John Delves of UCD’s Professional Academy and English Language Academy discusses skills shortages, the growing impact of tech and the value of a ‘just go for it’ mindset.
As technology continues to evolve and become more demanding, the concept of upskilling has grown more important than ever.
Experts have spoken about the positive aspects of upskilling, such as the ability to reduce staff turnover and improve business outcomes. Meanwhile, drastic changes from emerging tech such as AI could cause disruptions if staff don’t learn to adapt and skill shortages continue to plague various industries such as the IT and software engineering sectors.
One person who has witnessed the skills shortage first-hand is John Delves, who has leadership experience in organisations such as Digicel and Magnet Plus. He was recently appointed as the CEO of University College Dublin’s (UCD) Professional Academy and English Language Academy, which are focused on creating “market-leading players” in both English language training and professional upskilling.
“Ultimately our mission is to empower individuals and organisations through world-class education, fostering personal growth and to ensure Ireland remains not just competitive, but best in class across all key market sectors,” Delves said.
Growing tech challenges
Delves began his career at Hibernia Foods in the UK, before shifting to management positions in Kerry Foods and Greencore. He joined Digicel in 2008 where he held various top-level positions.
“While there, I spent over a decade at CEO level in the Pacific and Caribbean and implemented two successful greenfield launches in Vanuatu and Fiji,” he said. “I developed the company from being a mobile-only operator into a total communications provider across mobile, fixed, TV and broadband and digital media in the Caribbean and was also the founding chair of the Digicel Foundation in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Throughout his previous roles, Delves witnessed the challenge of skill shortages and the “very competitive market place for talent”, which is being altered due to rapid changes.
“Organisations are contending with ongoing challenge of evolving economic structures and markets, as well as emerging new technologies, such as generative AI,” Delves said. “This means that employees need to be constantly learning and upskilling just to keep pace with the modern world and ensure they aren’t left behind.”
Last year, the UCD Professional Academy released its third annual survey of Irish learners and found that there is considerable appetite among the population for skills development courses. But only 42pc of employers surveyed provided courses in-house for employees.
Delves also noted that time constraints and a need for flexibility among employees emerged as “significant hurdles” for staff considering a professional development course, as workers “live busy, fast-paced lives with multiple commitments”.
“The challenge lies in finding professional development opportunities that are flexible and tailored to meet their needs and the reality of organisations and employees alike,” Delves said. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to skills anymore.”
Delves faced his own degree of an upskilling challenge in the past, describing his biggest risk as his decision to switch to the telecommunications industry when he joined Digicel.
“Ultimately, the risk paid off – I worked with incredible business giants and was fortunate enough to give my children the gift of travel and seeing the world,” he said. “The adage holds true, ‘with great risk, comes great reward’.
“The best piece of business advice I have ever received is probably to ‘just go for it’ and trust your gut. I have always been a fan of a challenge and I think this has been reflected in my business experience.”
A rise in hybrid learning
Delves and the UCD Professional Academy believe “short-form education” can help to fill the upskilling gap and address the hurdles facing staff wanting more personal development.
“We are encouraging individuals and Irish businesses to look inward and really assess the areas they believe will serve them in achieving their long-term economic ambitions.”
He said the academy offers various options from part-time and hybrid courses to “week-long intensive bootcamps”. Among the available offers, Delves claims the hybrid option has been a game changer, describing it as a “new reality which has completely democratised the education experience”.
“The combination of traditional in-person methods and online accessibility has facilitated many people who otherwise may have been unable to avail of professional development courses, owing to family, work and other commitments,” Delves said. “Our upskilling report indicated that, when it comes to how and where people are looking to take professional development courses, hybrid is the preferred option [at 31pc].”
Delves said the growth in hybrid learning is due to the boost it provides in terms of accessibility, as it “empowers individuals who are unable to make it to in-person classes for whatever reason”.
He also noted that there is an increased demand for tech-based upskilling and that UCD Professional Academy is addressing this in its “evolving data literacy course portfolio”.
The UCD survey singled AI and soft skills courses out as being particularly highly sought after by learners. Last year, UCD Professional Academy’s head of communications, Colin Stoddart, told SiliconRepublic.com that AI and data literacy were major areas of focus for the team.
Leading the academy
In moving to the head of these two organisations, Delves has once again taken a leap from one sector to another. Having worked in multiple industries, he has learned a few tricks to get the most out of his staff regardless of the sector he is in.
“I make it a priority to create the right environment,” Delves said. “The goal is always that you want your team to look forward to working with you and not dread Monday when it rolls around.
“My approach has always been to be fair and open with my colleagues and I find that a natural by-product of this is trust. When you have the trust and support of your team, you really do have the power to create significant change.
“I also believe that you need to also have fun as you spend too many hours together to not have some fun along the way and take yourself too seriously.”
Delves said one-on-one meetings are “critical” and that he had these meetings with all 75 team members of both the Professional Academy and English Academy within the first month of his new role, in order to get to know his staff better.
He also discussed the issue of diversity in the workplace. He thinks there are “very few sectors not experiencing diversity issues” and that it is something which “needs to be tackled by leaders now”.
“Inclusivity starts at all levels, this means looking at our board members, our subject matter experts and those around us and asking everyone the question ‘do you feel represented and supported?’” Delves said.
“I think this ties in nicely with UCD Professional Academy’s vision to lead Ireland’s upskilling agenda and be viewed as a strategic partner in the realisation of Ireland’s long-term workforce ambitions, we provide courses on diversity and inclusion and women in leadership and are keen to support organisations in building their diversity strategies.
“When I look at my management team, I am delighted that it is diverse but there is room to continue to develop and evolve this over the next few years.”
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