physics and chemistry, and psychology as their top five. The high ranking for foreign languages underscores the importance Finnish organizations give to skills that enable them to operate on a global scale. This appears to resonate with students, who ranked foreign languages as the top skill requirement. History and social studies figured among the students’ top five, as did the Swedish language—perhaps reflecting Finland’s strong business ties with its westerly neighbor. Physics and chemistry, and psychology were assigned lower priority.

Our survey found a degree of consensus between executives and students on the areas of employment opportunities (Figure 10).

Figure 9. Executives ranked high school students’ skills poorly with exceptions in digital and technology skills and collaboration and teamwork skills

%

81

60

34

34

17

12

10

9

5

5

5

2

Digital and Technology skills

Collaboration and team work

Numeracy

Creative and Innovative thinking

Problem solving

Sales, Marketing and Communication

Project management

People or team management

Industry skills

Professionalism


Leadership skills

Digital, sales, engineering, R&D and manufacturing saw little variation between the two segments. However, a much larger proportion of executives saw opportunities in IT than students, while the reverse was true for marketing, legal, HR and finance. The need for greater awareness of employment prospects among students was another finding of the survey, with only 37 percent of student respondents understanding which professions would offer them the best opportunities.

Skills gaps have the potential to impact a company’s ability to meet its business objectives. Our study drilled down on this issue to better understand the most vulnerable areas. The top three impacts listed by executives were increased employee stress (63 percent), delays in new product or service development (58 percent) and difficulty in reaching revenue growth objectives (58 percent). When cross-referenced against executives experiencing a skills shortage, these impacts were felt more acutely.

% shows how many executives agree high school students are well equipped with particular skills


The working environment will become increasingly digital, and strong resources for using new channels and tools at work will be needed, from teamwork and communication equipment to equipment needed for analyzing data.Executive, Information Technology (IT)

In many ways, probably the most important thing is continuous learning and development. Professions emerge and disappear, tasks change due to digitalization, and this will require future employees to continuously change during their careers and be ready for changing to new paths.

Executive, Industrial Equipment


Based on our experience with a wide range of organizations in Finland, we see digitalization significantly transforming operating models and ways of working. According to a recent Accenture study, Finnish organizations across multiple sectors said digital technologies were already impacting their business. But 43 percent of top managers cited the lack of digital skills as their greatest challenge.4 Today, employees with an ability to leverage mobility, social media, cloud, analytics and other emerging technologies and solutions are critical for Finnish organizations to remain competitive.

Those skills are out there. Eighty-one percent of executives felt students are well-equipped with digital skills (Figure 9), against a more modest 74 percent of students believing they possess those skills. Nevertheless, only 31 percent of the executives surveyed ranked digital among the top five work-life skills, compared with 52 percent of students.

Clearly, many organizations still do not have a complete understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by digital. Just as importantly, they have not yet put in place strategic initiatives aimed at hiring and retaining digital skills. That must change quickly if Finnish companies are to effectively leverage digital to streamline productivity, improve efficiency and use analytics insights to move closer to their customers.

In comparison, students have a much better appreciation of the importance of developing digital skills. Our study showed 97 percent of students accessed the Internet every day; 68 percent spent more

Digital divide

Figure 11. Majority of high school students use Internet daily

The most frequently used device is smartphone

97% of students accessed the internet every day

97% 68%68% of students spent more than three hours in the internet daily

53%41%

4%

than three hours online daily. Among students, the most frequently used device to access the Internet was the smartphone followed by home personal computer or laptop and tablet. (Figure 11).

Perhaps best exemplifying the digital divide between executives and students are the tools used by organizations to hire potential candidates. When asked

how organizations communicated their skill needs, executives cited a combination of both online and offline tools, while students almost exclusively used online tools. These findings point to an opportunity for Finnish organizations to reassess their recruitment policies targeting younger workers to achieve improved results.

