What is a workplace skill plan?
Workplace Skill Plan (WSP) is a document that states the entire set of skills that are needed by an organization and also mentions the range of interventions that are needed to accomplish those skills. A competent workplace skill plan is presented by every organization annually that meets all the legislative requirements and also explains how:
“The company plans to address the skill development requirements and training demands of the working environment.”
Why is WSP important?
Any organization is like a structure whose supporting pillars are the employees and their skill set. Workplace skill plan is a refined document that explains what skills are required by the organization to meet the defined goals and also highlights what trainings will be most relevant in addressing and removing the skill gaps.
When an effective workplace skill plan is complied, it ensures that the trainings arranged by the organization are not only addressing the needs for skills but also relate and satisfy the general strategy and goals of the organization. It is only through a well thought out and compiled WSP that an organization can come up with a comprehensive, integrated, extensive and sustainable approach to the required skills development. WSP provides a guided direction to the organization so that all the required skills set are achieved. WSP focuses on the organizational development and planning and hence cuts down the training and administrative overhead.
How can a WSP be developed?
There are a few basic and critical steps associated with the development of an effective and efficient workplace skill plan. A well thought, researched and compiled WSP also helps the organization with a equally effective Annual Training Reports (ATR).List down the existing skill set within an organization
This is important because this explains what is already known and what needs to be learnt. A skills audit can help jot down the skills that already exist and also the skills that need training.
- List down the skills gap within an organization
As a WSP is supposed to provide complete information about the skills needed by an organization; conducting a skill audit first greatly helps in identifying the skills gap. Recognizing the missing pieces of a puzzle (missing skills) helps list down the critical skills required for the strategic growth and development of an organization.
Skills audit also helps with this step and highlights where in the workforce of an organization a specific skill should be present. Only after identifying the areas of missing skills, the third step of WSP development can start.
- List down the ways missing skills will be acquired
Once the skills required for the strategic growth of an organization are achieved, the next step is to decide how these skills will be acquired. They can be achieved by a number of ways such as:
- In-house and online trainings
- Mentorship
- Learnerships
This helps the organization plan trainings and sessions that can train the workforce to be more skilled and helpful towards the growth of the organization.