Two key themes around learning and talent management are emerging as this year’s top meta-trends in HR — winning the race for skills and mobilizing the workforce for the future.

Now more than ever, it’s important for leaders to align strategic goals with opportunities for their employees to grow and develop their careers. Organizations will also need to stay informed about what skills they need to recruit or train for in the years ahead.

To do so, they need to look at skills — and shift their focus from filling short-term skills gaps to predicting long-term business needs and engaging in strategic workforce planning. This means finding new ways to fill skills gaps outside of hiring, including improving employee experiences by developing personalized career plans and other motivational tools like learning opportunities and coaching.

Read this short article to learn how to accelerate employee growth and make your talent a competitive advantage.