4. Every business is a digital business—is mine?, Accenture [http://www.accenture.com/fi-en/Pages/insight-accenture-research-finnish-businesses-organizations-2014.aspx], January 2014, accessed Apr 18, 2014.

http://www.accenture.com/fi-en/Pages/insight-accenture-research-finnish-businesses-organizations-2014.aspx


Episodic trainingOur survey underscored three key aspects of training that organizations need to focus on if they are to pull ahead of competitors in the skills game. First, they have to adopt a strategic — rather than an episodic — approach to training that is resistant to short-term budgetary constraints. Second, organizations need to make learning an integral component of work, enabling employees to build or acquire skills as they carry out their daily responsibilities. Third, they need to create a training calendar that uses new innovations and digital tools to deliver blended learning in a cost-effective manner.

Our survey showed that an overwhelming majority of executives (85 percent) and students (88 percent) said on-the-job training was the most efficient way to develop new skills (Figure 12). Interestingly, 74 percent of students felt shadowing and observing colleagues was the next best method, compared with only 10 percent of executives. These responses reinforce our understanding, based on Accenture’s talent development engagements across industries, that organizations instituting structured mentoring programs are likely to see higher levels of skill building than others.

Company-provided formal training was also ranked highly by both executives (69 percent) and students (66 percent) as an efficient method to acquire new skills. Almost two-thirds of the executives interviewed said their organizations provided formal training to more than 75 percent of employees. That figure was consistent across respondents in HR and other functions, and only marginally higher for those facing a skills shortage.

Figure 12. There is an agreement between executives and high school students that on-the-job training is the most efficient way to develop new skills

85%executives

88%students


Studying new ways of working and questioning old habits is important.Executive, Management Consulting


While Finnish employers are acting on their belief that formal training and development is important, there is evidence that organizations may have scaled back their efforts after the economic slowdown. A substantial 42 percent of the executives surveyed said their organization’s current investments in training were insufficient to support business strategy (Figure 13). Among respondents in organizations that lack skills today, 56 percent said current investments in training are inadequate.

Expectations of projected investments in training over the next two years were also mixed. Overall, 47 percent of executives believed investments would remain flat or decrease. Half the respondents facing a skills shortage expected investments to remain unchanged or scaled back. This suggests that organizations still do not see training as a strategic priority and are missing the opportunity of building in-house critical skills they will need in the future.

With expectations that training budgets will be flat or scaled back, organizations should turn to new technologies to deliver training and maximize their existing budgets. Our survey noted that organizations were starting to use digital tools and other innovations to deliver upskilling programs. Forty-one percent of the executives surveyed said their organizations use gamification and mobile, respectively, for training (Figure 14). Thirty-one percent cited social media and 14 percent university-run online courses. However, our study noted considerable room for improvement here, with almost a third of respondents leveraging none of these options. Finnish students’ high degree of digital exposure highlights the need for organizations to use gamification, mobile and social media more extensively in their training programs and make them integral to their training agenda.

Figure 13. Almost half of the executives would like to see more investments in training

42% I believe my company’s current investments in training

are insufficient to support our business strategy

Figure 14. Organizations are starting to leverage digital tools and other innovations to deliver training programs

41% 41% 31% 14% 31%

Gamification of training

Mobile delivery of training

Social media tools for training

Massively open online courses provided by universities

Other

% shows how many executives leverage particular innovations and developments when delivering training


Indeed, our study showed that a significantly higher proportion of female students than males had expectations of effective training and orientation programs in their new jobs. Female students were more inclined to learn new skills on the job, by shadowing others and through formal training. A higher proportion of male students preferred informal training. This finding could help organizations tailor upskilling programs more sharply and effectively.

A larger percentage of female students were also open to traveling, relocating or moving overseas in the course of employment. In the current business environment, a high degree of mobility and international exposure certainly gives female students a distinct edge that organizations should not ignore.

When it came to career options, the technology-savvy students placed IT relatively low in their list of preferences, with the game/app developer subcategory predictably topping IT options. Careers within the public services (health and education) figured at the top, followed by sales and marketing, engineering and entrepreneurship. A larger proportion of females listed public services than males, while a higher percentage of males listed engineering and IT (Figure 18).

These findings indicate that students perceive IT jobs as having a greater risk of being offshored or automated. Instead, they prefer careers that cannot be offshored such as public services, and sales and marketing. This preference for “safe” career options indicates a low appetite for risk-taking among Finnish students. That is a mindset that may have to change as Finnish organizations increasingly lock antlers with their international peers in the global market.

