Why Upskill and Reskill your workforce ? ​

 In 2022, we have seen an increase in demand for skilled workers. How do you plan on keeping your employees upskilled and reskilled?

A recent McKinsey Global Survey states that “Skill building is more prevalent than it was prior to the pandemic, with 69% of organizations doing more skill building now than they did before the COVID-19 crisis.” 

Disruptive new technologies and trends are rapidly changing the way businesses operate and how we as individuals live and work. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The novel coronavirus pandemic led to a reworking of the economy unlike any other since World War II.” This era of digital transformation is forcing companies to become more innovative, collaborative, and agile—and it’s also creating an opportunity for those who are willing to upskill or reskill. 

Up-skilling and reskilling are not just buzzwords; they’re necessary skills in this new digital landscape. Gartner Survey reveals HR Leaders’ foremost priority in 2022 will be building critical skills and competencies. While both upskilling and reskilling are about learning new skills, the context for each is a bit different.

What is Upskilling?

Upskilling is the process of learning new skills or of teaching workers new skills. Upskilling occurs when workers improve on their existing skills and deepen their abilities and impact within their area of expertise. With upskilling, employees become better positioned for additional responsibilities and higher level roles.

What is Reskilling?

Reskilling is the process of learning new skills so you can do a different job, or of training people to do a different job. It involves training employees on entirely new skill sets to take on a different role within the company. This usually occurs when workers’ previous tasks and responsibilities become irrelevant, often due to advances in technology.

Benefits of Reskilling

According to World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, “50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, as adoption of technology increases.” The workplace is rapidly evolving, with new technologies and trends disrupting how we work and operate as a society. The era of digital transformation is forcing companies to become more innovative, collaborative, and agile, and it’s also creating an opportunity for those who are willing to upskill or reskill. Everyone will be affected by the changes that technology is bringing, whether you’re a tech worker or not. 

Benefits for Upskilling

We’ve already covered why skills training is essential in the workplace, but it’s even more important for individuals who are currently employed. If they don’t learn new skills now, they could be left behind in a very short amount of time. “Employees rate the ‘opportunity to learn’ as among their top reasons for taking a job,” according to Deloitte Insights, “and 94% say they would stay in a company if it helped them to develop, yet only 15% can access learning directly related to their jobs.” 

How to reskill and upskill your employees?

There are many ways to upskill and reskill, but there is no silver bullet solution for reskilling and upskilling. The best method is to use a combination of traditional instructions, on-the-job training methods, and knowledge application to train your workforce. 

The most important fact to take into consideration when upskilling or reskilling your workforce is the inclusion of soft skills training and development as well as hard skills training.

 Here are a few ways to get started: –

• Define Company learning objectives

Defining what new skills your company needs will give you a roadmap for upskilling and reskilling training. This can be achieved by researching industry trends, customer feedback, and business objectives.

• Survey your Employees

Discussions with each employee regarding their personal goals, job satisfaction, culture and engagement is a good way to get started. When compared with the learning objectives of the organization, it should give you a good idea of which skills are most needed across your company. 

• Create a training plan

Incorporate your existing training materials with the courses of skills identified above. Create new training sessions, keeping in mind the upskilling and reskilling needs. Identifying the capabilities already available enables you to target the development of  key skills in your existing workforce to meet future demand.

• Evaluate often

It is important to get regular feedback. Speaking with various departments about how new skills are being translated over to customers, speaking with human resources to identify new gaps and collect feedback from employees as well. All this gives a clearer picture of what is working and what needs to be added. 

Conclusion

The future of work is uncertain and leaves many wondering how to prepare for the shifting landscape. Those who are willing and able to upskill or reskill their employees will have a leg up on their competitors who are content with the status quo. It’s vitally important to be able to reskill and upskill your employees. Once you know how to do it, you’ll be a more flexible, valuable, and future-proof company.

Well, now you have must have a slight idea about how you can improve the skillset of your workforce by upskilling and reskilling them. We at Edvanta Technologies can help you elevate the learning experience of your learners while acquiring new skills with our cutting edge technology implementations. Connect with us to explore various opportunities that can benefit you and your organization.