Global Skills Diagnostic Assessment®

Every person is gifted in different ways. Some are better in certain areas of skills while for others other talents lie elsewhere. In the 21st Century workplace, the person who is successful is not the one that is gifted in all areas of skills nor the one who specializes in just one niche area.

Increasingly, those who are thrive are polished in 1 or 2 areas and really competent in many other different areas of skills. There are also areas of skill that may not be relevant to your future work. Or you may not desire to acquire it because of your own motivational preferences. And that’s also fine. Because in the workplace of the future, partnerships allow us to thrive when we work with others who have talents and skills we don’t have.

And the good news is that if we find ourselves lacking in some areas, we can always find opportunities to upskill, upgrade and level ourselves up. It is about being aware of where our skill competencies are. Where we are good at. The skills to tap. And Where we lack. The skills gap.

The Global Skills Diagnostic Assessment® (GSDA) gives you an opportunity to gain that awareness. So be true to yourself and answer the questions based on your current situation, not the ideal one you’d like to have. Because the more honest you are with yourselves, the faster you can take the right steps to level up.

Remember the Pandemic?

Remember the time when the global skills pandemic stirred things up and changed the way we lived our lives?

Almost overnight, we had to remember to wear our masks. Use virtual meeting technologies. And connect with people from a distance and get things done.

Today, as we return back to a new normal, many of us have gotten used to all that. But remember how you felt when you were forced to make these changes overnight?

It was not just a global pandemic that hit you, it was a global skills pandemic.

We felt ill-equipped to continue working effectively. We had to learn from scratch. We had to pivot and adapt to change.

Likewise, the world of work is changing too.

Skills Mapping

One way to gauge where you stand is through skills mapping - understanding what are some of the in-demand skills that would be an asset to you for your future and knowing where you stand in terms of the acquisition of these skills.

Giving Back to Research

At YouthCast, we go one step further to provide forward-looking career guidance to job seekers and insight to educators into what skills youth need as they prepare to enter the workforce by deploying the Global Skills Diagnostic Assessment.

Dealing with Disruption

Graduates are going out to work in fields that have nothing to do with their courses in university. They have to acquire new knowledge that is constantly changing. They had to learn to multi-task across different functions, field and even time zones.

Would they have the sufficient capabilities to handle a different way or working, learning and living? Or would they be hit by a global skills pandemic where they are ill-equipped to handle the dynamic nature of the new world of work?

Lessons from the Gaps

If you looked at how we have dealt with the Corona virus over the last 2.5 years, one thing stood out. The first thing that the health authorities and governments did was to identify the gap- the symptoms, the signs, the behaviours of a previously unknown virus. And with that body of knowledge, people could respond effectively to first combat and then live with the virus.

In the same way, what if we would tell you there is a way for you to identify the symptoms and signs that inform if your students in university are ready to embrace the world of work?

Grounded in Skills Taxonomy

These assessments can be useful because they are grounded by a skills taxonomy, that names and defines useful skills and ways to measure them; a skills map that helps identify educational and training requirements and outlines how these skills can be acquired, whether within the formal education system or through experiential learning – a critical next step for the skill development and mobility of global youth.

How the Global Skills Diagnostic Assessment® Works

A skill is a capability to do something well. Some people may be innately more talented in a particular skillset than others. But to achieve skill competency requires investment in the skill, dedication and application.

Understanding your skills would give you an edge in the workplace because you get to discern the skills that help you add value in your work.

GSDA measures skills across domains of Sense-Making, Creative Thinking, Problem-Solving, Influence, Developing People and Digital Fluency.

The first step is being aware of your "Competent" skills. Being competent does not mean that you are expert in the skill. You would need to learn how to use these skills more intentionally to achieve peak performance.

Next look at the skills where you scored under the “Developing” band.

Transdisciplinary Thinking. Decision Making. Global Awareness. Building Inclusivity. Communication. Adaptability. Collaboration.

For these set of skills, you have probably used them occasionally but not often enough. Discover ways to sharpen these skills and put them into regular practice to truly gain proficiency.

Take stock of the skills that you scored under the “Novice” band

Customer Orientation. Learning Agility. Self-Management.

You are most likely new to these set of skills or have not had the opportunity to use them much. Level up yourselves by gaining understanding and getting coached in these skills.

Check out your report to glean more insights :