Dive Brief:

• A new analytics platform from Willis Towers Watson allows companies to see how certain digital skills can affect pay for workers who have them, according to a statement.
• The platform, called SkillsVue, uses machine-learning algorithms to assess skills and compensation data in order to calculate the value of individual skills. It will roll out in 2019 to clients in a handful of countries, including in the U.S.
• The announcement comes as more colleges partner with employers to offer tech-skills training to improve students' job prospects.

Dive Insight:

Tech firms are playing a bigger role in curriculum development for their fields, as seen by recent collaborations between colleges and companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon. This is in part driven by colleges' desire to equip students with skills that have clear ties to the job market. Employers are also asking for graduates to be trained in specific areas.

Still, while there is optimism for skills-based training among companies and colleges, the job market has progress yet to make in terms of how compensation reflects that new knowledge. 

While many workers take pride in their skill set instead of their paycheck, that doesn't mean workers or potential candidates are necessarily satisfied with their pay, according to a recent report by capital firm RocketFund.

Sluggish wage growth in the U.S. aside, one reason employers aren't finding workers with particular skills could be that they aren't offering a starting salary or benefits package that matches up with their competition.

"Today digital professionals who have skills in blockchain, artificial intelligence and mobile are receiving the highest salary premiums, with a median of around 15% of base salary," said Marc McBrearty, North America practice leader at Willis Towers Watson, in the statement.

Stakeholders are noticing these developments, and educator-employer collaborations are gaining momentum as a result.

For instance, at the Capital CoLAB in the Washington metro area, companies and colleges have come together to develop tech-skills credentials that can give students who earn them a leg up for internships and interviews with those firms.

Similarly, more four-year colleges are working directly with companies on skills-mapping initiatives to adjust their curriculum to better reflect what employers are looking for in new hires.