Figure 17. Compared to girls, high school boys and executives agree on the areas of employment with best opportunities (see Figure 7)

Figure 18. High school girls are more interested in public service jobs, while boys find engineering and IT careers more appealing

35% 21%

34% 22%

31% 15%

20% 20%

32% 11%

23% 47%

Digital

Sales

General information technology

Marketing

Engineering

Don’t know

Males Females

Males Females

Medicine

Education

Sales and marketing

Engineering

Self-employed or entrepreneur

Research & development

General information technology

Legal

Finance, accounting or auditing

Human resources

Manufacturing, production or distribution

Other

2% 2%

1

1 1

9% 24%

5% 17%

9% 11%

20% 1

13% 1

9% 8%

7% 6%

6% 6%

17% 20%

View from the classroomFinnish organizations looking to close the skills gap need look no further than today’s classrooms to spot emerging opportunities. As our survey showed, students identified greater collaboration, creativity and problem solving as the top three work-life attributes over the next five years.

However, our study noted significant gender differences here (Figure 15). A larger proportion of female students emphasized collaboration, creativity, industry skills and entrepreneurship than their male counterparts. On the other hand, a greater percentage of male students felt leadership and project management skills would be important. Organizations that use these nuances when communicating job opportunities are likely to see more relevant applications.

When asked to assess how well equipped they were with key skills, a significantly larger proportion of female students cited collaboration, digital and creativity as their strengths (Figure 16). Interestingly, a higher percentage of female students felt they had project management skills, but were clearly less aware than males of the relative importance of these skills in the years ahead. While more male students than females listed leadership as important for the future, there was no significant difference between the sexes in how well equipped they were in this area. Clearly, organizations need to build greater awareness by developing rich, two-way relationships with students to even out gender differences in perception.

This lack of awareness appears to be already shaking the confidence of youngsters, particularly females, regarding future employment. Our survey found only 55 percent female students are confident of finding a job compared with 63 percent of male students. When asked about the areas

Figure 15. When assessing the importance of skills high school boys and girls view things differently

Figure 16. Compared to high school boys, girls believe they are well equipped with various work life skills

I believe that ’industry skills (62%)’

and ‘entrepreneurial skills (41%)’ are very important

in work life

I believe that ‘leadership (46%)’

and ‘project management (35%)’ skills are the most

important

70% 84%

68% 78%

52% 69%

54% 68%

28% 44%

Collaboration and teamwork

Digital and technology skills

Project management

Creative and innovative thinking


Males Females

that offer the best employment opportunities, significant gender differences were also noted (Figure 17). A larger proportion of male students than females prioritized digital, sales, IT and engineering — which were also the top skills sought by executives (although

not in the same order). Alarmingly, almost half the female students surveyed had no idea which areas offered the best job opportunities, indicating a huge potential for organizations to find hidden talent with the right communication and training.

% shows how high school students rank the 5 most important skills needed for work life in the next 5 or more years

% shows high school students’ rating when asked how well are they equipped with particular skills


Closing the skills gapThe following five approaches can help Finnish organizations close their skills gap:

• Identify current and projected skills gaps through rigorous skills analysis based on your organization’s business priorities.

• Reassess recruitment policies to ensure sharper targeting and to achieve better results.

• Embed learning into every day work by leveraging innovations such as gamification and using mobility and social media.

• Turn line managers into talent managers through mentoring, shadowing, coaching and similar approaches to learning.

• Develop a pipeline of skills through academic collaboration and building rich, two-way relationships with potential talent pools.


Given Finland’s overall skills shortage, organizations will have to invest in building critical capabilities through effective training and employee development programs. However, they must first reevaluate the effectiveness of their existing talent strategies. We believe strategies that depend on outdated tactics such as off-the-shelf formal programs put organizations at risk because they deliver only incremental benefits.

The rapidly changing business environment calls for new approaches to people development. For example, rather than using standardized courses from external training providers, organizations could better utilize their in-house expertise and benefit from structured

ConclusionThe business landscape in Finland is rapidly evolving thanks to emerging technologies, innovative operating models, and the imperatives of speed and scale. Organizations are finding new ways to function more seamlessly, achieve new efficiencies, increase productivity and meet growing customer expectations. As a result, future work will involve more problem solving, creativity, agility and entrepreneurship. Finding and nurturing the right skills will necessitate greater organizational creativity, commitment and innovation.

mentoring, shadowing, coaching and similar learning methods. These would be especially effective, since they are perceived as attractive and efficient by the next generation of employees.

