Part 5 of 5
In this five-part series, Firehead takes a look at the new skills-based hiring trend – what it is, why it’s gaining ground, and how it effects technical communication.
Specify your IT Skills and Name your Proficiencies
Tech is driving the future of the digital content workforce in many ways, and tech skills are in the highest demand for the fastest-growing jobs in technical communication.
The World Economic Forum predicts that 50 per cent of all employees will need to reskill by 2025 to respond to advances in technology.
From this McKinsey report on taking a skills-based approach to building the future worksforce report here.
If someone is applying for a role as a tech consultant, it’s not enough anymore to say they have ‘excellent writing skills’ or ‘strong tech skills’. What does that really mean? (It’s also sobering that 78% of job candidates lie on their CVs!)
In today’s increasingly digital landscape, many businesses focus on niche products, use technical platforms, and provide highly specialised services. It makes sense that candidates for technical communication jobs who highlight their proficiency with writing code and prompts and creating beautiful website layouts are more likely to land a role than someone with vague experience. Read the Timify Recruitment Trends Impacting Hiring report here.
To assess aptitude in soft skills areas, employers are more and more often incorporating behavioural interviews, situational judgment tests, or group exercises into their hiring processes. This comprehensive evaluation allows them to identify candidates with the right combination of technical and soft skills, fostering a well-rounded workforce.
Skills-Based Hiring in Technical Communication Recruitment
Firehead has long recognised that for organisations to build agile and future-ready teams, they need to take responsibility for upskilling all categories of staff: permanent employees and contractors.
The emphasis on transferable and hybrid skills, the rise of skills assessments, the focus on continuous learning, and the holistic assessment of candidates, each require a continuous programme of training to accompany skills-based hiring.
That’s why Firehead developed its online training courses – so that technical communicators can immediately broaden their competencies and prepare for the AI revolution.
The Firehead Training Academy provides employers, employees, and contractors in technical communication fields access to a broad range of upskilling courses. We can also develop tailored training courses to ensure your business finds, retains and maximises the potential of your digital communication staff and content developers.
Contact us at recruit@firehead.net or use our contact form here to get in touch.
