In many teams, the same scene has been repeated over the last few years: a tool changes, a process evolves, a standard falls... and suddenly, the employees don't know how to do it anymore. Not for lack of good will, but because their skills have not kept pace.
The pandemic of COVID-19 and the economic upheavals that followed have brought this observation into sharp focus: a company's ability to bounce back depends directly on the quality of its products and services. versatility of its teams. The most resilient organizations are those that have been able to map, develop and mobilize their skills in good time.
Today, the question is no longer if skills need to evolve, but how set up a skills-based employee training capable of supporting this movement in a way that is measurable, sustainable and anchored in everyday working life.
Employee training: the challenges of Industry 4.0
L'industry 4.0 doesn't just change production tools: it transforms jobsthe roles and skills necessary for business performance. Faced with this technological revolution, organizations need to rethink the way they train, in order to preserve the company's competitive edge. versatility and theagility of their teams.
Accelerated skills change in Industry 4.0
The advent of’industry 4.0 is accompanied by a procession of profound transformations:
- Automation repetitive tasks,
- Robotics and intelligent assistance,
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and massive data processing,
- Digitization business processes.
These changes don't just improve efficiency: they redefine the very functions of employees.
- Operators become pilot technicians.
- Quality managers become data analysts.
- Managers become true digital conductors.
Result: jobs change faster than job descriptions. Skills requirements are evolving at an unprecedented pace, forcing companies to constantly review their learning strategies.
To keep pace with this movement, a training management software becomes a key tool. It allows you to :
- Map existing skills,
- Identify gaps between current and required knowledge,
- Planning training paths adapted.
These solutions guarantee continuous skills upgrading and support the versatility performance in a changing industrial environment.
The risk of skills obsolescence
Identifying the skills you need to develop is a crucial step.
But the real challenge lies in their maintenance over time.
In a changing technological environment, a skill acquired today can become obsolete in a few months.
This phenomenon of’skills obsolescence has direct consequences:
- loss of versatility,
- decrease in productivity,
- increase in differences between trained and untrained employees.
Visit technical skills (programming, robotics, data, AI, connected maintenance) remain essential, but they need to be accompanied by cross-disciplinary skills :
- learn fast,
- solve complex problems,
- collaborate remotely,
- be creative and adaptable.
So the challenge for companies is not just to identify the right skills, but also to design training programs capable of developing them over the long term.
Organizations are at a crossroads critical point :
- they must quickly adapt their teams to the new requirements,
- while transforming their learning methods.
Objective: move from top-down training to an agile, personalized approach that's integrated into day-to-day working life.
With this in mind, the skills-based training becomes a strategic lever to guarantee competitivenessthe resilience and the durability companies in the Industry 4.0 era.
Skills needs assessment
Before training, you need to know what and which training. Skills assessment is not an HR formality: it is the foundation of a truly effective training strategy. It's the key to avoiding unnecessary expenditure, aligning development plans with real business needs, and ensuring that teams develop their skills over the long term.
Diagnose existing skills
It all starts with a skills mapping. This step enables us to draw up a precise inventory of the know-how available within the company.
Interviews, self-assessments, managerial feedback or use of data from a training management software A number of levers provide a clear picture of current skills.
The aim is not just to list the skills held, but also to understand how they fit together in operational reality :
- which skills are critical for production or customer relations,
- which are concentrated on a small number of experts,
- which skills emerge spontaneously in certain teams.
This skills matrix is rapidly becoming a strategic management tool. It feeds into mobility decisions, training plans and recruitment policies.
Identify skills gaps
Once the forces at play have been identified, the question becomes: where are the gaps?
This is the principle of skills gap, or skills gap: the difference between skills currently mastered and those required to achieve future goals.
Analyzing these gaps means anticipating needs before they become emergencies. For example:
- a new production line requires technicians trained in connected maintenance,
- digitalized customer service requires employees who are comfortable with conversational AI tools,
- a growing company needs to strengthen its middle management skills.
HR technologies make this step easier. Visit LMS (Learning Management Systems), data analysis platforms and the’artificial intelligence cross-reference information from assessments and field performance to identify, in real time, areas in need of reinforcement.
A platform as Mercateam makes it possible to visualize these skill gaps live, This allows us to associate each skill with a position and automatically trigger the corresponding training courses.
Prioritize needs according to business objectives
Not all skills carry the same strategic weight. Once the gaps have been identified, you need to prioritize needs according to the value they bring to the company.
Three criteria guide this ranking:
- Operational impact Which skills have a direct impact on productivity, quality or safety?
- The emergency Which ones are likely to hamper short-term performance if they are not strengthened?
