What Are Upskilling and Reskilling?
Upskilling and reskilling are crucial components of a modern talent strategy and preparing for the future of work.
Upskilling helps employees advance their skills in their current roles and gives them the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities and advance along their career path.
Reskilling prepares employees for new roles. It involves learning new skills outside of their existing skillset to prepare employees for different roles, helping retain valuable staff.
- Adapting to Technological Changes and Closing Skill Gaps: As automation and digital transformation reshape job landscapes, the skills required are also changing; a lack of these skills can hinder growth and efficiency.
- Employee Engagement, Morale and Retention: Offering growth opportunities boosts employee engagement and job satisfaction. It demonstrates commitment to career development and enhances morale.
- Flexibility and Resilience: A continuously learning workforce is more adaptable and resilient to market changes.
- Cost-Effectiveness and Risk: Investing in current employees’ cuts hiring and onboarding costs and reduces the risk of misalignment.
- Fostering Innovation: Up-to-date skills enhance your contribution to innovative projects, benefiting both personal and organizational growth.
- Maintaining Competitive Advantage: Companies that upgrade employee skills stay ahead by rapidly adapting to industry changes and leveraging new technologies.
How to go about it?
Experts at Testgorilla.com, which provides a re-employment skills testing platform, suggest an 8-Step process to upskill and reskill, of which the initial steps are:
Performing a skills gap analysis, assessing employee skills regularly, and recognizing when employees are ready for more responsibility.
In the first step, the skills gap analysis, talk with leaders to clarify your organization’s current and future business strategy and goals, identify which skills and competencies are needed to achieve them, and measure employees’ skills against them. Key to this is predicting which skills and capabilities will become increasingly important, such as AI and data analytics.
Thereafter, develop a plan to address gaps. This will include a combination of upskilling, reskilling, attracting and recruiting diverse talent, procuring managed services, and using short-term consultants to meet immediate needs and scale up as necessary.
Ultimately, upskilling and reskilling help both employees and employers future-proof careers, advance professionally, and meet organizational needs, maintaining a forward-thinking workforce capable of addressing current challenges and driving innovation.
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Author: Ian Foster
Image by Freepik
