Salesforce Trailhead updates could help IT firms close the skills gap – Info Innovation

Brand new assignments and enhanced search in Trailhead allow users to hone in on skills that need the most attention, Salesforce said in a Wednesday blog post. The tech skills gap is not a new topic of conversation, and many companies believe higher education is to blame.

For the uninitiated, Trailhead is Salesforce’s upskilling platform for employee learning and education. It was first launched in 2014.

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Initially, Trailhead’s Trail Tracker app allowed managers to track and report on employees’ Trailhead progress, said the blog post. Trail Tracker converts learning into a game, where employees can see how they stack up to their peers in learning various skills.

Trailhead’s new Assignments feature creates a more specialized learning experience. Managers can now assign specific learning modules to employees and give assignments due dates, said the post. The specified skills are presented to the employee in the form of ‘trailmix,’ featured at the top of the homepage, added the post.

With over 400 modules of content, Trailhead can be a bit overwhelming. The company decided to help by launching Favorites, a function that helps users keep track of their learning plan, said the post. Users can tag skills they are interested in learning, and the modules will be added under Favorites.

Trailhead also enhanced its search capability, creating a more productive search function. Now when employees search Trailhead, they can both sort and filter results for relevancy, said the post. The search bar can now also autocomplete search suggestions, giving pre-populated suggestions based on previous interests, continued the post.

“52% of IT leaders say skills gaps are a major challenge in their organization. Corporate learning techniques and tools are lagging behind.” said vice president of Trailhead marketing, Kris Lande. “Trailhead brings the continuous learning that is needed to keep pace with the demands of technology today.”

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

• Trailhead helps close the workforce skills gap by providing learning modules to professionals.
• The new content and enhanced search provides for a more productive and efficient experience on the Trailhead interface.

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