Designing Multiple Pathways to Employment
Another way Northrop Grumman is addressing the new workplace is through skills-based hiring. Traditionally, job requirements have typically been predicated on a formal degree or certification. But the future of work will consider multiple pathways to employment.
“There are many people who develop skills on the job, in military service or other environments, that are conducive to skills we need,” Brooks says. “We have to be able to leverage bringing those people into the workforce in a much more inclusive and open way than what has historically been the case across corporate America.”
Programs such as the Business Roundtable, OneTen and various apprenticeship programs aim to create a new talent acquisition paradigm that emphasizes people's skills — not just the things that would traditionally appear on their resume.
“The purpose of our apprenticeship programs is to re-skill high-potential talent in the labor market that may not have the requisite background companies generally look for,” says Brooks. He adds that the program “equips them very quickly to build those skill sets to get some hands-on experience and allows them to enter the workforce in a meaningful way.”
Previously, job descriptions included a list of all the hard skills required for a job – for example, a certain degree or years of experience in a particular skill. Now, greater emphasis is placed on an individual’s skill level as it relates to the job, plus softer skills such as the ability to collaborate on a team and demonstrate active learning. This helps to widen the aperture to find and source critical talent.
“We want to write requirements that capture the key skills required on day one and understand holistically what the candidate is potentially bringing to the table,” says Brooks.
Instead of looking for a candidate who looks perfect on paper, the future of work will help to find the candidate with the required qualifications and then trains them for additional skills on the job.
