Deloitte, PwC giving extra coaching to COVID-era graduates to tackle skills gap

Deloitte and PwC are providing extra coaching to the new recruits who lack skills like teamwork and communication, mainly because of the impact of COVID pandemic on their education, reported Financial Times.

There is less confidence among young recruits related to doing basic tasks like preparing a presentation for meeting or working with other teammates. This is the main reason why “employers need to provide training” on basic professional working skills that was not needed earlier, Jackie Henry, Deloitte’s UK managing partner for people and purpose told Financial Times.

As per the plan, some of the senior employees in PwC will need to spend two years on arrangement to work as a full-time coaches and trainers, to guide junior colleagues on their career development, performance, and help them enhance their skills set.

These senior employees are also encouraged by firms to pursue formal career coaching qualifications.

The introduction of extra training by major UK firms, show the challenges faced by employers in dealing with the impact of pandemic restrictions on their workforce.

It is quite obvious that students who received education during the pandemic era may now be stronger in some fields and under confident in other fields like communication, teamwork, etc.

 Some of the new recruits of the company were “less confident” presenting and talking at meetings, collaborating with colleagues and networking, Ian Elliott, PwC’s UK chief people officer told Financial Times .

Lack of corporate experience and practical knowledge is another roadblock in the career growth of the new employees. This had severely impacted their confidence and their way of working. It is difficult for employers to compensate the skill gap, even with training as the hybrid work culture still pose a challenge for employers.