3. Biz Network July August 2021 65-100.qxp_Chamberlink 30/06/2021 11:41 Page 71
SKILLS & TRAINING
FEATURE
Future skills Are you thinking about them? By Lucie Andrews, sector engagement manager at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership are vital to delivering big challenges on the horizon.
WHAT ARE THE BIG CHALLENGES THAT FACE US?
he Covid 19 pandemic has created massive upheaval in business management and operations. Over the past 15 months, everyone has gone through a mandatory selfdiscovery exercise – processing complex information, modifying behaviour, interpreting risk, and understanding how to manage and deliver under circumstances that none of us had encountered before. Having looked at the future skills needs for our workforce, I believe the change we have undergone is only the start, and the skills that employees bring to organisations
T
Achieving net zero in the face of climate change is perhaps our biggest challenge. The drive towards an economy that puts less stress on our environment and is more sympathetic to the use of its resources is the biggest risk the world faces today. In 2019, the UK became the first big economy to pass legislation to achieve net zero by 2050, and this applies to all sectors. But what will this involve? Electrification: Getting Britain's electricity system to meet our zero-carbon emissions target won't be easy. Net zero is a “system problem”, meaning we need to understand and solve the whole issue using a co-ordinated crosssector approach, rather than looking at singular problems in isolation. The effective storage, transportation and use of renewable energy sources and alternative fuels like hydrogen will be key to a cleaner, less resourcehungry way of living. This could change how we move, live and work as we understand business network July/August 2021
71
