{"id":66915,"date":"2025-05-08T08:15:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/articles\/the-skills-based-organisation-and-the-luddite-in-me\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T13:46:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:46:21","slug":"the-skills-based-organisation-and-the-luddite-in-me","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/articles\/the-skills-based-organisation-and-the-luddite-in-me\/","title":{"rendered":"The skills-based organisation and the luddite in me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I\u2019ve been holding out hope for a while now, clinging to this quiet, slightly stubborn belief that some skills are worth keeping. Take text editing, for example. I like it. The tiny shifts in rhythm. The word choices that land. The hours of shaping a paragraph until it finally does what it\u2019s meant to.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s because I studied English Literature as an undergraduate, and then spent years working as an instructional designer, thinking about words, language, writing hooks, making sure things land. There was an earnest honesty to that work that gave me a sense of pride.<\/p>\n

But lately, I\u2019ve started to wonder: am I just being a Luddite?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because this shift toward skills-based organisations, it\u2019s real. It\u2019s not just another trend or buzzword. It\u2019s a genuine, structural change in how organisations think about talent, capability, and the future of work. And with it comes new challenges, new tools, and yes, new questions about which skills we still hold onto, and which ones we hand over to the machines.<\/p>\n

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I sat down recently with Cammy Bean, Account Director at Kineo<\/a>, and Elton Machholz, Senior Manager, e-Learning Platform Management, Insourcing Solutions at Charles River<\/a>, for an episode of Totara Talks Talent<\/em>,<\/a> the podcast I host.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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I asked them something I\u2019ve been thinking about a lot lately: is the rise of the skills-based organisation actually something new, or is it just L&D getting back to what it\u2019s always done? Helping people build capability, grow in their roles, and perform better at work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s truth in both perspectives. But what\u2019s changed, what really feels different now, is the pace of technological change. AI is evolving faster than most businesses can update their competency frameworks. New roles are emerging before we\u2019ve even defined the skills they require.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the shift to a skills-based approach is so critical. It\u2019s not just about structure, it\u2019s about agility.<\/strong> When organisations can clearly see what skills they have today, and what they\u2019ll need tomorrow, they\u2019re far better equipped to respond to disruption, adapt with confidence, and help their people grow in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not just a nice-to-have anymore. It\u2019s becoming essential.<\/p>\n

From chaos to clarity: Mapping skills like you mean it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For most organisations, knowing you need to shift toward skills is just the start. The real challenge is figuring out how.<\/p>\n

Elton Machholz has spent the last decade getting stuck into that question at Charles River, where he oversees the implementation of the organisation\u2019s Learning Management System within its Insourcing Solutions (IS) business. Charles River is a global partner to the biopharmaceutical business, and IS helps provide resource management solutions for organisations across the industry. When your work involves scientific research, regulatory compliance and animal welfare, skills aren\u2019t just nice to have, they\u2019re make or break. There\u2019s no room for guesswork about who knows what.<\/p>\n

To get real visibility over skills across the IS business, Elton\u2019s team built a framework, using Totara, with their Patner Actua<\/a>, that breaks everything down into four buckets:<\/p>\n