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Mitch Wagner
Mitch Wagner
1/22/2016 10:35:28 AM
User Rank
Gold
Re: Extensive re-training efforts
vnewman - Indeed, ability to learn is the only skill that matters in this industry. Technology specific skills will be out of date in a few years. 

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imorris
imorris
1/22/2016 5:27:44 AM
User Rank
Gold
Reskilling is not the big issue
I wonder if reskilling is the real challenge here. I think you can teach old dogs new tricks but getting people who've worked in the field for years to look at business problems with an entirely fresh perspective is the bigger issue, I reckon. You need young talent for that and you have to change the culture and the workplace and the perceptions about your organization to attract those people. Could you have seen Marc Zuckerberg donning a suit and tie, and going into a job where he's reporting to several tiers of middle manager above him, rather than starting Facebook? How do you get people like that into your organization?

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vnewman
vnewman
1/21/2016 6:56:31 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Extensive re-training efforts
@Mitch: I think "these days" with the demands of modern techology, two of the best qualities an employee can have are their ability to 1. learn and 2. adapt to change.   These are not easy to assess in an interview setting.  Even if an employee comes into a company like ATT with stellar qualifications and certifications, that skill set will be outdated before the year is out.  There has to be a baseline of course, but I'd hire someone with ability over someone with a piece of paper any day in a field like this.

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Mitch Wagner
Mitch Wagner
1/21/2016 5:26:11 PM
User Rank
Gold
Re: Extensive re-training efforts
It's good to see AT&T investing in retraining like this Too many companies don't make that investment, and then are baffled as to why they can't find people with the skills they need. 

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Mike Robuck
Mike Robuck
1/21/2016 1:36:33 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: culture
Thanks Carol. It was interesting to read the chat response from today's radio show in regards to out-sourcing instead of training in Latin America. Not sure if it was a generalization, but it seems short-sighted. 

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wilson@lightreading.com
wilson@lightreading.com
1/21/2016 10:55:08 AM
User Rank
Author
Extensive re-training efforts
AT&T appears to be banking heavily on retraining a lot of the folks it already has, which is an interesting strategy, given the constant complaints I hear from CSPs about the dearth of IT talent.

It makes a lot of sense on many levels to start with who you have - for one thing, knowing telecom remains important and a lot of the folks AT&T is retraining probably have the ability to take on the new skill sets. 

But it is a massive undertaking and, based on what Fuetsch outlines above, clearly will take some time. 

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Mike Robuck
Mike Robuck
1/21/2016 10:01:22 AM
User Rank
Author
culture
Andre's comments in regards to re-training the workforce reflect our recent poll where "culture" was cited as the most important factor in service providers' digital transformations. 

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