- Rarity What skills are critical but not widely available in the company?
This prioritization avoids scattering efforts and makes it possible to’guide training budgets towards actions with a higher return on investment.
Aligning training needs with business objectives transforms training into a performance driver rather than an expense. The most successful organizations are those that consider skills to be as strategic as production or finance.
Engaging employees in learning
No matter how well designed, training only has an impact if employees are genuinely committed to it. The challenge is no longer simply to deliver content, but to make people want to learnof empower and value those who train. It is this commitment that transforms training into a sustainable lever for performance and loyalty.
Aligning training with individual aspirations
Commitment is born of an alignment between company objectives and personal aspirations employees.
Training that is perceived as an imposition generates little support. On the other hand, training that responds to a concrete professional project - skills enhancement, internal development, retraining - becomes a motivating factor.
The most advanced companies systematically involve their employees in building their business. development paths. This involves :
- from career interviews focused on the desire to evolve,
- from questionnaires to identify topics of interest,
- or even collaborative platforms where everyone can express their training preferences and share their feedback.
This participatory approach strengthens the sense of’employee autonomy and their involvement in the learning process. By linking training to personal objectives, the company transforms a constraint into a lever for progress.
Create a culture of continuous and collective learning
L'continuous learning is no longer based on a few one-off sessions, but on a single corporate culture where learning is part of everyday life. This culture is built on three pillars:
- Easy access to knowledge through online resources, micro-training courses and internal platforms.
- Exemplary management A manager who learns inspires his teams to do the same.
- Recognition of learning effort, The same goes for operational success.
This approach develops a genuine learning culture Everyone learns, shares and passes on. It also encourages the emergence of a collaborative learning, where knowledge flows horizontally between peers, rather than vertically down the hierarchy.
Digital tools play a key role here. They facilitate the dissemination of knowledge, the sharing of best practices and the creation of internal learning communities.
Gamification, mentoring and peer learning
To increase involvement, some companies rely on more playful and human levers:
- the gamification, with points, badges and rankings to stimulate progress; ;
- the mentoring, where experienced employees support those just starting out; ;
- visit peer-to-peer coaching programs, which promote the exchange of experience.
These systems encourage active involvement and transform training into a collective experience. The employee no longer undergoes learning: he or she becomes a player.
Valuing and recognizing learning effort
Recognition is a powerful driver of commitment. Valuing progress, however modest, boosts motivation and anchors learning.
This can involve :
- from in-house certifications or digital badges attesting to acquired competence ;
- from valued career paths in annual appraisals ;
- or reward programs related to skills upgrading.
By making efforts and successes visible, the company creates a virtuous circle: the more employees feel recognized, the more they invest in their training.
Proven and innovative training models
Companies faced with rapid business transformation need to be able to rely on training models that are structured, pragmatic and adaptable. A number of approaches have been tried and tested to help employees develop their skills while supporting operational objectives.
The ILUO model (Toyota)
Designed by Toyota, the ILUO is based on four progressive levels of expertise: Initiation, Learning, Understanding and Ownership. This framework makes it possible to organize the transfer of know-how in a clear and measurable way.
- Initiation The employee discovers a task or process, often under direct supervision.
- Learning They reproduce the action, correct their mistakes and begin to understand the underlying logic.
- Understanding He masters the task, can explain it and adapt it to different contexts.
- Ownership They become autonomous and able to pass on what they have learned to others.
This model promotes gradual skills upgrading and structured, while developing the empowerment and the versatility teams. In modern industrial environments, it ensures continuity of knowledge and reduces dependence on a few key experts.
The beauty of the ILUO model lies in its operational simplicity. Each step is observable, measurable and can be integrated into monitoring tools as a training management software, This makes it easier to plan and evaluate progress.
Model 70-20-10
The model 70-20-10 is a benchmark in professional development. It is based on a simple principle:
- 70 % of learning takes place at your fingertips, through practice and direct experience; ;
- 20 % comes from peer exchange, mentoring and feedback ;
- 10 % corresponds to the formal training, often delivered online or face-to-face.
This approach puts experience at the heart of training. It encourages employees to learn as they work, to capitalize on their mistakes and to benefit from feedback from their colleagues. It perfectly complements the ILUO model by promoting informal and collective learning.
AFEST: learning on the job
L'AFEST (Action de Formation en Situation de Travail) follows the same logic. Recognized by French law since 2018, it transforms real-life work situations into structured learning opportunities. AFEST is based on two phases: practical application in the field and a phase of reflective hindsight accompanied by a tutor or trainer.
