In 2016, the Irish government closed the skills gap by adding accountants to key skills occupations, allowing accountants who wanted to emigrate to Ireland to apply for jobs.
Shortage of accountancy skills
The COVID-19 epidemic has caused a seismic shift in our world. Lockdown procedures have compelled a large portion of the global population to work from home without warning. Companies that had never considered their ability to function remotely hurried to arushedate staff working from home, while employees were forced to adjust in the capacity to be productive and operational during this period has been remarkable, and its transformation
Much needed discussion on Digital transformation and the necessity for organisations to deploy suitable IT infrastructures and personnel training in digital skills and computing technologies for quite some time. Those that followed this advice and took the effort to act and adapt to the digitisation of the workplace will have had to furlough many fewer employees during the shutdown. Their initiatives will have secured the long-term viability of their job throughout this tumultuous moment and a much-lessened impact on their business’s day-to-day operations. Those organisations who fell behind with antiquated paper-based systems, insufficient IT systems, and insufficient remote access to systems, on the other hand, will have been severely impacted.
The shift in workforce practices throughout the world.
The remote worker is an issue that COVID-19 has brought to light, even though this labour is far from innovative. As the OECD stated in 2015, the labour market has been undergoing its biggest momentous upheaval since the Industrial Revolution. A major part of the workforce prefers the ‘talent economy’ over traditional job opportunities. The rise of digital technology and the “talent economy” has impacted employees’ access to alternative work practices.
What does this entail for professional development and talent in the workforce?
What has been gained from this experience, notwithstanding the evident scarcity of accountancy skill and its source? How can we avoid a wider broadening of important skills? What are firms doing to adapt to workplace changes and the rising need for flexibility? What impact can this have on the availability of accountancy skills?
The new workplace encourages autonomy, flexibility, and trust; companies that do not provide these benefits will struggle to compete in the labour market. Many organisations are offering flexible working practices such as remote and hybrid working to attract talent, and studies show that employees are more eager to change jobs to achieve the work-life balance that this form of work offers. Youngsters will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025; they are the first generation to grow up in the digital age and expect agile work practices. They are highly receptive to emerging technologies, and they prefer work practices that use technology to advance work processes and work-life balance.
Remote working
In general, accountancy professionals’ major worries about delivering remote training and remote working are access to sensitive information and employee supervision. Although most tech workers will have access to highly secret and often classified information, this does not preclude them from working and training remotely. It merely demands a shift in the trainer’s perspective; employees in the computer business, for example, work mostly remotely.
COVID-19’s possible influence on accounting training delivery
It’s tough to examine the long-term consequences of actions amid a crisis, but it’s critical to do so. Employers must be ready to adapt to changing circumstances and modify the nature of work and how it is done. Workplaces must be adaptable, imaginative, and responsive if businesses and professions thrive in an ever-changing and sometimes hostile economic climate.
Nobody could have predicted COVID-19’s influence on the workplace, and we’re still guessing the global and domestic economic implications. Many accountants argue that there has never been a better moment to be an accountant, and accountants will undoubtedly be required if the economy is to recover. Businesses are to withstand the economic shock caused by the epidemic.
However, the epidemic has left many fresh graduates without training, and lockdown measures and social separation laws have ruled out training contracts. This uncertainty has caused graduates to be concerned about their future professional prospects and investigate other options.
Conclusion
In light of COVID-19 and the accountancy skills gap, trainee accountants will need to be proactive and flexible. Employers should be adaptable and flexible in their training delivery.
We give accounting training in the skills and abilities necessary to operate remotely, including remote working IT skills, accounting software packages, time management, and communications, among other topics. We also provide guidance and assistance to managers using our service on monitoring trainee performance and digital skills and how to oversee and coach remotely.
