09-05-2025
AI and ML for a competitive edge through a skills-based approach
In a skills-based approach to the future workforce, hiring, task assignments, and career development prioritise individual capabilities over traditional qualifications.
Although this approach isn't new, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) significantly amplify it, offering unprecedented insights into individual skills within the workforce. As industries from the public sector to financial services prepare for the future, many are considering this flexible, skills-first mindset.
'Instead of just identifying a person's role, which is a limited binary view of the traditional working method, the new approach is skills-centric,' says Jo-Anne Ruhl, managing director and vice-president Australia/New Zealand at Workday, a leading enterprise applications provider for finance and human resources.
By embedding AI and ML into the Workday enterprise system, she says it becomes feasible to map out every skill an individual possesses within a business.
A skills-based approach does more than just one-to-one mapping; it can also identify talent with closely related skills. For instance, someone listed as having financial reporting skills might also be associated with opportunities requiring data analysis, as these two skills are closely related.
Ruhl uses a programmer as an example. She says their profile might list 20 primary and associated skills. These could range from programming languages to leadership or even creative capabilities like UI or UX design. By understanding and tracking these skills, an organisation can pinpoint precisely what an individual can offer or help them map out the next stage in their career journey based on internal opportunities.
