How can you make real progress in the skills you need to excel at your job? In this episode of the Mind the Skills Gap podcast, host Stella Collins talks with L&D expert Georgie Cooke about the distinction between knowledge and skills, and why building skills requires consistent, intentional practice, performed in the right environment. With insights that apply on both the personal and institutional level, Collins and Cooke’s discussion will appeal to anyone interested in investing in their own professional development or looking to take their organization’s training solutions to the next level.
There is a difference between acquiring knowledge and developing skills.
Learning and development, or L&D, consultants like Georgie Cooke help organizations with skill-building and professional development. Cooke has noticed that many of her clients tend to focus on knowledge acquisition – for example, creating and delivering educational content – rather than skill-building. People assume that if you have the knowledge, the skill to apply it will come automatically, but developing a skill takes practice and time.
If you ask people about skills they have developed on their own, such as the ability to play an instrument, they will tell you that proficiency didn’t come from watching a video or following an online course; it came from practice. This is true for professional skills as well.
Designing for skill development requires sustained effort. L&D consultants must create not just one digital solution, but a number of solutions that they can deliver over time as learners progress. The core elements of any skills-focused training program are practice and...
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