In the face of the rapidly evolving job market driven by technological advancements, the need for upskilling and reskilling has never been more critical. Recognizing this, The AI Academy, in partnership with the Algar Group, has launched the groundbreaking Future-se Program. Developed within the scope of the Reskilling Revolution initiative of the World Economic Forum, Future-se is an innovative project designed to upskill and requalify the entire workforce of the Algar Group using The Village app on Microsoft Teams.
Understanding Future-se
The Future-se Program emerged from a deep reflection on the immense challenges posed by the technological transformation of the job market. The rise of generative AI is redefining jobs at an unprecedented pace, creating a necessity for individuals to continuously adapt and shape their career paths. Moreover, the expectations of new generations entering the workforce differ significantly from those of previous generations. According to PwC's annual survey, younger employees prioritize purpose, flexibility, and development opportunities above financial compensation. Similarly, Harvard Business Review highlights how new generations value autonomy, collaboration, and continuous learning, contrasting with traditional hierarchies and rigid training programs.
Reinventing Learning in the Workplace
The Algar Group, alongside The AI Academy, has been recognized for their initiative, "Reinventing learning in the workplace in the age of AI" in the framework of the World Economic Forum's Reskilling Revolution program. This initiative underscores their commitment to advancing education, skills improvement, and requalification initiatives on a global scale. The core aspect of this program is transforming talent management to a skills-first approach, which is both a strategic choice and a transformative necessity. The primary objective is to train and requalify the entire Algar Group workforce, leveraging artificial intelligence to create a dynamic and personalized learning experience for each employee.
A Skills-First Approach
The Future-se Program focuses on a skills-centered approach proposed by the World Economic Forum. This method ensures that learning is not a one-size-fits-all model but tailored to each employee's unique needs and aspirations, maximizing engagement and effectiveness. We identified 12 areas of competence aligned with Algar Group’s strategy, mapped out the main functions and positions for each area, and created a skills map for each position, including both soft and hard skills. This pragmatic approach aligns directly with the company's strategy, avoiding the time-consuming process of defining extensive taxonomies of skills.
Leveraging AI and the Flow Theory
Our approach is based on the Flow theory proposed by Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which posits that maximum performance is achieved when there is a balance between an individual's skill level and the external pressure to perform a task. To this end, we developed an AI Assistant that uses Flow theory to map each user's level of readiness for their role. This technique is employed at different points during the qualification program to measure how associates gradually become more confident with the tasks required for their chosen role.
Creating a Dynamic Learning Environment
The Future-se Program integrates a variety of curated resources to enable participants to acquire relevant skills. This includes free learning resources from industry-leading content providers and internally created content by Brain Innovation. We established 12 communities within Microsoft Teams using The Village app, promoting an open environment for knowledge exchange and professional growth. Top Voices, internally recognized experts in each area, boost the acquisition and sharing of internal knowledge. Additionally, personalized learning plans are developed for each participant, supporting their individual journey and addressing identified gaps.
Promoting Continuous Learning and Engagement
We promote agile methodologies to foster continuous learning habits, creating personalized learning journeys based on initial self-assessments in each participant's selected role. Interest is collected from participants to apply for available vacancies, and a list of internal candidates is created based on periodic assessments throughout the program.
Preliminary Results and Achievements
The initial results of the Future-se Program have been promising:
Communities
By the first quarter of 2024, we observed rapid growth in several communities of interest. This growth was organic, not requiring significant internal communication efforts, highlighting the enormous potential for future engagement. We ended 2023 with a single large community, UniAlgar, focused on learning culture. By April 2024, this had expanded to 12 distinct learning communities.
Integration
The integration of talents from all group companies has been a notable outcome. Learning communities are open collaborative environments where anyone from the group's companies can participate. This approach accelerates the adoption of best practices in an organic and decentralized manner.
Quantitative Analysis
Since the launch of the Future-se Program in mid-February, the activation rate has been greater than 55%, with participants accessing the platform between 3 and 8 times a week on average.
Engagement
In various learning communities, participants made over 90 offers, sharing relevant knowledge with their colleagues. Synchronous events, such as workshops and study group meetings, attracted more than 700 participants, averaging 35 per event, and totaling over 30 hours of knowledge exchange.
Content
Future-se offers access to a rich catalog of content, defining 10 professional paths along with the 100 tasks and 500 skills necessary to perform these functions. More than 150 learning resources have been made available for associates to develop these skills.
Conclusion
The use of Artificial Intelligence has been fundamental in achieving these results in just three months, with a small team and budget. From creating personalized learning paths to evaluating hundreds of participants, none of this would have been possible without the combination of planning based on global frameworks and AI tools. This demonstrates how the Algar Group, with the support of The AI Academy, is at the forefront of innovation in corporate learning, paving the way for the future of work.
Harvard Business Review, The New Rules of Work: Responding to the Digital Generation
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