This system offers a double advantage: it avoids taking employees away from their professional environment, while guaranteeing immediate transfer of the skills acquired. It's an ideal approach for industrial, logistics or technical companies, where training must remain connected to operational reality.
Microlearning: learning fast and often
In a context where employees are short of time, the micro-learning is an effective response. It consists of offering short, targeted content that can be accessed at any time: videos, interactive quizzes, e-learning mini-modules. This approach maintains a continuous learning dynamic without overloading schedules.
Microlearning complements more structured systems such as ILUO or 70-20-10. It reinforces culture of continuous learning, by making training more flexible, personalized and engaging.
Technologies and tools for skills enhancement
Digitalization has profoundly transformed the way companies design, deliver and evaluate training. Technologies are no longer limited to hosting content: they now make it possible to manage skills development in real time, and create a genuine culture of lifelong learning.
LMS and skills management platforms
Visit Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become the technological foundation of modern training. These platforms centralize the entire training process: administration, follow-up, reporting and evaluation.
A well-designed LMS does more than just deliver content. It enables :
- Align training programs with identified business needs,
- Measure completion rates and individual progress,
- Manage certifications and regulatory compliance.
The integration of a skills matrix software, as Mercateam, The value of an LMS is multiplied. By coupling training with skills matrix, In this way, the company can see exactly who has mastered what, identify any gaps and automatically trigger the appropriate courses of action.
Use cases :
Thanks to an LMS connected to Mercateam, an industrial company can track the key skills of each position, detect critical gaps in real time and plan targeted sessions to guarantee production continuity.
Artificial intelligence and personalized itineraries
L'artificial intelligence (AI) has become a driving force for transformation in the digital learning. By exploiting skill data (skills data), it enables training to be tailored to each individual.
In concrete terms, AI can :
- Recommend personalized itineraries according to objectives, position and identified shortcomings,
- Adapt the difficulty or progression of modules according to mastery level,
- Predicting the need for skills upgrades in line with changes in the business.
The most advanced solutions integrate immersive environments : virtual reality, serious games or business simulators. These approaches strengthen learner commitment and reduce the gap between theory and practice.
This large-scale personalization makes AI a real lever for’adaptive learning and sustainable competitiveness.
Collaborative tools and knowledge capitalization
The effectiveness of a training policy also depends on the circulation of knowledge. Visit collaborative tools play an essential role in transforming individual knowledge into a collective heritage.
Internal wikis, company forums, discussion forums, file-sharing platforms: these solutions make it easier to sharing knowledge and encourage’collaborative learning.
These spaces promote :
- rapid dissemination of best practices,
- cross-functional feedback,
- the creation of learning communities.
Companies that use these tools reinforce the learning culture and knowledge retention, even in contexts of high turnover or geographical dispersion.
Measuring impact and rewarding progress
Providing effective training is not enough: you must also be able to measure results and link them to company performance. The challenge is twofold: to prove the value of training, and to continuously adjust training programs to maximize their impact.
Building personalized, certifying career paths
A competency-based approach is based on individualized courses, designed on the basis of the gaps identified during the diagnosis. Each employee follows an itinerary adapted to his or her level, ambitions and the company's needs.
Visit internal or external certifications validate the skills acquired and reinforce the recognition of the course. They also provide a tangible indicator for assessing the return on training investment.
Measuring progress and business impact
Companies need to rely on clear performance indicators to assess the effectiveness of their training initiatives:
- Completion rate courses,
- Rate of skills upgrading measured on the matrix,
- Field performance before and after training,
- Internal mobility rate or versatility gained,
- Reducing turnover or operational non-conformities.
Visit skills dashboards from Mercateam view this data in real time, This gives a direct view of employees' progress and areas for improvement.
Bringing the continuous improvement loop to life
Successful training is never static. Each learning cycle must feed into the next.
Participant feedback, hot and cold evaluations, and field performance analyses are used to readjust content, formats and priorities.
This continuous improvement loop ensures that training remains aligned with the company's strategic objectives and employees' real expectations.
Training for resilience
What makes the difference today is not a company's size, but its ability to learn faster than others. When tools, processes and professions evolve every six months, training becomes a question of operational survival.
Competency-based training means putting the practical back into knowledge management. We no longer train to tick a box, but to solve a real problem, fill an identified gap, strengthen a team where it is weak.
But we need to be able to see clearly: who masters what, where the gaps are, which skills are disappearing, which are rising. Without this mapping, it's hard to see where we're going.
This is what a solution like Mercateam. It doesn't replace training, it makes it manageable. At a glance, managers know where to act, with whom, and in what order. And that's often the difference between a team that embraces change and one that undergoes it.
