The Great Reshuffle: why skills have become one of the most valuable commodities

This article originally appeared on Linkedin.

While the fallout of ‘the Great Resignation',an event that left no industry untouched,sent shock waves across the business landscape, its aftermath has resulted in a new phenomenon – ‘the Great Reshuffle’.

This newly coined term refers to the movement of workers into new jobs following the wave of resignations post Covid-19. Much like the Great Resignation, one truth remains – those with scarce or new skills seemingly have ultimate power.

But, unlike the fears fueled by the Great Resignation, the Great Reshuffle signals new opportunities for both employees and employers. This is especially true in Saudi Arabia, where the vision of the leadership has led to rapid progression of the nation’s economy, with talent development being the core of the economic strategy.  

Saudi’s people-first approach

To highlight a quote from His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, as part of his Vision 2030 leadership message “…our real wealth lies in the ambition of our people and the potential of our younger generation. They are our nation’s pride and the architects of our future”. The nation’s economic development runs in parallel to the development of its people, and we can already see this as a critical driver of success across Saudi’s key projects - such as Neom and the Royal Commission for AlUla.

There is already a global shortage of talent, and the scale of expansion in Saudi places greater pressure on the demand for talent. The Kingdom has combated this with significant investment in upskilling and training of its young nationals - most recently demonstrated by the government’s $100 million commitment to train young professionals to join the tourism sector.

With the business environment facing continued challenges, collaboration between government, businesses and individuals is needed now more than ever. With the Saudi government paving the pathway to progress, the onus is now on organisations and individuals to continue the momentum.

New skills, new working environment

The pandemic was a time of reflection and re-evaluation for many in the workforce, to realise what matters most to them. As a result, many organisations had to quickly adapt their practices to develop a more supportive working environment in the hopes of mitigating the impact of the Great Resignation. Now, as we move into the Great Reshuffle, businesses must adapt their practices to create improved workplace empowerment as a means of attracting talent.

While it may appear that organisations are having to kowtow to the demands of individuals, in reality this benefits both parties equally. 

Skilled workers, and especially those with new or scarce skills, are being offered greatly improved support and empowerment, which should lead to lower rates of burnout and increased productivity. This places enormous value on upskilling and reskilling for individuals, but equally organisations too are able to move into the future with the right talent driving their progress.

With ‘Quiet Quitting’ quickly moving into the mainstream, it will be interesting to once again see how organisations respond. Nevertheless, with opportunities aplenty and talent development at the fore, it is likely that the Kingdom will continue its rapid growth and will soon achieve the vision of being the hub of global talent.