Given the need for belt-tightening, organizations will also need to find innovative and cost-effective ways to upskill staff. One way to lower the cost of training while maintaining or improving its effectiveness is to focus on blended learning programs that utilize the tools provided by digitalization. Mobile learning is one example. Blended learning allows employees to set their own pace by combining classroom and online modules. Organizations can also take advantage of new learning innovations such as gamification and social media tools

—both of which are likely to be more effective among new entrants to the workforce given their digital proficiency.

At the same time, organizations will have to devise innovative recruiting programs that target specific talent pools. An effective, integrated approach would combine relevant digital platforms, closer collaboration with educational institutions and campaigns that include intensive on-the-job learning as part of onboarding. Taken together, the strategies outlined above, derived from an analysis of our skills gap survey and interviews with senior executives, can help Finnish organizations achieve a talent advantage for tomorrow.



Every Business is a Digital Business – is mine?http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Local_Finland/PDF/accenture-digital-business-study-english.pdf

Great Expectations, Insights from the Accenture 2014 College Graduate Employment Surveyhttp://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-2014-College-Graduates-Survey.pdf

Corporate Innovation Is Within Reach: Nurturing and Enabling an Entrepreneurial Culturehttp://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Survey-Enabling-Culture-Innovation-Entrepreneurialism.pdf

Additional reading


The Finnish Skills Gap Study is part of a comprehensive research effort under way by Accenture in major markets around the world.

The survey was carried out as part of the collaboration between Accenture and the City of Helsinki Education Department in the Stadin eKampus program which aims at introducing an entrepreneurial mindset and work-life skills to high school students in the Helsinki region.

The collaboration is part of Accenture’s 25th anniversary celebrations in Finland and it is reflecting Accenture’s global Skills to Succeed program.

To better understand Finland’s current skills gap, Accenture teamed with the external survey agency T-Media to conduct a survey during March-April 2014 timeframe across two different audiences:

• Telephone interviews of 59 senior-level executives across industries and functions. Executives interviewed were either from Human Resources [n=26] or from other functions [n=33]. We interviewed organizations in Finland with revenues of more than €100 million, of which half organizations were with revenues of more than €300 million (US$414 million). Six out of ten executives were from organizations with 1,000-4,999 employees.

• Online survey of 389 students aged 16-22 in different parts of the country. Out of the respondents, 184 resided in Uusimaa and 205 in other areas in Finland. Two thirds were in their first or second year of high school. The sample consisted of 57 percent female students and 43 percent male. The data was weighted for gender distribution.

About our research


http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Local_Finland/PDF/accenture-digital-business-study-english.pdf

http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-2014-College-Graduates-Survey.pdf

http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Survey-Enabling-Culture-Innovation-Entrepreneurialism.pdf


AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Riikka JakovuoriRiikka Jakovuori is the country Marketing & Communications lead for Accenture Finland with over 10 years of experience in marketing and business development. She continuously works on defining and directing marketing programs to support Accenture’s strategy and business agenda. Riikka can be reached at

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Antti KarjaluotoAntti Karjaluoto leads the global Mobility and EALA Digital research teams in Accenture Research. He regularly conducts strategic analysis on digital and mobility topics worldwide. Antti has more than 10 years of experience providing research, business analysis and consulting services across various industries. Antti can be reached at

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Marko RauhalaMarko Rauhala is the Healthcare and Public Service lead for Accenture Finland. He has been with Accenture for over 10 years, working mostly with health and public service clients. Marko acts as the sponsor for the collaboration between Accenture and the City of Helsinki Education Department in the Stadin eKampus program. Marko can be reached at

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We would like to thank the following people for their contributions to this project:Kaizer Dhliwayo from Accenture ResearchLuna Rebrovic and Hetta Huittinen from Accenture Marketing & CommunicationsSini Konivuori and Taru Saastamoinen from Accenture Talent & OrganizationSomenath Chowdhuri from Accenture Operations, Marketing

www.accenture.com